Syracuse University (SU) today officially joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for competition in collegiate athletics, ending 34 years as a member of the Big East conference that it helped start.
SU joins the University of Pittsburgh and Notre Dame University as the ACC expands its league membership to 15 institutions.
The ACC website now includes the logos of Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh.
The ACC is welcoming its newest members with a daylong celebration in New York City, including participation in the daily closing-bell ceremony at the NASDAQ.
“We have long looked forward to officially recognizing these three outstanding institutions as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference,” John Swofford, ACC commissioner, said in a news release on the website. “It will truly be a historic day for our league.”
SU says that joining the ACC brings it the financial resources to compete at the highest levels of college sports.
“Today’s move to the ACC represents the next step in Syracuse University’s commitment to providing the best championship-level experience for its student-athletes and fans. This new chapter in Orange Athletics is sure to provide excitement and challenges for the 18 programs that will compete in the ACC, while ensuring the competitive and financial futures of all 20 athletic programs at the university,” SU said in a news release on its website.
The ACC has a TV contract with ESPN through the 2026-27 season that will pay each member school upwards of $20 million per year, according to published reports.
SU’s first ACC game is Sept. 6 when the men’s soccer team plays at Virginia Tech. The Syracuse Orange football team opens its ACC schedule at home on Oct. 5 against Clemson. The SU men’s basketball team will host perennial powers Duke and North Carolina this winter.
The ACC also includes former Big East members Boston College, the University of Miami, and Virginia Tech. And, the University of Louisville will join in 2014.
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