At the Atlantic Coast Conference's annual men's basketball media day, commissioner John Swofford announced plans to expand its conference tournament to five days, reports David Teel of the Daily Press. The extra day would coincide with the arrival of the Pittsburgh Panthers and Syracuse Orange to the conference, likely in 2014. Last month, those clubs, currently of the Big East, received approval to join the ACC.
The idea behind expanding the tournament, Swofford says, is to allow each member school to participate. Teel has the full quote:
"I think the sense of the group is ... it is important that all 14 (teams) be there" at ACC tournament.
Were Swofford to keep the tournament at four days, two schools would not be able to qualify for it.
Also of note: the ACC is unlikely to expand after Pittsburgh and Syracuse arrive. "We're settled on 14," the commissioner said. "We plan on being 14." But if the ACC does decide to grow again, it will only accept applicants who wish to join in every sport.