Louisville will officially join the Atlantic Coast Conference, becoming the seventh former Big East school to leave for the ACC.

The ACC's presidents and chancellors voted Wednesday morning to add the Cardinals in place of Maryland, which will leave for the Big Ten in 2014.

Louisville also is expected to join the ACC in 2014 and will become the league's sixth football member formerly associated with the Big East. The Cardinals will be required to pay the Big East a $10 million exit fee and give 27 months' notice. But Louisville -- like several other exiting schools -- should be able to negotiate a higher buyout to leave before the 27-month period.

ACC commissioner John Swofford said Louisville was the best fit for the league following Maryland's announcement last week that it would join the Big Ten.

"When you look at Louisville, you see a university and an athletic program that has all the arrows pointed up -- a tremendous uptick there, tremendous energy," Swofford said on a teleconference. "It's always an overall fit in every respect and I think that's what we found."

Swofford also said the league is comfortable staying at 14 full members with the addition of Louisville.

The ACC also considered Connecticut and Cincinnati for membership. However, sources told ESPN that the league wanted Louisville only because there is a sense among league presidents that the ACC can add more schools at a later date if the conference loses any other current members.

The ACC felt Louisville was the best choice because of its "aggressive approach" to success, including a commitment to "marquee athletics programs," a source told ESPN. The recent additions of Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame -- which joins in all sports except football but has a scheduling partnership with the conference in that sport -- make the ACC feel as though it is "in a position of strength," the source said.

"I'm very excited to join this prestigious conference," Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich said. "For the ACC to have faith in us means the world to us athletically and academically. The biggest winner is our school being associated with all of the prestigious schools.

"While I'm very excited, I'm very sad for the Big East. The Big East has been very good to this university. I thought (when Louisville joined in 2005), it would be a lifetime commitment until things around us started deteriorating. Instead of looking back, we're looking forward. We want to be a great partner with every institution in the ACC."

On Tuesday, the Big East added Tulane for all sports and East Carolina for football only, also beginning in 2014.

In a statement, Big East commissioner Mike Aresco wished Louisville well and said the league's additions are important for its future.