Amelia Island, Fla. — If the football coaches in the ACC have their way, Tuesday's discussion about a possible nine-game conference schedule will be short.

The ACC currently plays an eight-game conference schedule. Coaches don't want a nine-game schedule because they say it could negatively affect bowl eligibility. Those who want the nine-game schedule point to the potential of more TV revenue.

"There are a lot of details that would have to be explained to me," Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson said Monday morning during the annual ACC Spring Meetings. "But I don't think any of the coaches believe that this is the way to go."

Before they take their recommendations to their presidents, the athletics directors will meet with the coaches today and lay out the problems, the biggest of which is scheduling.

The ACC has the not-so-notable distinction of having three teams (Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State) that will be playing two Division I-AA opponents at home during the 2008 college football season. Those games usually aren't broadcast on TV, and aren't attended as well.

For example, last October Army paid Georgia Tech $125,000 to buy its way out of this season's game. That left Tech with two choices: It could schedule a one-time game with a Division I-A school, but those games are in such great demand that the visiting school can ask for as much as $1 million. The other option was to schedule a Division I-AA team, whose "guarantee" would be substantially less. Tech took option two.

"The reality is that scheduling non-conference home games is becoming very difficult and very expensive," said Georgia Tech athletics director Dan Radakovich, whose team is playing I-AA's Jacksonville State and Gardner-Webb this season.

"I don't know that this has a chance of becoming a reality but it is a discussion that we need to have."

The move would also be good for television. The ACC's television contracts have three more years to run. One way to enhance those packages is to take away weak non-conference games and add conference games.

"If you have more conference games then the inventory is stronger and the package is worth more," said Ken Haines, the President and CEO of Raycom Sports. "It's pretty simple, really."

The move would particularly impact Georgia Tech (Georgia), Clemson (South Carolina), and Florida State (Florida), who end their season with a rivalry game against an SEC team.

The coaches said they are not going to endorse anything that puts them at a competitive disadvantage. With a nine-game conference schedule, every other year a team would have five conference games on the road and four at home. To the coaches, that's a deal breaker.

"Do the math," said Duke coach David Cutcliffe. "If everybody plays another conference game that is six more losses for the league. That could cost us a bowl game or two. So whatever money you make on the front end you could lose on the back end."

The Pac-10 began playing a nine-game conference schedule in 2006 and is the only BCS league to do so. Commissioner Tom Hansen said the move made scheduling easier and allowed the league to play a full round robin schedule.

"We don't have the larger stadiums like the SEC so we're not in a position to pay a lot for non-conference games," Hansen said. "It's been a good thing for us."

SHOULD THE ACC PLAY A NINE-GAME CONFERENCE SCHEDULE?

THE CASE FOR

1. It makes putting together a schedule easier and less expensive. Schools will have to pay fewer large "guarantees" for home non-conference opponents.

2. It gives season ticket holders more bang for their buck. Fewer non-competitive home games against lightweight opponents.

3. Better TV inventory. Six additional conference games would make future television contracts more valuable.

THE CASE AGAINST

1. The ACC schedule is tough enough. Clemson (South Carolina), Florida State (Florida), and Georgia Tech (Georgia) already have annual non-conference games against the ACC.

2. Unbalanced schedule. With a nine-game schedule, half of the league would have five ACC games at home while the other half would only have four. The teams with five conference road games would be at a disadvantage.

3. Could hurt bowl eligibility. Six more conference games guarantees six more losses spread around the league. It could cost the ACC a bowl slot or two.