Just remember Pitt, nothing stupid in 347 days. Keep it simple.

Not much new since last night. A few more comments. Another press release.

Here’s the statement from the ACC.

“Today’s announcement that Pitt will be joining the ACC on July 1, 2013 is terrific one. It’s exciting to know that both Pitt and Syracuse will become playing members in the ACC starting with the 2013-14 academic year. I’m pleased that both schools were able to finalize agreements with the Big East. The ACC has long enjoyed a rich tradition of balancing academics and athletics and the addition of Pitt and Syracuse further strengthens this conference. Throughout this past year, we’ve been preparing to welcome both teams into our membership and we look forward to the future of the ACC with these two schools as prominent members.”

It’s nice to have it official. But everyone knew this was coming.

Negotiations for Pitt’s (and Syracuse’s) early departure came to an abrupt halt shortly before Marinatto was forced out as Big East Commissioner in May. Since Pitt was no longer privy to what the members and conference leadership were doing, they did not know why negotiations went dead. Less than a week after Marinatto’s forced resignation, Pitt had filed its lawsuit in Allegheny County. That seemed to get things moving once more.

“We can be reasonably certain the lawsuit became the catalyst for bringing this to a conclusion,” he said. “In the end, everybody benefited in the process. That helped get the conversation moving in a positive direction, and it was our hope all along to reach an agreement like this.”

I would have preferred Pitt not to have had to file a lawsuit, but it did keep the Big East from letting the matter fester any longer. The fact that Pitt put up little fight to prevent the removal of the case to federal court — unlike the way the Big East and WVU fought hard over venue and with dueling lawsuits — was telling in Pitt’s motives for the suit.

And with Syracuse reaching a reasonable compromise and the Big East Media Day coming very soon, there was little reason to keep haggling over the final numbers.

“It just made sense,” Pederson said. “We already were going to be in the Big East for two seasons after we made the decision to leave. It was just time to move forward. Certainly, other schools have paid more to exit their conferences earlier. We’re satisfied where we ended up.”

West Virginia paid $20 million to leave the Big East immediately. The Big 12, the Mountaineers’ new conference, is paying part of that fee. The additional $2.5 million Pitt will pay is expected to be generated from the revenue made from moving to the ACC.

Pitt stands to make $17 million per year under the terms of the ACC’s new television deal, which is a significant upgrade from the university’s current revenue in the Big East.

“It’s an exciting day in so many ways for this university and athletic department,” Pederson said. “We have a certain road map for the future. That was important. We’re going to make sure this final season in the Big East is special because it’s the final season for our seniors, and we want all of them to have great final seasons. But we’re also looking forward to moving ahead in the ACC.”

Pederson said now that Pitt and Syracuse are officially in the ACC for 2013, the conference can begin to work on scheduling and long-term planning.

Not to mention making it easier for the coaches to recruit and coaxing some more season ticket sales for this year with the lure of next.

There will be some who will complain that Pitt should have gotten a better price than Syracuse because Pitt lost two marquee home games — and had to cancel a non-con — because of the Big East losing TCU and WVU without any waiting period. At the same time, it was Pitt and Syracuse who announced they were leaving for the ACC first. Chicken-egg arguments all-around.

In the end Pitt will be in the ACC starting July 1, 2013. Let’s make this final year in the Big East a good one.