The Atlantic Coast Conference has received application letters from Pittsburgh and Syracuse to join the league, a move that would leave the Big East scrambling to replace two of its longest-tenured members.

Florida State president Eric Barron told The Associated Press on Saturday before the Seminoles played No. 1 Oklahoma that the ACC was excited about adding to its "northern tier."

"Pittsburgh and Syracuse, who have applied, these are solid academic schools, and the ACC is a truly academic conference," Barron said. "Certainly great basketball teams, a good history of football.

"I'm sure consideration will be very fast. I'll be surprised if it's not tomorrow (Sunday)."

But USA Today reported early Sunday that the ACC presidents had already voted on Saturday morning to accept Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the league. Citing an anonymous source, the newspaper said the ACC was still considering adding two other East Coast teams and that Connecticut and Rutgers would be the candidates.

ACC officials have scheduled a 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday teleconference but did not disclose the subject of the call.

Barron confirmed that 11 of 12 ACC presidents attended a meeting in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday -- the other participated by phone -- and unanimously approved raising the exit fee to $20 million -- up from $12 million to $14 million -- for any member leaving the conference.

"The great thing is that the conference is strong and committed to a unanimous commitment to staying together," North Carolina State chancellor Randy Woodson said. "And to the extent that this is kind of a dramatic shift in conferences, we're trying to be proactive and stay strong."

A high-ranking ACC official told ESPN.com's Heather Dinich on Saturday morning that Pitt and Syracuse were part of at least 10 schools that approached the ACC about membership.

Multiple sources told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that Pittsburgh and Syracuse's applications to the ACC happened fast, within the last 48 hours.

One source who was briefed on the situation told Katz, "There is panic. There is panic about what league (Syracuse) was going to be in."

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was thrilled with the potential additions.

"I'm proud of the leadership of our conference to be ahead of things," Krzyzewski told ESPN.com's Katz on Saturday night. "We're in a period of change. Whether everyone agrees with it or doesn't agree with it -- change is happening. It's not a revolution, it's evolution. These things are happening.

"The NBA had the ABA. The NFL had the AFL. There was once no BCS. The NIT was once better than the NCAA (tournament). When it happens while you're doing it, it seems like it shouldn't happen, but it is. I think the leadership in our conference is doing a great job of getting ahead. It's good thinking, especially if everything goes down with these two schools that have great athletic programs. They are unbelievable fits for our conference."