Florida State University joined the Atlantic Coast Conference Friday, one more crossover in the fitful shakeup of college conferences around the country. The Florida Board of Regents, meeting at Jacksonville, Fla., voted unanimously with no debate to authorize the move, making the Seminoles the ninth school in the prestigious athletic conference. The ACC, long a basketball power, had been looking to strengthen its football, and the addition of Florida State does just that. The Seminoles were ranked No. 2 last year in football and hold the same spot this season behind Notre Dame. However, because of scheduling commitments it will be at least five years before Florida State starts playing for the ACC football title. Basketball is expected to be incorporated sooner. The ACC extended the invitation Thursday, and Florida State President Bernard Sliger urged board approval. The athletic department called a news conference for Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla., to formally announce the decision. Florida State is the third major college to join a new conference this year. Penn State, a football independent and member of the Atlantic 10 in other sports, accepted an invitation last spring to join the Big Ten. Arkansas is jumping from the Southwest Conference to the Southeastern Conference, effective next summer. Florida State will now resign from the Metro Conference, which at one point sought to add football to its sports program but found little support. 'I regret the loss of a quality institution such as Florida State, which has been an outstanding member of the Metro Conference,' Metro Commissioner Ralph McFillen said.
'I wish them continued success.' With the ACC now at nine teams there is speculation another school will be added to make an even 10. Those thought to be in the running are Syracuse, Miami and Louisville. The SEC also has an odd number with 11 after adding Arkansas, and had been discussing the addition of Florida State. Now the conference is expected to invite South Carolina, with Miami another possibility. Boosting the conference to 12 would give it the option of breaking into two divisions and holding a postseason championship football game. The SEC presidents voted earlier in the day not to invite Florida State into their conference. 'It seemed to us that Florida State wasn't all that interested in becoming a member of the SEC,' said Dr. Roger Sayers, president at Alabama. 'We want schools who are eager to beome members of the SEC. Since no formal offer had been made, we decided to remove Florida State from further consideration for membership. It was a consensus.' Integration of Florida State's non-revenue sports into the ACC could come with the 1991-92 academic year. 'I think it's a terrific opportunity for us in terms of every aspect of athletics, in terms of how they view athletics and how we view athletics,' Sliger said. 'This is the fast lane and we would hope we can keep up.' Added Florida State Athletic Director Bob Goin: 'Obviously, we're flattered. We have said all along that the ACC is perhaps the most highly respected academic and athletic conference in the United States.' ACC Commissioner Gene Corrigan has been trying to bolster ACC football, which produced a national champion (Clemson) in 1982 but until recently has placed few teams among the football elite. 'This ought to send a powerful message that the ACC is doing everything it can to have competitive football,' Georgia Tech faculty representative Bill Sangster said. Six votes from the eight ACC members were required to invite the Seminoles. Duke, Maryland and Wake Forest were opposed to expansion, but late in the evening one changed its vote. Then the Seminoles were approved 8-0 during an 8 p.m. conference call. The other schools in the conference are Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia. 'The more we learned about (Florida State), the more we felt they were a natural fit,' Corrigan said. 'Their academic and athletic programs are nationally recognized and their addition would be a plus to our conference in every way.'
