Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford addressed the media before Syracuse’s 3:30 p.m. ACC debut against No. 3 Clemson on Saturday. Swofford said he was excited about watching football in the Carrier Dome, and finally watching the Orange compete in its new conference.

“I feel like in a lot of ways Syracuse has been in our league for over a year,” Swofford said.

Swofford said he’s been in regular contact with Syracuse football head coach Scott Shafer, men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim, athletic director Daryl Gross and chancellor Nancy Cantor. He also met with chancellor to-be Kent Syverud on Saturday morning.

As the athletic director at North Carolina from 1980-97, Swofford said he always enjoyed coming to watch the Tar Heels compete at the Carrier Dome in both football and basketball. Now a venue in his conference, Swofford thinks other ACC teams will be excited to visit the Dome.

“I think any time you have something that’s unique like this within a league, it’s a plus,” Swofford said. “It’s something for the other schools to experience.

“… I think that Syracuse being in the ACC is going to be a terrific thing for both of us, and that’s what it should be. It’s a plus for the Atlantic Coast Conference and it’s a plus for Syracuse.”