GREENSBORO, N.C. -- No vote will be taken on ACC expansion until at least next week after the league's school presidents and chancellors failed to reach a consensus on the plan in five hours of talks over two days.

Report: FSU's threat to depart ACC sparked expansion effort

Florida State's chancellor challenged ACC commissioner John Swofford two years ago to add Miami to the conference or risk losing the Seminoles, according to a report in Thursday's Charlotte Observer. Although Florida State has changed chancellors since 2001, the revelation of that threat by Sandy D'Alemberte -- which the Observer confirmed Wednesday by four "industry sources" -- might have muddled the ACC's stalled expansion effort. No vote was taken on ACC expansion Wednesday night and one isn't expected until at least next week. On Wednesday, the league's school presidents and chancellors failed to reach a consensus on the plan. Swofford said after a 2½-hour teleconference Wednesday night that a few schools still had concerns over student welfare, but he added that the lack of a vote wasn't a sign the plan to add Miami, Syracuse and Boston College of the Big East to the nine-team ACC was falling apart. One high-ranking ACC official told the Observer that a Florida State defection was "unlikely." Seven of the nine ACC schools must vote in favor of expansion in order for the plan to pass, but the Observer reported Duke, North Carolina and Virginia remained opposed through Wednesday's conference call. It was the hope of Swofford that formal invitations to Miami, BC and Syracuse would have gone out Wednesday. Should Florida State leave the ACC, the newspaper reported, it would have options. In one scenario, the Big 12 would jettison Baylor, Arkansas would move from the SEC to the Big 12 and Florida State would join the SEC. The Big East would be another possibility for the Seminoles, according to the report. -- ESPN.com news services

Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford said after the 2½-hour teleconference Wednesday night a few schools still had concerns over student welfare. However, he said the lack of a vote wasn't a sign the plan to add Miami, Syracuse and Boston College of the Big East to the nine-team league was falling apart.

"When you talk about minor or small things that's in the eye of the beholder," Swofford said of divisional alignment or travel costs, two concerns of Duke and North Carolina. "Certain things are more important to some presidents than they are to other presidents.

"We've never put a time frame on when we would be voting other than to say that's up to the presidents when they reach that point."

Swofford said another conference call involving himself and the ACC leadership would be no sooner than early next week.

"There are some things they want to think about that we talked through today in regard to some details," he said. "I don't think it's a step backward in the process."

The three Big East schools have to pay a $1 million exit fee. If they leave after June 30, that figure doubles.

"The only thing that we've ever said about the end of the process is we felt like it would be completed by the end of this month," Swofford said when pressed on a timetable. "There seemed to be some expectation coming back from the site visits that there would be an immediate vote. Those were outside expectations, not internal expectations."

Site visits to Miami, Syracuse and Boston College by ACC leaders were completed last week.

The presidents of the three Big East schools participated in Tuesday's conference call, but did not on Wednesday, Swofford said.

Earlier Wednesday, Big East presidents sent letters to their ACC counterparts seeking a meeting about their expansion plans and urging them not to "rush to judgment."

The Big East schools want to know more about the plans to invite the three schools so the presidents asked Clemson's James Barker, the chair of the ACC presidents, to arrange the meeting.

"We feel quite certain that no ACC president or chancellor would want to rush to judgment on such a potentially harmful plan without having complete information, and we believe we have insights to share that could not be effectively communicated by anyone else," the Big East presidents wrote in the letter obtained first by The Associated Press.

ACC leaders received the letter just hours before they held the second teleconference and Swofford said the letter was not discussed in the call.

"We are now requesting that you work with us to arrange for a discussion," the letter said. "We do so respectfully and in the spirit of collegiality and open communication that has long been one of the hallmarks of American higher education."

The letter is the next step in the Big East's attempt to stop the ACC expansion plan, which would take it from nine to 12 teams and strip the Big East of three of its core football schools.

Last Friday, the five football schools that would be left behind -- Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Rutgers -- sued the ACC, Miami and BC, seeking millions in damages and an injunction against expansion.

The letter, from the presidents of the five schools, was the latest indication that the Big East is still interested in resolving the matter without going to court. On Tuesday, Big East presidents held a conference call with media in which they urged the NCAA or another impartial party to mediate.

Attorneys for the Big East contacted Swofford and the presidents and athletic directors of the ACC schools, along with Miami, Boston College and Syracuse, notifying them that they wanted to take their depositions for the lawsuit.

Also Wednesday, the attorney general for Connecticut, where the lawsuit was filed, sent a letter to lawyers for the ACC, Miami and Boston College demanding they turn over a variety of documents and memos related to any communication among the schools and conference regarding the expansion.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he initially made the request on Monday but got no response. He said he will bring further legal action if he does not hear from the defendants' attorneys by noon Thursday.