More members mean more money for ACC.

• Author: Roush, Chris
• Position: Sports Section - Atlantic Coast Conference

Mike Crittenden, 25, grew up in Maine and graduated in 2001 from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va. Yet one of his greatest thrills was attending the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament in Greensboro in 2002. "You could feel a different sort of spirit emanating from all the fans. Maybe it's rooted in the Southern traditions of the league--gentility mixed with rivalry. But whatever it is, it makes the ACC special."

It's people such as Crittenden--who lives in Rockville, Md., but is a fan of Boston teams--that the Greensboro-based ACC is courting with its recent growth, adding three schools to expand the conference's footprint from Boston to Miami. The ACC added the University of Miami and Virginia Tech July 1, boosting the conference to 11 teams. Boston College will join July 1, 2005.

More important, having 12 teams will allow the ACC to hold a championship football game in December 2005. The game will be a boon to the ACC--comparable contests in other conferences have generated $10 million, split among members--and the host city. Atlanta estimates that the 2003 Southeastern Conference championship game had a $29 million economic impact.

Associate ACC Commissioner Jeff Elliott and a group of athletic directors are reviewing pitches by cities to host the inaugural championship game. Charlotte is the only North Carolina city bidding, competing against Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, Fla., Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Elliott says the conference will base its choice on several factors, including stadium size. "And secondly, we're looking for this game to be a financial success, both in terms of ticket sales--the game either being sold out or a substantial commitment from the city--and from an image standpoint, that not only are tickets sold, but there are people in the seats." Elliott, who handles finance and administrative duties for the conference, declined to discuss specifics about the financial requirements that a host city would need to meet.

The ACC hopes to make its choice by early fall, giving the host city more than a year to prepare. Conference officials said in late July that they were likely to pick a permanent site rather than rotate the game among several cities.

But the football championship game isn't the only financial benefit of expansion. The new schools bring successful football programs and new television markets into the conference. That added clout will mean more money for athletic departments...