A Connecticut judge will hear preliminary arguments Thursday in the lawsuit filed by five Big East schools to stop three league members from defecting to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Lawyers on Monday said Connecticut Superior Court Judge Samuel Sferrazza, who sits in Vernon, will consider moving the lawsuit to the state's complex case division in Waterbury.

Vote could be on tap

The fifth conference call in recent weeks will take place Tuesday and, according to the New York Times, there is growing belief that a vote on the possible expansion of the Atlantic Coast Conference will take place this time. Duke AD Joe Alleva said in Friday's editions of the Winston-Salem Journal he would support the plan of Rutgers AD Robert Mulcahy, who proposed only Miami should leave the Big East for the ACC. "I would support adding Miami only,' Alleva said. "I think that would accomplish what the ACC wants to accomplish, improving the football situation while still allowing us to play a round-robin (basketball schedule). "The whole premise (of expansion) was to improve the football situation to give us a little better posture for TV contracts and a little more strength at the NCAA table. Adding Miami accomplishes all of that." The conference needs a 7-2 majority to approve any change. --ESPN.com news services

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Monday wrote the judge, saying he does not see any need to move the case, but is more concerned with how soon it can be heard.

He has asked for a speedy trial schedule, regardless of whether the case gets moved, and permission to take depositions immediately.

ACC lawyer D. Erik Albright said Waterbury appears to be the proper venue but, "We're willing to appear wherever the court tells us to appear.''

Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and West Virginia of the Big East filed the lawsuit June 6. They charged that Boston College and Miami have abandoned their financial duty to the conference and its members so they could make more money with the ACC.

It also accused the ACC of attempting to destroy the Big East as a contender in football by also grabbing Syracuse and putting the Big East at risk of losing its guaranteed berth in one of the four Bowl Championship Series games.

Rutgers athletic director Robert E. Mulcahy III said he hoped the dispute could be solved by a deal in which the ACC would get only Miami, one of the nation's premier football programs.

"We'd love to have Miami come back,'' Mulcahy told The Associated Press on Monday. "If they have to go, stop it at that and let our conference survive.

"It's time that this whole thing came to an end. Reasonable people should be able to sit down and come to a compromise without destroying a league,'' Mulcahy said.

His proposal was reported Monday in The Star-Ledger of Newark.

Also Monday, the attorneys general of New Jersey and Pennsylvania endorsed the lawsuit by the five Big East football schools.

However, the states have not decided whether to join the lawsuit or just file "friend of the court'' briefs.

Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey, and Pittsburgh, which receives much of its funding from Pennsylvania, could lose millions of dollars in revenue if the ACC adds schools, the attorneys general said.

"If this type of attempted cannibalization continues, college athletics will be tremendously affected,'' Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher said.

New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey said taxpayers could be forced to compensate for lost revenue if some Big East schools break their contracts and withdraw.

New Jersey also is considering whether to file its own lawsuit, Harvey said.

Albright said he was not concerned about the possible entry of New Jersey and Pennsylvania into the case.

"They can have as many attorneys as they want, it doesn't change the merits of their case. As we have stated before, plaintiffs' claims have no merit,'' Albright said.

The Big East's bylaws permit schools to leave, and set procedures and fees for doing so, he said.

Last week, the ACC added Virginia Tech to its possible expansion plan, a move that could force the school to choose between remaining as a plaintiff in the lawsuit or bowing out and accepting an invitation from the conference.

Expansion needs approval from seven of nine ACC presidents. Duke and North Carolina are believed to be against the plan. Adding Virginia Tech is thought to be a strategy to guarantee Virginia's vote for expansion.