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GREENSBORO — The Atlantic Coast Conference already stretched from the beaches of south Florida to a harbor town in Massachusetts before it added Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the fold during the weekend.

So for all the talk of the changing landscape of college sports, the center of the grand old conference founded at Sedgefield Country Club is still right here.

In Greensboro.

More movement may yet come. It could happen soon. It could happen later. But whatever happens, the league headquarters  is still next door to Grandover Resort and the strength of the conference is still Tobacco Road.

With that in mind, here are a few points to ponder as this drama plays out.

Hoops first

When the ACC expanded from nine to 12 schools, it added athletics programs known primarily for football: Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech.

This move is about basketball. Sure, Pitt and Syracuse have produced big-time NFL stars. Legends such as Dan Marino and Jim Brown. Current All-Pros such as Larry Fitzgerald and Dwight Freeney.

But between them, the programs have just four winning records since 2005. Pitt is 43-31 in those years; Syracuse is 22-50.

Basketball is another story.

Pitt has been to the NCAA tournament all seven seasons under coach Jamie Dixon, reaching three Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight. Syracuse, meanwhile, has missed the NCAA tournament just three times since 1983, and under Jim Boeheim the Orange has been to three Final Fours and won the 2003 national championship.

ACC Tournament

With 14 teams, the format of the sacred ACC basketball tournament must change. The top two seeds could still receive first-round byes, but that adds two additional games to the format — and likely another day to the tournament.

And what about the Greensboro Coliseum? Home to the tournament more than any other venue in history, could it lose out to Madison Square Garden?

“We would be open to that as a part of the rotation,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Sunday. “We’ve had some very good experiences with our rotation.”

The rotation has taken the event to Washington, Atlanta and Tampa in recent years.

“We’ve never, ever taken for granted that we would have the tournament on a consistent basis,” Greensboro Coliseum manager Matt Brown said. “We understand the pressure the league is under from teams in other regions. ... We always expect competition, just as we expected it from the brand-new arena in Orlando (Fla.). We’re always trying to keep ourselves on our toes. That’s why we’re constantly making improvements to our venue.”

Brown said renovations have kept the coliseum competitive with newer arenas. And its 23,500 seating capacity coupled with its central location have helped bring the tournament here often.

“This is a very positive step for us in terms of hosting the tournament,” Brown said. “You’re adding two nationally prominent basketball programs and their fan bases — particularly Syracuse — and both of those would find it very easy to travel to Greensboro. And if those fans eat up their ticket allotments, it goes back to our capacity being an advantage over other venues.”

But Madison Square Garden isn’t just another venue.

“The tournament has predominantly been held in North Carolina over the years, and ... I’m sure will continue to be in the future,” Swofford said. “And with this 14-member conference, I don’t think there’s any question that taking a look at New York and Madison Square Garden would be very appealing.”

More ACC teams are now closer to the Garden, Swofford said, and “with that being the media center of the world, so to speak, we’d probably be remiss if we didn’t” consider playing there.

Greensboro can still compete, Brown said.

“I don’t think your traditional followers of local schools would find it appealing to go to New York in the month of March, where the weather can be unpredictable,” Brown said. “And don’t forget: The Big East isn’t dead yet, and that’s where they have their tournament. The remaining teams are still going to have a Big East tournament.”

Matter of time

Remember the last time the ACC took from the Big East? They remember in Miami and Blacksburg, Va. They certainly remember in Boston, a lame-duck for a long, full year.

The Big East’s exit clause calls for Pitt and Syracuse to pay $5 million apiece and provide 27 months’ notice.

Swofford said the ACC is prepared to wait more than two years if that’s what it takes. It likely won’t take nearly that long.

Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg wouldn’t “call it negotiation,” but he hinted the schools and Big East could accelerate the process.

“I would think that in the weeks ahead, everyone will be looking at the transition period and trying to determine whether the 27-month notice period really serves everyone’s best interests,” Nordenberg said, “or whether there ought to be some modification to it.”

Bottom line? It would be difficult to get it done before basketball season, especially since the ACC has already announced every current team’s schedule. But don’t be surprised if Pitt and Syracuse start the 2012-13 academic year in the ACC.

And when it happens, the ACC will need to figure out who plays whom and when.

“We will need to have further discussion about it,” Swofford said, “and frankly, we would not want to come to a conclusion on that without the full participation of Pitt and Syracuse in that discussion.”

TV contract

Just last summer, the ACC hammered out a new 12-year, $155 million TV contract with ESPN. The centerpiece was combined football and basketball rights, and the deal more than doubled the payout to each ACC member school.

And now? The TV rights could be worth even more money.

“By expanding by two schools, contractually we do have the opportunity to reopen those discussions with our current rights-holder,” Swofford said. “It does not allow us to go to the street with an open bid, but it does allow us to reopen our negotiations with ESPN. And we’re confident that will have a positive impact.”

Whatever the final impact, Swofford said the money will be split evenly.

“I would tell you that in the Atlantic Coast Conference, equal revenue sharing is sacred,” Swofford said. “That’s been a very important fundamental part of this league since the early 1980s, and I do not see that changing.”

Other athletics programs

The ACC gets more than football-playing, basketball powerhouses when it adds Pitt and Syracuse.

It gets the rest of their athletics programs, too — 17 men’s and women’s teams at Pitt, 18 at Syracuse.

It’s a mixed bag.

Syracuse, for instance, is a men’s lacrosse powerhouse. The Orange does not even field a baseball team but does have a women’s ice hockey program.

Pitt and Syracuse have played in the shadow of Connecticut women’s basketball with mixed results. The Panthers were under .500 last season after a run of five years of postseason tournament play. The Orange finished 24-10, but 9-7 in the Big East.

The men’s and women’s soccer teams at both schools all had losing records last season. Both volleyball teams were middle-of-the-pack in the Big East, while both softball teams finished in the top half of the league.

“Any time you jump in the size of your membership, one of the real challenges is how you handle scheduling,” Swofford said, “not only in basketball and football, but the Olympic sports, as well.”

How it’s done remains to be seen.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com