AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- The ACC could soon join the Pac-12 with overseas games.

Commissioner John Swofford said during ACC spring meetings that the league is interested in what they are calling "ACC Global," which would mean in-season or out-of-season games in multiple sports.

The Pac-12 recently announced it would play a men's basketball game in Shanghai, China, with the goal of playing there every year in an annual tip-off game. Also up for discussion is a bowl game in Australia between the Pac-12 and Mountain West.

"We are in some discussions about possibilities," Swofford said of his own league. "It would be probably more European, and some of it might be in-season and some of it might be out-of-season opportunities. Practically all of our schools have satellite campuses outside the United States, so it’s not inconsistent with that at all. Our schools, presidents included, are interested in the institutional brand and flag being expanded internationally, and sports is one way to do that.

"If you’re doing it in-season, it’s more complicated. The best time is right at the beginning, probably opening weekend of the season, but we are interested and we’ll continue to look at opportunities for our schools to do so."

Boston College and Notre Dame have been in discussions to play in Ireland, but BC athletic director Brad Bates said no decision has been reached. He initially hoped to make an announcement last fall, but plans have been delayed.

"We’ve been working on that a long time," Bates said. "I can’t tell you one way or another what’s going to happen. We have some deadlines in place. Hopefully we’ll know something pretty soon."

Among other points made:

• Swofford had no real update on the possibility of an ACC Network, except to say discussions are ongoing. "We anticipated it would be a two- to three-year-stretch in terms of getting to any end point that we get to. We're right on schedule with that. That discussion is right where we anticipated it being at this given point in time and moving well. We've got a ways to go, but we're pleased with where we are in our process."

• The ACC remains in favor of an early signing period in December, and Swofford is hopeful that will pass next month.

• Though scheduling was not discussed at length, Swofford was asked for a model that allowed teams to play each other more often while remaining at eight league games. Swofford mentioned putting cross-over rivals in the same division and then eliminating the permanent cross-over game. Yes, that would require divisions to be redone. No, there is no momentum for that, but it's fun to discuss anyway.