The bitter feelings generated by a conference break-up can last a very long time.

Just ask Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles.

In 1991, the Razorbacks packed up and left the Southwest Conference to join the SEC. The fallout was instantaneous.

"They voted immediately that none of them would play us," Broyles told the Palm Beach Post this summer.

	“	We better understand that when we go to West Virginia that it's going to be rowdy, it's going to be wild ”
		— Va. Tech coach Frank Beamer

The SWC disbanded in 1995 but the hard feelings left by Arkansas' departure are only now beginning to dissipate. On Sept. 13, the Razorbacks will play longtime rival Texas for the first time since Arkansas left for the SEC.

Which brings us to the Big East. In late June, conference heavyweights Miami and Virginia Tech announced their intentions to leave the league to join the ACC beginning with the 2004 season. The departures of the Hurricanes and Hokies have left the Big East in chaos, with its guarantee of an annual BCS slot in doubt.

So how will lame duck seasons for Miami and Virginia Tech compare to Arkansas' last year in the SWC?

"It may be done with less hard feelings," Broyles said. "But I doubt it."

The fissures created by the defections of the two schools are deep. During the heat of negotiations, public accusations of lying, questionable integrity and duplitious conduct were tossed about.

And then things got really nasty.

Five Big East schools sued Miami and Boston College, which was also negotiating with the ACC. U.S. senators, governors and state attorney generals joined the fray, resulting in more mudslinging that an episode of The Jerry Springer Show.

The rancor died down after Miami and Virginia Tech officially announced they were leaving the Big East, but the hard feelings -- and lawsuit -- remain.

Miami athletic director Paul Dee said dealings with his counterparts have been cordial, but admits that most of his conversations have been with the athletic directors at Boston College and Syracuse, two schools that originally appeared destined to jump with the Hurricanes to the ACC.

The atmosphere is even frostier at the presidential level. The language in the lawsuit deeply disturbed Miami president Donna Shalala, who was accused by her colleagues of intentionally deceiving them about Miami's committment to the league.

And don't bother inviting Shalala and Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese to the same cocktail party.

Will all the hostility play itself out on Big East football fields this fall?

"The intensity of our games is probably going to be interesting to watch," Tranghese said.

But whether it makes any difference in the outcome of games is questionable. Big East teams have been trying unsuccessfully to beat the Hurricanes for the past three-plus seasons. Miami is again heavily favored to win the conference and could leave the Big East with a 31-game win streak against league opponents.

	“	The intensity of our games is probably going to be interesting to watch. ”
		— Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese

"Some people have asked me, 'Are you're players going to play harder against Miami this year?'" said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. "Are you kidding me?"

Said UM coach Larry Coker: "It will be tough at times, but that won't be any different than it would have been if we weren't leaving the league. It's funny. I've read comments where the ACC can't wait for us to get there because they want a piece of us, and the Big East wants a piece of us now because we're leaving. It makes for good stories, I suppose, but once the games begin, all that fire and brimstone stuff leaves."

That doesn't mean the atmosphere won't be particularly interesting in some places.

If there is one game to circle on the calendar between a school that's staying in the Big East and one that's going, it's Virginia Tech's meeting with West Virginia in Morgantown on Oct. 22.

The game will be played on a Wednesday night and is scheduled to be televised nationally on ESPN. Mountaineer fans are probably the most passionate in the Big East and are keenly anticipating Virginia Tech's arrival.

West Virginia running back Quincy Wilson said he knows of some fans that have agreed to take the entire week off work to "get ready" for the Hokies.

Virginia Tech may have a bigger bull's eye among jilted Big East teams than Miami. School officials waffled during the negotiating process, exhorting Miami to remain in the conference while publicly stating a desire to jump to the ACC if an invitation was made.

"We better understand that when we go to West Virginia that it's going to be rowdy, it's going to be wild," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer.

Miami won't have to play at West Virginia, but the Hurricanes do have a date with Pittsburgh at Heinz Field to close the regular season.

"Fans hate the University of Miami already, so it really doesn't matter," said UM junior defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.

Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris thinks all the talk about Big East teams possessing added motivation for games against Miami and Virginia Tech is silly.

"We just want to play football," Harris said. "There is no extra incentive to beat Miami or Virginia Tech or no animosity because what happened had nothing to do with the players or coaches. It was beyond our control. We want to beat those teams because we want to win the conference."

Jorge Milian covers the Big East for the Palm Beach Post.