ACC Presidents Vote to Add Louisville as Member The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday that its presidents and chancellors unanimously voted to add Louisville as the replacement for Maryland. ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Louisville was the best fit for the league following Maryland's announcement last week that it would join the Big Ten in 2014. "When you look at Louisville, you see a university and an athletic program that has all the arrows pointed up - a tremendous uptick there, tremendous energy," Swofford said on a teleconference. It's always an overall fit in every respect and I think that's what we found. Louisville is the fourth school in 15 months and seventh in the past decade to leave the Big East for the ACC. Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced their move in September 2011 and will join the league next year, while Notre Dame said two months ago that it would eventually join in all conference sports except football. Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich said it was hard not to worry about constantly shifting conference alignments and whether the school might be left out when everything finally settles. Louisville was a candidate to join the Big 12 last year before that league took West Virginia. Louisville coach Charlie Strong directs his team against Connecticut during an NCAA college football game in Louisville, Ky., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. UConn 23-20 in triple overtime. (AP Photo/Garry Jones) Close "We wanted to make sure all our opportunities were looked at," Jurich said. But having the opportunity to go into the ACC is I think second to none, especially for our community around here. ... I can just tell you from our standpoint, we couldn't be in a better fit. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that ACC leaders also considered Connecticut and Cincinnati over the past week before the vote to add Louisville during a conference call Wednesday morning. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the ACC hasn't released details of the expansion discussions. Politicians around Kentucky cheered the move. Louisville mayor Greg Fischer issued a statement calling the ACC's decision "a fantastic development for the university, the city and the state." U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement the move was a credit to Jurich's leadership of the athletic department. Swofford said that would have to be worked out between the school and the Big East. He also said the league is comfortable staying at 14 full members with the addition of Louisville. The Big East has a 27-month notification period for any member that wants to leave. The Big East has shown a willingness to negotiate, as it did with Pittsburgh and Syracuse, who paid $7.5 million each to get out early when the exit fee was $5 million. The Big East has since increased that fee to $10 million. In a statement, Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco wished Louisville well and said the league's additions are important for its future. "We are committed to a vibrant and dynamic future for the Big East Conference," Aresco said.