ACC expands to 15 teams on official realignment day

New York • The Atlantic Coast Conference is now a 15-team league — and it might just stay that way for a while.

After Commissioner John Swofford welcomed Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame to the ACC at a news conference at the NASDAQ stock exchange in Manhattan, he said that further expansion isn't on the agenda.

"It's not a topic of conversation for us right now," he said. "I would not anticipate it being in the future, but we'll see. I don't predict the future much anymore, I've learned better. But it's not something that's on the table for discussion in our league right now."

Swofford was joined at the news conference by Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher, Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey, Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim and former Pittsburgh great and now Arizona Cardinals star receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The group then took part in a closing bell ceremony at the stock market.

The ACC does have one more lineup change scheduled for next year, when Maryland leaves for the Big Ten and Louisville joins.

The Cardinals were picked to replace the Terrapins ahead of Cincinnati and Connecticut. Both of those schools lobbied the ACC to be next out of the Big East and both remain in the newly renamed American Athletic Conference.

Realignment of several other leagues also become official on Monday.

The Mountain West added Utah State and San Jose State from the Western Athletic Conference, which is now out of the football business.

The new Big East is up and running. The basketball-centric league was created by old Big East members Villanova, Georgetown, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall, Marquette and DePaul. Joining them on Monday was Butler, Xavier and Creighton.