BREAKING: Notre Dame to ACC, Will Stay Independent in Football

Who says we’ve given up on adding FSU? It’s not important to have them in place until 2014. Just in time for the new CFB playoffs to launch.

Frankly, the ACC makes more sense.

I don’t care what anyone says, I think Swarbrick gets sent packing if he tried to move them to the Big 12. The ACC makes sense if nothing else because this still puts a bunch of roads games each year in easy reach of a substantial portion of their alumni base.

The ACC deal with the domers is pretty much the same deal they wanted to add their olympic sports to the Big XII, with them having the same bowl access as full Big XII members. That was reportedly the deal breaker for the Big XII.

If I’m FSU, Clemson, or any other traditional football school in the ACC, it’s not gonna sit well with me if ND only has to play four or five games a year with ACC teams to get the same bowl access as the full members. If that indeed is what the ACC has promised ND, it’s just going to be another point of dissension.

I would like to see the Big XII expand to twelve, and add FSU and Clemson, and I’m not convinced the ND move stops that. However, if it does, I’m not unhappy with the ten member Big XII as it is now constituted…it’s still a much more solid football con ference than the ACC ever will be.

The bottom line…if the deal ND is getting to add their olympic sports to the ACC is what was pitched to the Big XII, I’m just as happy that this conference didn’t bite. I don’t see this being the big game changer that ESPN and SI are making it out to be…not unless ND one day commits its’ football to the ACC.

so expansion isn’t really necessary anymore.

And I understand Dodds and the Big 12 expansion committee’s sentiment that going to 12 teams and adding a conference championship game only serves to add one more barrier to the top team making it into the playoffs…

but as a fan, I liked having a conference championship game. It was one more game a year we get to see. Plus it adds one more layer to the playoff aspect of the post season.

Their recruiting competition is mainly Florida and Miami and playing games in Manhattan KS, Lubbock, Waco, Stillwater and Ames is not offset by playing in Austin and Norman.

If the money is sweetened FSU wanted to stay right where it is, and with Notre Dame now playing 5 times a year in the league, the money will be increased.

The Big 12 is such that if anyone survives it unscathed (undefeated) they’re almost assured a spot in the national championship game. And now with the playoffs, that’s almost a certainty. No need for a CCG, let’s keep it as is, I like that we play EVERYBODY so no one gets a soft schedule every other year.

ND is joining Hockey East next year and will be in the same conference as Boston College… UConn is also joining Hockey East in 2014.

ND will only be independent in football.

They are solidly back in the Big FIVE conferences

The issue with the debate here is a difference in priorities. Both sides are making the correct arguments to support their priority. As I see it, you fall into one of two camps regarding priorities:

1) Conference Cache (and the eventuality of conference expansion)
or
2) Texas Exceptionalism (and the skepticism of eventual expansion)

Conference Cache requires multiple marquee matchups. Thus missing on an FSU/Clemson/ND/GT is an opportunity cost at moving the Big12 in the direction of the other major conferences. If you subscribe to the fact that the superconferences are inevitable, or that you simply want more top-tier marquee matchups, then the Big12 should be pro-active in accumulating the best possible combination of marquee matchups and this is a disappointing outcome.

Texas Exceptionalism is a separate but equally valid point of view. A 10 team conference that will most-likely field a future playoff team annually, is a great recipe for Texas. The current structure is excellent for Texas finances and no additions are needed. As far as national relevance, the current structure is the “cleaner” path to the playoffs and championship. This is the current AD’s priority but it is also a valid fan point of view.

Bruce Feldman@BFeldmanCBS
ACC’s Notre Dame rules: Irish only need be w/i 1 win of an eligible ACC team to get picked over that ACC school..Ouch!

The first time FSU or Clemson gets bumped, they are gone. And, if ND has an out clause based on conference membership changes . . .

buyout are correct, I would guess their exit will happen sooner than later.

…and correctly said thanks, but no thanks. I haven’t read all of the details of ND’s new marriage with the ACC, but if they’re getting the perks they sought out of the Big XII, it’s almost guaranteed that the football-first schools over there will get shafted, and pissed.

All of this is by way of saying don’t write off FSU and at least one more ACC team to the Big XII just yet…it’s all timing, and I have a feeling next spring and summer are going to be interesting.

Specifically is the $50MM exit fee already in place? If not I guess someone could bail in the near future before it gets put in place. Kind of like I recall Mizzou doing. They were still around when we were agreeing to a 6yr (can’t remember the exact length) grant of rights. Obviously they bailed though before anything was signed.

the Big East in football. Apparently some very hard feelings about the Irish reaping the benefit of the basketball package, not sharing any football revenue, and then having their own access to an ACQ bowl.

One thing I am wanting to see is how to the schedule the basketball and olympic sports with 15 teams. The arrangement worked in the Big East logistically because there were other non-football schools. That isn’t the case in the ACC so you either have an odd schedule rotation or you add another non-football school.