Regardless of what Miami decided on Monday, Virginia Tech accepted the ACC's invitation last week and will officially become the 10th member of the league at a news conference Tuesday at the ACC headquarters in Greensboro, N.C.

Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver confirmed to ESPN.com's Andy Katz that the Hokies accepted the bid to the ACC.

Is 12 Enough?

According to a report in the (Raleigh) News & Observer, the ACC will look for a change in the 12-team rule, regardless of whether Miami joins the league or not. The newspaper reported Saturday the conference wants a change to the NCAA requirement that a conference have at least 12 teams to hold a football championship game. "I feel sure that we will be making that request," ACC commissioner John Swofford told the newspaper. "How much support it will get, we'll have to wait and see. But whether we're 10 or 11 moving forward, we would be interested in getting that on the legislative docket." -- ESPN.com news services

"Virginia Tech isn't doing anything but going to the ACC,'' Weaver said. "Whether the actual agreement has been signed (as of late Friday) is a matter of semantics. There is no turning back. If it wasn't signed by the end of the day Friday, then it will be by Monday.

"We have no problems,'' Weaver said.

The AP reported on Monday that Miami accepted its inviatation after pondering counterproposals from the Big East. The ACC hopes to announce both schools by Tuesday's news conference.

University president Charles M. Steger wrote an open letter to alumni confirming Virginia Tech's plans.

Calling the ACC "an organization of some of the nations most prestigious universities,'' Steger explained Tech's position throughout the ACC's six-week expansion process many have likened to a soap opera.

"We know that this affiliation will be good for our students, athletes, fans, and communities for many years to come,'' he concluded in the letter, which was made available to media covering the Hokies.

The letter detailed the school's actions throughout the process, with Steger telling alumni that he notified the Big East of the ACC's offer to begin discussions about joining last Tuesday night, the same night the offer was extended, and knows that Tech will be criticized for fighting both for the Big East and for inclusion in the ACC at the same time.

"At the end of the day, many will disagree with our decisions. They of course are free to do so,'' Steger wrote. "However, we have dealt as best we can with a very complex changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics to the best of our ability in difficult times."

Miami and Virginia Tech must inform Big East officials by Monday if they decide to join the ACC, obligating each to pay a $1 million exit fee. If they wait until after Monday to leave, the fee doubles.

"We're not tied to each other, we've been told,'' Miami president Donna Shalala said, echoing what Steger said he understood on the day the invitation first came.

ACC associate commissioner Mike Finn told ESPN.com that the invitation to Virginia Tech was not tied to Miami. If the Hurricanes had turned the ACC down and remained in the Big East, the ACC would have only add Virginia Tech, a school that wasn't part of the original expansion plan.

Finn told Katz that the year of expansion -- either 2004-05 or 2005-06 -- hasn't been decided. But Weaver said it was his understanding that the Hokies would join the ACC in 2004-05, meaning their three-year run in the Big East in basketball would end after the 2003-04 season.

Big East officials said Friday they haven't received official word from Virginia Tech on its decision. But Weaver said the letter has been drafted to the Big East and he reviewed it Friday. He said it will be in the hands of Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese by Monday.

"There is no turning back on our end,'' Weaver said. "This was supposed to be all over by (Friday) but the legal documents need to be finished.''

Weaver said he hasn't spoken to Miami athletic director Paul Dee since the Big East meetings last month in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

"This is a very good move for Virginia Tech,'' Weaver said. "This university is in the geographical footprint of the ACC. This is something this university has had its sights set on for a long, long time. I'm very delighted for this university and for its alumni.''

The ACC originally invited Miami, Syracuse and Boston College for a 12-team conference. The league went on formal site visits to all three schools, but after a number of conference calls, the ACC failed to reach a consensus on 12 schools.

Last week, the league decided to invite Virginia Tech and Miami as a compromise to get Virginia's swing vote. Virginia was under considerable pressure within the state to endorse Virginia Tech. The vote for expansion was approved by a 7-2 margin with Duke and North Carolina voting against the move.

ACC officials visited Virginia Tech last week to complete the formal part of the invitation process.

Information from the Associated Press and ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz was used in this report.