Brett McMurphy of CBSSports.com reported this morning that both Pittsburgh and Syracuse have applied for membership to the ACC. The ACC has also agree to increasing its conference exit fee to $20 million, virtually guaranteeing no members will be leaving for other conferences. McMurphy reports:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Atlantic Coast Conference has received letters of application from Pittsburgh and Syracuse, a high ranking official told CBSSports.com.

The ACC also has recently been contacted by 10 schools, the source said. However, they would not disclose what conferences those schools were from. 

Also, at last week’s ACC presidents meeting in Greensboro, N.C., the league’s presidents "unanimously" voted to increase the ACC’s exit fee to $20 million. This takes affect immediately.

The New York Times reported Friday that Syracuse, Pitt and the ACC had been in talks about the two Big East schools joining the league. Representatives from all three declined comment to the Times.

ACC commissioner John Swofford has said previously that the ACC will always be mindful and do what’s best for its member institutions."

Obviously things are happening quickly. The Big East is on life support.