CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) – Miami will consider counterproposals from the Big East Conference before deciding whether to accept an offer to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

After meeting for more than an hour with the university’s 19-member executive committee of its board of trustees Thursday, school president Donna Shalala said an expected vote was not taken.

“The Big East has informally sent a proposal, or at least a list of proposals, to us and we feel a responsibility to review them,” said Shalala, adding she was not ruling out any possibility, including remaining in the Big East.

She said a final decision will be announced Monday – the day Miami must inform Big East officials if they decide to join the ACC or risk doubling a penalty fee for leaving to $2 million.

Rev. William Leahy, Boston College’s president, spoke with Shalala on Wednesday night. “I think she is generally torn about what to do,” he said.

Boston College, along with Syracuse, was wooed and then spurned by the ACC.

“That’s exciting that they have not decided anything yet,” BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo said.

“I hope they will feel that remaining in the Big East Conference is in their best interest.”

Earlier in the expansion process, the Big East had guaranteed Miami $45 million over five years to remain in their conference.

For the past six weeks, ACC presidents have been wrangling over several scenarios to muster enough votes for an expansion that would add Miami – and its powerhouse football program – to the conference.

Miami could join the ACC as early as the 2004-05 academic year if it accepts.

Along with Virginia Tech, Miami was invited this week to create an 11-member ACC. The Virginia Tech invitation was surprising because Miami, Boston College and Syracuse were the schools the ACC had been pursuing to form a 12-team league and hold a conference championship game in football.

“I am deeply disappointed that Boston College and Syracuse were not invited by the ACC,” said Shalala, who said she would not ask the ACC to reconsider inviting those two schools.

Virginia Tech officials have indicated they will accept the ACC’s invitation, meaning the Big East will likely have just one more season with both of its top football draws as members. Miami won the 2001 national title and played in the championship game again after the 2002 season, and Virginia Tech played for the 1999 national title.

In Connecticut, where a lawsuit filed by four schools accuses the ACC of conspiring to wreck the Big East, Boston College was dropped as a defendant and Virginia Tech left the list of plaintiffs.

Judge Samuel J. Sferrazza on Thursday rejected a defense attempt to move the lawsuit out of Tolland County, which is home to UConn.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the shifting legal lineup might play to the advantage of the plaintiffs – UConn, Rutgers, West Virginia and Pittsburgh – because BC could “shed light on some of the secret, back-room discussions in this continuing conspiracy.”

Leahy said BC won’t be joining the suit. “I think it’s a waste of time and money,” he said.

“I’m not surprised we were sued,” Shalala said. “Who sued us surprised me.”

Originally, Miami and Boston College were the defendants in the case, and Virginia Tech was among the plaintiffs.

But that changed when the ACC decided against inviting Boston College. Boston College was dropped as a defendant and Virginia Tech has excused itself as a plaintiff.

Syracuse was never a defendant because Big East attorneys contended that only Boston College and Miami were engaged in secret discussions to ruin their conference.

The ACC was projecting future revenues based on the league becoming a 12-team conference, one that could gross $12 million or more with a football title game.

Shalala said Miami still had to evaluate what a two-team addition to the ACC would mean financially for Miami. With only 11 teams, the ACC could not add the lucrative title game unless granted a waiver by the NCAA.

“We had done numbers on Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami, we had done numbers on Miami alone, but we had not anticipated that Virginia Tech and Miami would be the only two invitees,” Shalala said.

Miami joined the Big East in October 1990 after previously playing as an independent. The Big East football conference was formed five months later.

AP-ES-06-26-03 1853EDT