So, Miami decided to jump ship and join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Fine. Perfect, actually. Whatever decision Miami president Donna Shalala came to is a positive, because now, maybe – hopefully – this whole slimy expansion story will go away.

Find a shovel, dig a hole six-feet deep and dispose of it. Please.

The ACC-Big East struggle has stunk from the get-go. No one involved can claim innocence – not Syracuse, not Boston College or any other Big East school left to toil in what could be renamed the Less-Than-Adequately-Sized East. No, in this exposure of how sleazy college sports have become, there are only levels of villains.

‘I think the public is disgusted with us all, to be honest with you,’ Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said Monday evening in a conference call. ‘We’re educational groups and we’re held to a higher standard than most people, and I think people have looked at us not in a very good way. And that includes me.’

Syracuse, while not a poster child of morality throughout, escapes from the ordeal with its reputation relatively unscathed. From the start, SU director of athletics Jake Crouthamel was open and honest. He maintained that Syracuse could not financially stay in a Big East without Miami. He made SU motivations and intentions clear.

‘I would say there are two words: football and money,’ Crouthamel said at a May 22 press conference. ‘You don’t go to a conference of 12 for any other reason than to take advantage of current NCAA rules which allow you, with a conference of 12, to subdivide into two six-team divisions and then play a championship game.’

Crouthamel should be commended – not necessarily for his stance, but for being sincere. He has always seen his main task as protecting and advancing the SU athletics financially, and he hasn’t hid from that fact. In the expansion issue, following Miami wasn’t a choice for Crouthamel, it was fact.

‘We don’t find ourselves in the position of being able to dictate,’ he said. ‘On the basis of our future as an institution, as an athletic program and looking forward to stability, Miami’s decision will strongly influence our decision.’

Not exactly taking the high road. But Crouthamel was placing SU’s best interest first, and he did so with integrity and honesty.

Those two qualities have been harder to find than Waldo lately.

Start with the ACC. Dollar signs blinded this body of universities, prompting it to start the mess. Wanting to lure three teams to cash in on a conference championship, the ACC back-stabbed, drenched itself in questionable politics and cut back-room deals, all the while threatening the legitimacy of higher education in the name of cashing in.

The conference has twisted the term ‘college athletics’ closer and closer to an oxymoron for the past few weeks.

Yet, ACC president John Swofford, the man responsible for the institutions latest mud bath, had the gall to issue this statement Thursday as Miami mulled its decision:

‘President Donna Shalala’s dynamic leadership would be a tremendous plus to our conference. The University of Miami is a prestigious national institution that would mix well with the outstanding academic institutions that currently make up the ACC.’

This, of course, is a farce. Perhaps, had Swofford told the truth, the statement could have read something like this:

‘Coach Larry Coker’s football team would be a tremendous boost to our income. The University of Miami is a self-serving institution that would mix perfectly with the money-hungry athletic programs that currently make up the ACC.’

But then again, honesty isn’t exactly prevalent in this saga.

Exhibit A: Virginia Tech.

The Hokies, when expansion talk first heated up, ran to the ACC and begged to be included. After being turned away, they joined a lawsuit against the ACC, Miami and BC. Then the state of Virginia, not missing the chance to dirty its hands, applied political pressure where it had to and, voila! The Hokies received an invitation to the ACC.

Days later, Tech accepted. You could almost hear the Hokies throughout their turnabout.

How dare anyone try to leave the Big East! Whatever happened to loyalty? And honor?

Wait, you mean we can join? Where do we sign?

Because of Tech’s inclusion, Syracuse and the rest of the Big East have been left out in the cold. The Big East’s prospect of retaining its Bowl Championship Series bid without Miami and Tech stands on shakier ground than San Francisco.

With its current roster, blue jeans will go out of style before a Big East team competes for a national title. No BCS bid means recruiting will fall on hard times. Chances are, next year’s blue-chippers won’t be too fired up about aiming for the Crucial.com Humanitarian Bowl.

Of course, that can change. The Big East will now try to grab a team or two – probably Louisville and Marquette – and expand its conference.

Apparently, the pot has been calling the kettle black all along.

And do you really think the ACC is through with its poaching? The reason it started in the first place was to turn itself into a 12-team conference and reap the benefits from a conference championship football game. Now, with the ‘Canes and Hokies aboard, the ACC has 11 teams.

Unfortunately, you better wait to throw any dirt on this story. There’s more money to be had, and that will keep its head above ground, like it or not.

Published on June 30, 2003 at 12:00 pm