With the apparent Pitt and Syracuse moves to the ACC, word is starting to trickle out from the Big East. There are some saying the move is definite and Louisville Cardinals athletic director Tom Jurich appears to be one of them.
And he doesn’t sound all that happy about it:
Jurich said he was surprised that the two teams are leaving, especially Pittsburgh because Pitt chancellor Mark Nordenberg is the guy who hired Marinatto and is also the leader who had the responsibility of looking out for the league’s future.
Jurich said he believed it was a done deal that the two schools were gone.
Jurich said he was not certain what Pitt brought to the ACC.
Let’s face it – this really came out of nowhere. Sure, we’ve heard a gaggle of rumors over the past few months – Pitt to the Big 12, Pitt to the ACC, Pitt staying put, Pitt to the B1G … but never anything that was ‘imminent.’
It’s expected that there are going to be bad feelings out of this. You could even make the argument that Pitt might be hated more than than the original defectors (Miami, Boston College, and Virginia Tech) because the Panthers were out in front of trying to save the conference. But in the end, Pitt, like every other school, has to do what’s best for themselves.