2005 NCAA conference realignment

In 2003 the Big East was put on watch as the ACC announced plans to expand from nine teams to twelve, which under NCAA rules would have enabled them to hold a special conference championship football game.

Led by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the football schools that would be left behind under this initial plan — UConn, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia — filed two lawsuits, one against the ACC, and the other against Miami and BC, accusing them of improper disclosure of confidential information and of conspiring to weaken the Big East.

Leaked minutes of Big East meetings have shed light on the confusing process surrounding the defection of three of its members.

In response to a proposal for the establishment of a binding agreement, the six schools agreed to a $5 million exit fee and 27-month notice requirement.

Meanwhile, the Big East presidents agreed to meet with and possibly extend invitations to Penn State and Notre Dame.

In the course of those meetings, it was realized that the break-up scenario would not be feasible because the new football conference would lose its automatic NCAA basketball tournament berth and possibly its BCS bid, as well as the Big East name.

At a Big East meeting in Newark, New Jersey on October 1, 2003 after a discussion of Notre Dame's concerns for stability, BC president Rev.

Leahy conceded that BC might indeed be leaving the conference, and he would determine how genuine the ACC's reported interest in having any school as a 12th member.

At the same time, the UConn Huskies completed their leap to Division I-A football and became a full member of the conference in 2004, resulting in their first-ever bowl bid.

Their issues went unresolved, leading to Miami's interest in the ACC — a league that had been pursuing the college football superpower since the mid-1990s, at the request of football-oriented Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Virginia.

Things became even more surprising when, reached by phone at a conference in Switzerland, then-N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox cast a last-minute "no" vote against BC.

Virginia Tech immediately accepted the invitation and filed court papers to get themselves out of the awkward position of suing their new conference.

Another two schools (Charlotte and Saint Louis) left for the Atlantic 10; TCU joined the Mountain West; and a ninth member, Army, which was C-USA football-only, opted to become an independent in that sport again.

With C-USA's membership now consisting of 12 schools, all of which sponsored football, the conference adopted a two-division alignment, which it maintains to this day.

In response, the Western Athletic Conference added three more universities (all land-grant schools), with two from the Big West (playing football in the Sun Belt — Idaho and Utah State).

The Big East's last national championship came in 2001, when future ACC member Miami beat Nebraska in the 2002 Rose Bowl.

While Notre Dame's football program retained nominal independence, the agreement included a commitment by the Fighting Irish to field five games per year against ACC opponents in future schedules.

[10] Pittsburgh, Miami, Boston College, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech all have traditional rivalries with Notre Dame (especially Pittsburgh and like-minded Boston College), although Notre Dame was forced to put its rivalry with Big Ten powerhouse Michigan on hold after 2014 due to the move.

The "Catholic 7" retained the Big East name, and the FBS schools adopted the American Athletic Conference moniker.

Cincinnati, another American member, boasted a stronger academic profile and though failed to receive an ACC membership did eventually acquire an invitation to join the Big 12 in 2021.