How Does Syracuse and Pittsburgh's Move to ACC Affect Lacrosse?

First posted at In Lax We Trust

The NCAA world has been crazy these past few weeks. The Big 12 is almost done with Texas A&M moving to the SEC, and it looks like Texas wants to join the PAC 12, which is almost the PAC 200 now. While this is all mostly football and basketball talk, it could affect lacrosse. No, not these southern and west teams that look at you like you have two heads when you mention lacrosse. We are talking about the Big East, who look to be approaching death themselves.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse are looking to leave the Big East, and join the Athletic Coast Conference. The Big East has been involved in a slow death, losing Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College in 2004 and 2005. Syracuse and Pittsburgh have been looking for out ever since, and now looks like that shot.

The biggest question here is about how this will affect lacrosse. We take a look, after the jump.

This helps ACC lacrosse in the biggest way. A conference needs six teams to get an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Maryland, Duke, North Carolina and Virginia are the only ACC schools with varsity lacrosse teams. Syracuse, a lacrosse power house, makes that five. And six, along with seven possibly, may not be far behind.

Pittsburgh and Boston College play in the MCLA, but as ACC schools, there is a chance they might transfer to a varsity program. This is an easier process said than done, so let's not get ahead of ourselves with that. If that were to happen, however, there would not be six teams in the ACC, enough to qualify for the tournament.

Conferences are aiming for 16 teams now too, remember, so there is a good chance the ACC looks to add four more teams, likely from the Big East. Conferences like the Big East and Big 12, losing members, are obviously dying while conferences aggressively attacking teams will grow. Some Big East teams also looking to leave might be Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville and Georgetown. Georgetown is the big one that would affect lacrosse, so watch the ACC in lacrosse these coming years.