Florida State and Miami will continue to meet annually in an expanded Atlantic Coast Conference, but the Seminoles can say goodbye to traditional league rival Georgia Tech in the regular season for the next two years.
As for the other new member, powerhouse Virginia Tech, the Seminoles won't see the Hokies in that span either unless the ACC is allowed to stage a championship game with fewer than the now-required 12 teams and both teams get there.
That is the cost of doing business in an 11-team league, which eliminates the opportunity for round-robin play.
"I'm pleased with the results," said athletic director Dave Hart after Wednesday's announcement of the ACC's framework for schedules in 2004-05 and 2005-06 and a possible divisional setup. "I would have preferred to keep playing Georgia Tech, but you can't have it all. Everybody had to give up something to make this happen."
Though the Yellow Jackets have not beaten FSU since the Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992, the teams have had some memorable games. Charlie Ward, after briefly being benched in the game at Atlanta in 1992, rallied the Seminoles from a 14-point deficit to a 29-24 win. In 1999, Chris Weinke outdueled Joe Hamilton in a 41-35 win. And on Sept.13 of this year, Chris Rix led FSU to two fourth-quarter touchdowns for a 14-13 win.
But the Seminoles had been adamant about preserving an annual game with Miami.
"All along from the inception, that's what we requested and wanted," Hart said. "I felt it was important to play them as far as building the rivalry and from a national televison perspective."
During meetings in Charlottesville, Va., on Tuesday and Wednesday, the league's athletic directors, faculty representatives and senior women administrators agreed that each school, with the exception of Virginia Tech, would have one primary scheduling partner for football.
The five sets of partners form the basis for the schedule and a future divisional split: FSU, Clemson, North Carolina State, Wake Forest and Maryland would form one group with their respective partners, Miami, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Duke and Virginia the other. Each team will play the other four in its group and four in the second group.
For scheduling purposes, Virginia Tech is in Miami's group and likely would be paired with the 12th school assuming a 12th school is placed in FSU's group.
"What we've created is ready-made to support an additional member very simplistically," Hart said. "After two years, we'll see who we are and what we are and what has transpired."
In men's basketball, the ACC will maintain a 16-game regular season. Each team will have two primary partners (FSU's are Miami and Clemson), which it will play home and away. It will play every team at least once. The women will play 14 league games and have four primary partners. There will be no divisional setup for basketball.
UCF INVITATION: The Mid-American Conference gave Central Florida an invitation for full membership beginning next season, conditional upon the Big East's plans to expand by wooing other MAC schools.
The Golden Knights joined the MAC as a football-only member last season after the team spent its first 23 years as an independent. The remainder of the school's 17 teams compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference, except for rowing, which is independent.
The Big East, looking to stem the damage from losing Miami and Virginia Tech to the ACC, is considering several schools for admission, including MAC football power Marshall.
Athletic director Steve Orsini said UCF is considering the offer.
"We have a great deal of respect for the institutions in the MAC and have already reaped great benefits from our short affiliation as a football member in the conference," he said.
If UCF joins the MAC, it would be admitted into the East Division with Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, Marshall, Miami (Ohio) and Ohio.
The Knights would compete in a full regular-season schedule with eligibility for MAC championships, the league's football bowl bids and its automatic NCAA tournament bids in women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball.
TENNESSEE: Reserve center Chuck Prugh remained hospitalized in Knoxville in critical condition for a fifth day. Prugh has been in intensive care since Saturday. Hospital officials said his condition remained critical. Team officials have not said whether doctors have diagnosed Prugh's illness. They suspected he has a virus but they don't think he is contagious. Prugh transferred in 2000 from Carson-Newman as a walk-on and moved up the depth chart this season to be starter Scott Wells' backup.
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.
