It's hardly going to be filed under the department of earth-shattering news but the Big East and Syracuse officially announced that the Orange would be leaving the Big East on July 1, 2013. Among the big three sports of football, men's basketball and women's basketball it figures to impact men's basketball the most considering that the UConn/Syracuse rivalry has become one of the very best in college athletics. “This closes a chapter and opens a new one filled with exciting possibilities for the Big East’s future," Big East interim commissioner Joe Bailey said in a statement. "With the recent addition of eight schools to the Big East, the future for the conference has never been brighter." Dr. Daryl Gross, the Syracuse AD also issued a statement: “We look forward to the new academic and athletic partnerships and the extraordinary competitive opportunities that membership in the ACC offers. We are excited about both our final season in the Big East and our long-term future with the ACC.” Now the biggest question is whether UConn will join Syracuse in bolting the Big East for the ACC. One of the reported stumbling blocks has been Boston College's resistance to UConn coming into the league. For what it's worth, when UConn was officially welcomed into Hockey East I asked UConn AD Warde Manuel whether BC and UConn both being a part of Hockey East is a signal that tensions between the schools have thawed. "The dialogue with BC is fine," Manuel said. The dialogue with (Boston College AD) Gene DeFilippo, he has been a great friend of mine for a long time, the dialogue is fine with UConn. Where it goes, it will be up to the conversations that Gene and I have. We have a good relationship with BC moving forward. I can't speak to the past but I know Gene and I in our conversations know that we want to be there and try to work things out."