NEW YORK —
Maryland is joining the Big Ten, leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference in a shocker of a move in the world of conference realignment that was driven by the school's budget woes.
The announcement came Monday at a news conference with school President Wallace D. Loh, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and athletic director Kevin Anderson.
"The membership of the Big Ten enables us to guarantee the financial sustainability of Maryland athletics for a long, long, long time," Loh said.
Loh added that Maryland athletics has been living "paycheck to paycheck." The school had eliminated seven sports programs earlier this year.
The director and I are absolutely committed to begin the process to reinstate some of the teams we had to terminate," Loh said.
Maryland will become the southernmost member of the Big Ten member starting in 2014.
"Really in the last year it's become so obvious that major conferences are expanding outside of their regions," Delany told the AP in an interview before Maryland's news conference on campus in College Park. "You have multiple major conferences all in multiple regions.
"It seemed to us that there was a paradigm shift occurring around us. And therefore the question is how do you respond to that in a way that stay true to yourself, but is also only responsive not to the world you want but the world that you live in."
Rutgers is expected follow suit by Tuesday, splitting from the Big East and making it an even 14 schools in the Big Ten, though Delany would not confirm that.
The Terrapins were a charter member of the ACC, which was founded in 1953.
"Our best wishes are extended to all of the people associated with the University of Maryland," ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. "Since our inception, they have been an outstanding member of our conference and we are sorry to see them exit. For the past 60 years the Atlantic Coast Conference has exhibited leadership in academics and athletics. This is our foundation and we look forward to building on it as we move forward."
For both schools, the move should come with long-term financial gain. The Big Ten reportedly paid its members $24.6 million in shared television and media rights revenues this year.
There will be some financial matters to resolve in the short term though. After the ACC added Notre Dame as a member in all sports but football and hockey in September, the league voted to raise the exit fee to $50 million. Maryland was one of two schools that voted against the increased exit fee.
Local Sports
Maryland to join Big Ten in 2014
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Tattnall Square tops Tiftarea, 6-2
Ernie Banks used to say, "let's play two." In a game that was as long as two and was defined early on by errors and later by a pitching duel, it would be offense that propelled the Tattnall Square Trojans past the Tiftarea Academy Panthers, 6-2 in 14 innings. Tattnall, who won the first game of the series, 4-1 before dropping game two, 6-3, will meet Mount de Sales in the Class AAA semifinals next week.
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Loop the Lake coming June 1
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Tiftarea-Tattnall split
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Tiftarea hosts defending state champs
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First inning dooms Devils
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TCHS spring football game Friday
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Late magic forces another game three
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GHSA girls state track results
The girls state track competition was held last weekend at Albany's Hugh Mills Stadium and several area athletes participated in events.
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Quarterfinals has Devils on the road again
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