Mark Dolejs-US PRESSWIRE
Touchdown Jesus and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be leaving the Big East Conference to join the ACC as a full member in all sports but football the conference announced Tuesday.
As for the football program, Notre Dame will play 5 games a year against ACC members. While not a huge blow for the Big East as far as football goes, the Irish weren’t a full member for football, it does more damage do its weakening basketball lineup.
A quote obtained from CBS Sports, ”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 also voted on raising its exit fees to actually exceed 50 million dollars. Which is a clear move to deter the Florida St. Seminoles and Clemson Tigers from bolting to the Big 12 where they are rumored to be interested in going.
Also, with the addition of Notre Dame, all the schools in the conference will get to play them in football at least once every 3 years. Making a reason to stay in the ACC much simpler, big time money.
This is also another death nail for the Big East. While Notre Dame isn’t a tradition basketball power, it did bring with it a big fan base. With the losses of the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers already, the conference is in a steep decline.
In one swoop statement on a Tuesday morning in September, the ACC raised its game to a much higher level, while the Big East continues to look more and more like a mid-major.
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