The Atlantic Coast Conference, almost desperate as it tries to push through a three-school expansion plan that was once thought to be a foregone conclusion, might consider adding only Miami in a vote that is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.

The ACC will vote on adding each of the three Big East schools up for consideration -- Miami, Syracuse, and Boston College -- but may settle for expanding only with Miami. The ACC needs seven "yes" votes from its membership of nine to add a school, and a vote in favor of Miami is expected to pass. Adding the Hurricanes would not crush the Big East, a charge that concerns ACC presidents in light of a lawsuit filed last week by Big East football schools Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The ACC failed to reach a consensus on expansion in five hours of talks over two days last week.

The three Big East schools would have to pay a $1 million exit fee if they left for the ACC. The figure would double if they don't notify the Big East by June 30 and want to leave for the 2004-05 season. If they want to leave for the 2005-06 season, they have until June 30, 2004 to notify the conference and pay the $1 million fee.

Recent reports claiming the ACC would add only Miami in a first wave of expansion are not unfounded. The conference could easily expand to 10 without an uproar from its members. From a basketball standpoint, adding Miami and maintaining a true round-robin schedule of 18 conference games would be acceptable, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski told ESPN.com last month. And the addition of Miami in football would only enhance the ACC's product by giving it two national powers in the Hurricanes and rival Florida State.

The Big East is unlikely to balk at losing only one school, as opposed to three, because it would likely replace Miami with Louisville of Conference USA. The Big East would retain its spot in the Bowl Championship Series; in this scenario, Virginia Tech is the most prominent of its eight football teams. For basketball, a Miami-for-Louisville swap would actually make the Big East a better conference and even more attractive to television networks in the next negotiating period.

The ACC might petition the NCAA to hold a championship football game with 10 teams instead of the required 12, but this would be done not for competitive reasons but if a potential financial windfall presents itself. Splitting the league into two five-team divisions for football might not make as much sense. The ACC would definitely stay a 10-team conference in men's basketball in one linear division. Even if the ACC expanded to 12, basketball coaches would like to see a 12-team whole -- like the Big 12 -- and not two six-team divisions. Scheduling might mirror a football divisional schedule like the Big 12 but the standings would not show divisions.

If the ACC added only Miami for the 2004-05 season, then it could revisit expansion in the next year if it wanted to grow to 12. Sources told ESPN.com that it would be more difficult for Miami to return to the Big East because of the lawsuit and criticism leveled by Big East presidents toward Miami president Donna Shalala. Boston College would be in a precarious position by remaining in the league that sued it, but the Eagles might not have a choice. Syracuse wasn't named in the lawsuit but was ready to accept an invitation to join the ACC out of what was termed a necessity to follow Miami.

Seven of the nine ACC schools must vote in favor of expansion in order for the plan to pass, but the Charlotte Observer reported last Thursday that Duke, North Carolina and Virginia were opposed as late as last week's conference call. It was the hope of ACC commissioner John Swofford that formal invitations to Miami, BC and Syracuse would have gone out last Wednesday.

Sources have told ESPN.com that the ACC is working extremely hard at swinging the vote of North Carolina. Swofford, the former athletic director at UNC, faces a much more difficult task in trying to convince Duke to change its anti-expansion vote. The Blue Devils perennially are one of the worst football teams in Division I-A and adding the likes of Miami, BC, and Syracuse would make competing in the ACC even more daunting for Duke.

The Tar Heels have been nationally ranked in the past and might be more receptive to expansion. Also, North Carolina's faculty came out against expansion, in large part because it wasn't consulted. That's why university president James Moeser and athletic director Dick Baddour met with the faculty last week to discuss the expansion plan. If the university can convince the faculty to go along with expansion, there could be hope for a "yes" vote.

Trying to sway Virginia to vote "yes" could be much more challenging. The Cavaliers are under extreme in-state political pressure because of the damage that could come from leaving Virginia Tech out of expansion. But a number of sources have said the Cavaliers would rather not have Virginia Tech in the same conference because of recruiting advantages (mainly in basketball) that Virginia has over Tech as an ACC school.

The five remaining Big East football schools -- UConn, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia and Virginia Tech -- filed a lawsuit to try to block expansion. The schools have accused the ACC, Boston College and Miami of taking part in a conspiracy to expand and ultimately weaken the Big East. The lawsuit contends the five schools have invested millions of dollars in their football programs based on presumed loyalty from the other schools.

Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.