Notre Dame to the ACC... kind of!

From ESPN: Notre Dame Joining ACC

SI.com: Notre Dame Joining ACC as Non-Football Member

The press release:

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents has unanimously voted to accept the University of Notre Dame as a new member. The Irish will compete as full members in all conference sponsored sports with the exception of football which will play five games annually against league programs. 

"We are committed to keeping the Atlantic Coast Conference a vibrant and competitive league dedicated to ensuring the appropriate balance of academics, athletics and integrity," said the ACC Council of Presidents in a joint statement. "The addition of Notre Dame further strengthens the rich tradition and culture of the ACC as well as allowing for future academic collaboration and we enthusiastically welcome them into the league." 

"The ACC was founded on the cornerstones of balancing academics, athletics and integrity," said Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford. "Our partnership with Notre Dame only strengthens this long-standing commitment. Notre Dame enhances the league's unique blend of public and private institutions that are international in scope. The collective alumni and fan bases cover the entire country with exceptionally strong roots up and down the Atlantic Coast. This is a terrific milestone in the evolution of the ACC and showcases tremendous solidarity and vision by our Council of Presidents." 

"The ACC is composed of some of the most highly respected universities in the country, and we at Notre Dame look forward to joining them," said Notre Dame President, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. "With a mix of institutions - many of which are also private, similar to Notre Dame in size, and committed to excellence in research and undergraduate education - the ACC is an exceptionally good fit for us academically, as well as athletically." 

"We have monitored the changing conference landscape for many months and have concluded that moving to the ACC is the best course of action for us," said Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame Vice President and Director of Athletics. "We are able to maintain our historic independence in football, join in the ACC's non-BCS bowl package, and provide a new and extremely competitive home for our other sports." 

With the addition of Notre Dame, the ACC's future membership includes 11 institutions ranked among the top 58 in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report survey of "America's Best Colleges", more than any other conference also competing at the highest level athletically. 

In addition to extending an invitation to Notre Dame, the Council of Presidents voted to increase the conference exit fees to three times the annual operating budget. Currently this would equate to an exit fee of over $50 million. 

About the Atlantic Coast Conference:
The Atlantic Coast Conference is now in its 60th year of competition, the ACC has long enjoyed the reputation as one of the strongest and most competitive intercollegiate conferences in the nation. Since the league's inception in 1953, ACC schools have captured 127 national championships, including 67 in women's competition and 60 in men's. In addition, NCAA individual titles have gone to ACC student-athletes 145 times in men's competition and 104 times in women's action. For more information, visit theACC.com.

Okay, so here's what we know:

-- Notre Dame is joining the ACC as a full member in all sports but football and ice hockey (which the ACC doesn't play... yet.)

-- ND will begin play as soon as they are able to negotiate their exit from the Big East - or whatever they are re-naming themselves.

-- ND will play five ACC schools in football each season.

-- ND will participate in the ACC's non-BCS bowl package.

-- The five game ACC package allows ND to maintain the framework of its football independence, and continue ongoing rivalries with USC, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Stanford, and Navy.

-- The ACC exit fee is now $50+ million.  The conference just stabilized itself, y'all.  The wagons were circled and we successfully fended off the attack.  Get bent, Big XII.


And here's what we don't know:

-- Which five ACC schools will the Irish play?  Will it be a straight rotation, will it be a collection of their traditional rivals (BC, Miami, Georgia Tech)?  Or will it be some sort of hybrid?  Specifically, when can we expect to see Virginia play Notre Dame, if at all?

-- Will this take Notre Dame off the table as a possible partner in the Orange Bowl deal?  I have to assume it does, since the Irish will be playing over half of the conference's regular season schedule (nine games).

-- How does this factor in on the ACC's media deal with ESPN?  It has to have some soprt of impact, right?  Even if Notre Dame maintains its deal with NBC, the ACC has rights to the rest of the sports, along with the games its teams will play against ND.

-- Does this mean the ACC will now be looking for a 16th member to complete the conference?  Or will it stay at 15 (really, 14 and a half)?


There is still a lot more to come from this story, and it will be a blast to track.  This is a great day for the ACC, and for Virginia via the strengthening of its conference affiliate.

Stay tuned to this space --- I will have LOTS more.