Several months ago, a reader sent me an unsubstantiated report that Maryland was leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference and headed to the Big Ten. I dismissed it as Internet gossip.  Before the day was out, the report began to draw substantial credibility and, as is well known, Maryland is headed for the Big Ten.

Yesterday and today there were stories on the Internet -- not from mainstream sites -- about another such rumor, which I’d ordinarily dismiss, if it were not for what happened with Maryland. This one has North Carolina with an invitation to join the Big Ten. If it accepts, another ACC team -- Georgia Tech or Virginia -- will join them.

Preposterous? Yes!  Possible? Also yes.

In the crazy world of conference jumping, nothing should be dismissed. All of these conferences are headed toward 16 teams. It’s just a case of which moves first. It could well be the Big Ten, which soon will have 14 members.

This is newsworthy in Pittsburgh because of how it would impact Pitt. In the musical-chairs game of conference jumping, the Panthers one-time safe landing in the ACC might no longer be so safe.

If a rock-solid core member of the ACC like North Carolina jumps, all bets are off.  If the ACC shows itself to be vulnerable -- and the loss of UNC would do just that -- the league could become the easy prey the Big East once was. The Big 12, sensing the move toward super conferences, could issue invitations to -- say, Florida State and Virginia Tech -- and deal a near-lethal blow the the ACC.

This, of course, is all speculation. But considering the recent history of conference jumping and the fact monetary penalty does not seem to deter such movement, all things are possible.