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The Big East has seen no shortage of defectors in the past year, and Cincinnati doesn't want to get left behind as the conference loses its status as a major conference power. The school is looking to expand and improve its football stadium, and it made sure to let ACC presidents know over the holiday. Cincinnati sent Christmas cards and details of the stadium renovation to each of the schools in the ACC, according to Cliff Peale of Cincinnati.com.
As Peale details, the renovations are expected to cost around $75 million and will add 1,200 box seats, 44 loge boxes, and 28 private suites. Those are the types of seats that often pull in as much revenue as the rest of the stadium combined. Completion of the project is expected to come just before the 2015 season. CBS Sports obtained a copy of the cards sent out to ACC presidents.
The Bearcats would receive a much larger television payday and receive better national recognition overall in the ACC, and that is not lost on its leaders. The Big East has lost its top football schools, and the basketball-only powers have bolted as well. Cincinnati would be left to compete in a league that may be just a small step above another conference in their region, the MAC.
The addition of Cincinnati to the ACC would bring the 34th-largest television market in the United States with just under a million people, according to TV by the Numbers.