A final decision on whether Miami, Boston College and Syracuse bolt the Big East and accept invitations to the ACC, won't be decided at the Big East meetings this week in Ponte Vedra, Fla., and might not be made until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

A high-ranking source within the conference told ESPN.com that the three athletic directors will hear a counter-proposal from Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese on Sunday and Monday and then head home Wednesday to meet with their respective presidents.

The holiday weekend will likely prevent the ACC from conducting on-campus evaluations, per the conference's bylaws, until the following week. The meetings haven't been officially set as of Saturday.

That means the decision to leave or remain in the Big East might not be known until the final days of May or the first week of June. The schools have to let the Big East know they are leaving for the 2004-05 season before June 30 or face a penalty in excess of $1 million. But the move to the ACC might not occur until the 2005-06 season, giving the schools even more time to make a decision.

The source said the athletic directors didn't have any meetings Saturday because Syracuse athletic director Jake Crouthamel was still at home for a lacrosse playoff game. The eight football coaches got together Saturday but it was said to be uneventful.

The eight athletic directors' first scheduled meeting is Sunday morning. They are expected to hear from Tranghese at that time. The full 14 athletic directors of all the Big East schools are expected to meet Monday as well as the men's basketball coaches.

Tranghese is expected to tell Miami, Boston College and Syracuse that financially they should stay in the Big East. Each of the nine ACC schools received a reported $9.7 million last season and the league would need another $27 million to break even upon adding three more schools. The ACC's consultant has told the league that there is enough money to be made during the next television contract period in 2005-06, but that is being disputed by the Big East.

The other option will be for the eight Big East football members (BC, Miami, Syracuse, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and West Virginia) to break away and form their own conference, leaving behind the five non-football playing schools (Villanova, Seton Hall, St. John's, Providence and Georgetown) -- and Notre Dame, if the Irish don't want to join the football members. But multiple sources said the ACC wouldn't have invited the three schools Friday without getting notice that they would likely accept.