Report: Louisville to Join ACC, Becoming Sixth Former Big East School to Join Conference

by Dan Duquette Jr. on Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 8:51AM

The college realignment shuffle is heating up again, and the ACC wasted no time finding yet another dance partner.

On the heels of Maryland defecting from the Atlantic Coast Conference to the Big Ten, the conference is reportedly welcoming Louisville to its ranks. The move will make UL the sixth former Big East school to join the ACC, as it joins Boston College, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Miami in making the switch.

The ACC will once again have 14 teams when Louisville joins, which could come sooner rather than later. The Big East makes schools pay a $10 million exit fee and give 27 months notice to leave, but some have negotiated higher exit fees in order to go sooner.

This move marks another blow for the Big East, which is now scheduled to add nine teams in the next three years — if they don’t find somewhere else to go first.