It won’t be long until Notre Dame is playing ACC football, too
ACC commish John Swofford with Father John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame. (AP photo)
The big news Wednesday was that Notre Dame will join the ACC in every league sport except football. The news someday soon will be that Notre Dame has decided to remove the qualifier from its new affiliation. The guess here is that, come 2016, the biggest independent in the history of independents will be playing conference football in a conference that needs a football jolt.
Speaking on a teleconference, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Wednesday: “Our intention is to remain independent.” Then this: “If something would change, and it would have to be a drastic change, we’re committed to the ACC.”
In college football, drastic change occurs every hour on the hour. Three years ago, who’d have believed a playoff grid would be in place? Three years from now, the Irish will have grasped that continuing independence is overrated. (Not incidentally, Notre Dame’s TV contract with NBC lapses in 2015.)
The advent of that playoff left the biggest name in college football — say what you will about Alabama, but the Tide has never had its own TV network — in a place no program could afford to be. It left Notre Dame without postseason assurances. Even before the playoff format was finalized, the SEC and the Big 12 had partnered to create a new Champions Bowl. Who out there was willing to commit to being the New Year’s date of the famous independent?
In yet another display of clever thinking, ACC commissioner John Swofford pursued the school that every conference would kill to get, but they approached Notre Dame at an angle. You can join our league and stay a football independent, he said, but you’ll play five regular-season games against our membership and — big key — you’ll be eligible for bowl selection as one of ours.
(There’s a caveat: Notre Dame can’t replace an ACC team in the Orange Bowl, though it could play an ACC team in the Orange Bowl. But Notre Dame could be chosen as the ACC rep in, say, the Chick-fil-A Bowl.)
In a statement released by Notre Dame, Irish football coach Brian Kelly said: “We have further solidified our future as an independent in college football, maintained our unique ability to schedule nationally and greatly improved our postseason bowl-game options.”
But if you’re going to play five games against one league every blessed season, why hold out as an independent? Why not go the full Monty? And here’s the other deft trick Swofford turned: He upped the buyout fee for anyone wishing to leave the ACC to $50 million. That’s up from $20 million, and that’s a cost no university can begin to pay.
This means Florida State and Clemson and Virginia Tech aren’t going anywhere. And the buyout, Swofford noted, “does apply to Notre Dame and goes into effect immediately.”
As of Wednesday, Notre Dame is tied to the ACC. If/when — and really, more “when” than “if” — the Irish realize that independence is to contemporary college football as the Pony Express is to communications, they have nowhere else to go.
At a media briefing in Chapel Hill, Swofford spoke of “a changing landscape in intercollegiate athletics” and then quoted Clemson president James Barker as having said, “What was best 20 years ago isn’t best today.” That applies to the ACC, which had previously balked at offering partial enrollment, and it definitely applies to Notre Dame.
Say the Irish choose, for no real reason, to remain a football loner: The ACC still benefits. Its best-in-the-business basketball profile — remember, Syracuse and Pittsburgh are on the way — is further burnished, and the league has also enhanced its reputation as the conference that cares most about academics. (Insert North Carolina joke here.) Better still, the league has played the greatest bit of catch-up ball since Frank Reich, himself an ACC product, engineered that epic Buffalo rally against the Houston Oilers.
With teams switching conferences at the drop of a $100 bill, it was once feared that the ACC would be raided and ruined. Turns out it hasn’t lost a school while poaching three from the now-dilapidated Big East. You wouldn’t have bet on John Swofford to emerge as the most dynamic force in 21st century intercollegiate athletics, but here he stands.
And for all who insist that Notre Dame is an outdated concept … no, it hasn’t won a national championship since the day Georgia hired Ray Goff as its head coach, but Notre Dame remains the biggest national name in a sport that still beats hardest to regional pulses. You won’t find many Bama or USC or Texas fans in the Bronx, but you’ll find Irish backers. (Hence the phrase “subway alumni.”)
There’s no conference that wouldn’t benefit from adding the biggest of brand names. John Swofford’s conference is the one that did. On the day he spoke of “a changing landscape,” he effected the biggest change.
By Mark Bradley
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276 comments Add your comment
Ol'JacketFan
September 12th, 2012
10:25 pm
I posted this on Ken’s page earlier, not trying to be snarky just very curious,
Have to admit initially I wasn’t real thrilled with this change but the more I thought about the more it makes sense. Academically ND is on par with some of the best schools in the country and despite their woes in football the remainder of their sports programs are usually nationally ranked. For all the naysayers out there the ND cachet still exists. By no means am I or ever have been a fan of ND but to deny that they have a tremendous fan base is simply silly.
My questions to all of the non ACC fans that have blasted and belittled the move is this. If ND is irrelevant as a sports insitution and the ACC is so horrible……………why do you care enough to voice an opinion? I am not telling anyone they cannot have an opinion I just what to know why it’s important to you to care?
Randy from macon
September 12th, 2012
10:28 pm
Old Tech – How about Penn State? Perfect!
Old Tech
September 12th, 2012
10:29 pm
Unfortunately the bottle was thrown from the upper deck, I was sitting in “Flash Cards” when it happened. According to friends the guy that threw the bottle was grabbed by several students & “educated” before being turned over to police
Ol'JacketFan
September 12th, 2012
10:30 pm
Just wanted to re post over here on MBs page. I just curious to see what the responses may be.
I have to admit initially I wasn’t real thrilled with this change but the more I thought about the more it makes sense. Academically ND is on par with some of the best schools in the country and despite their woes in football the remainder of their sports programs are usually nationally ranked. For all the naysayers out there the ND cachet still exists. By no means am I or ever have been a fan of ND but to deny that they have a tremendous fan base is simply silly.
My questions to all of the non ACC fans that have blasted and belittled the move is this. If ND is irrelevant as a sports insitution and the ACC is so horrible……………why do you care enough to voice an opinion? I am not telling anyone they cannot have an opinion I just what to know why it’s important to you to care?
Old Tech
September 12th, 2012
10:30 pm
Randy, I don’t think so/ How about u of Florida? Trade FSU to SEC for gators?
Dawglasville
September 12th, 2012
10:37 pm
Old Tech – Wow. I had forgotten about the flash cards. “Educated,” pretty funny. I remember one year when the Rats stormed the field before a game against Clemson and cut off the tail of their mascot. Of course, that would be the highlight of any game to a kid. The whiskey bottle thing of course happened in Athens too, I think in the early 90’s. I’ve seen a lot of drunken stupidity at a lot of stadiums over the years. I don’t miss that.
Randy from macon
September 12th, 2012
10:42 pm
Old Tech – Absolutely not. Florida is a football factory and not a recognized academic school. Penn State would be a perfect fit. Then, if Notre Dame agrees to go football in the ACC, you have two 8 team divisions where you could play 6 games against your own division each year and 2 out of division teams each year. Great setup!
GT Girl
September 12th, 2012
10:43 pm
I was in the student section when the fish were thrown. Now that was funny, the bottle thrown was not.
Paul in NH
September 12th, 2012
10:48 pm
Roll Tide Roll
September 12th, 2012
4:36 pm
Wake me up when the perennially overrated Irish schedule a football game against an SEC opponent BESIDES weak Vanderbilt.
————-
In the last 15 years ND has played a 2 game home and home vs LSU (winning both) and a 4 gamer against Tennessee (going 2 and 2). I think Alabama stopped trying to schedule them because Bear could never beat them.
Randy from macon
September 12th, 2012
10:51 pm
GT Girl – I hope you were not hit by a fish! GO JACKETS!
IL Jacket
September 12th, 2012
10:51 pm
Dawglasville, I was in the seats for a lot of those 6-5 seasons. But at least in those years the losses were to USC, ND, UT, Auburn some of the longstanding rivals of Tech. Seeing the Trojans at Grant Field was incredible.
fuzzybee78
September 12th, 2012
10:55 pm
VT-
I havent been to Blacksburg yet but I cant wait to meet more classy guys like you.
Dont save the gift wrap paper, see you next year down here.
GT Girl
September 12th, 2012
10:56 pm
I was not, thank you. It was thrown at ND players.
Miami Dawg
September 12th, 2012
11:00 pm
John Swofford… the most dynamic force in 21st century intercollegiate athletics???
Seriously??? Given the SEC’s domination of college football, not to mention the ACC itself (no, clemson beating auburn doesn’t cover for decades of the SEC owning the ACC) this deal means little or nothing.
The power has shifted south. Notre Dame has great history but that is about it. Dont expect them to do much other than become not relevant as Miami is now and Flo State has been since its early days in the ACC.
Paul in NH
September 12th, 2012
11:00 pm
What the heck is Jim Delany thinkung about all this?
ylojkt
September 12th, 2012
11:03 pm
Can’t wait to beat the kiddy diddlers! Bring em on!
jeff g
September 12th, 2012
11:04 pm
lots of envy on here by the insecure dog fans. like the other poster said, nothing as pathetic as cheering vicariously through a rival teams success. this is huge for the acc and will put them at the top when tv contracts are done in 3 years.
Jacket Up
September 12th, 2012
11:05 pm
Blast us and the ACC all you want about Irish mediocrity, but as long as those yankees in NYC and ESPN believe people like to watch them on Saturday afternoons, they (ESPN) will pay the big bucks we need to compete in this dollar denominated “sport”. Also, there are probably a few hundred thousand ND fans in Atlanta who finally have a reason to come to Grant Field. So, we`ll take the Irish and all they bring with them (especially), mediocrity not withstanding.
Randy from macon
September 12th, 2012
11:07 pm
And thank you for that information GT Girl. I have a question for you – who should start at QB for the Jackets against Virginia: Tevin or Vad and why? Lots of love!
Paul in NH
September 12th, 2012
11:07 pm
“decades of the SEC owning the ACC”
Do those decades include the 80’s and 90’s when the ACC and SEC each won the same number of MNC’s?
IL Jacket
September 12th, 2012
11:07 pm
Paul, he cannot be happy, but ND has signaled for a long time that if they were to join a conference it would be the ACC. in addition to the loss of prestige with ND choosing another conference, with the 5 game requirement and ND pairing back some of its traditional rivals, it appears Purdue, Mich. St and UM may have to find other dance partners. Those games have been big for the B1G teams.
Nothings shocking
September 12th, 2012
11:15 pm
Also, there are probably a few hundred thousand ND fans in Atlanta
Wow are you effing stupid. 5.2 mil people in metro atl. MAYBE 33% are college football fans.
So now we have 1.7 million fans left. Of that 1.7 25% are easily uga. Now we are down to 1.3 million fans. Out of this, 50% are sec gt or acc fans. Now we are down to 650,000. Of this, 90% have to be fans of a big 10, big 12, pac 10, big east or smaller school like ga souther furman etc. So now we are down to 65,000 fans. So yes I would say probably 50-75k people in this city are big or small nd fans. Certinly not “a few 100k”!! Think before you type inane comments like this.
Coyote
September 12th, 2012
11:26 pm
I think you’re wrong Mark. This move is good for both the ACC and Notre Dame but the Irish no longer have any reason to join a conference. They have equal access to the new 4-team playoff as any conference champ because the selection is by committee rather than pre-determined AQ status for conference champs. They now have access to the ACC’s lineup of bowls, and they’ll maintain a strong presence in their most important media markets and recruiting turf. What could possibly compel them to join a conference now that all the factors that could have forced their hand have been eliminated?
This is not a move toward full membership. If anything, it’s the opposite. It virtually guarantees that ND will remain independent for football.
Dawglasville
September 12th, 2012
11:27 pm
IL Jacket – didn’t know that. I just remember my dad explaining to me that 5 – 5 – 1 was technically a winning season. It was tough to be a Dawg or Tech fan in the 70’s. I wish Tech had Auburn and UGA had Clemson every year still. A lot of fun. Cool to know about USC.
Old Tech
September 12th, 2012
11:31 pm
nothings…….. I think your premise of 33% are college football fans is inverted more like 67%. And many Catholics cheer for ND and their own teams. Especially the ones from the Northeast. And if you don’t think their are many “hyphenated” Yankees down here, you haven’t been to a Red Sox game at Turner Field
ylojkt
September 12th, 2012
11:38 pm
Don’t know why they call them fathers, no father I know would molest his own children.
Nothings shocking
September 12th, 2012
11:50 pm
Old if 67% of people in this city were fans of college football, you would see a heck of a lot more stickers and plates on cars.
I live in a northern suburb and about 50% of the neightborhood is indian or asian and just one guy is a football fan. This is about 20 families.
Of the remaining 20 families about 5 are fans. This is a small sample. I realize going into an older neighborhood yields higher rates but there is no way that 2/3 people are fans. You’re even more insane.
Old Tech
September 12th, 2012
11:51 pm
Randy in Macon……….. U of Fla ranked 54 to PSU’s 46, Both are AAU members, but Penn State will be crippled for decades because of Sandusky.
Old Tech
September 12th, 2012
11:54 pm
Randy I am a college football fan, wear my colors regularly and have purchased season tickets for over 30 years……. but I don’t have a sticker or tag on my car. I know many others who are like me.
Old Tech
September 13th, 2012
12:03 am
Ooops that last post was a reply for Nothings…. not Randy
IL Jacket
September 13th, 2012
12:04 am
Dawglasville, one other little piece of trivia. Traveler, the white Arabian horse Tommy Trojan rides at USC home games, made his debut in USC’s 1961 home opener against Tech.
ty
September 13th, 2012
1:09 am
Duke should do the same thing in foot ball. ACC really has lowered itself by letting ND dictate how they schedule their games. This is not a good thing for the ACC nor College Football. Allowing them to play a few ACC games and keep their traditional rivals is a real cop out to their ideas. ACC will never rise above this half and half idea of a football conference. It will not help the lesser schools in the ACC.
sting_em
September 13th, 2012
1:15 am
In two years from now, the ACC will go to 16 and ND will be a full member. Good opp to get Penn State in the league. They will be down for 4 years, but after that they will start on an upward trend. Then they could break down into 2 divisions North South or 4 pods:
Boston College Miami
Pitt Georgia Tech
Syracuse Wake
Penn NC State
Notre Dame Florida State
Maryland Duke
Virginia Tech Clemson
Virginia North Carolina
BC Miami
Pitt Georgia Tech
Cuse Wake
Penn NC State
ND Florida State
Maryland Duke
Virginia Tech Clemson
Virginia North Carolina
7 divisional game 1 cross division and 1 fixed division opp.
Russo
September 13th, 2012
1:29 am
Notre Dame just added 5 cupcakes a year, no matter who it plays. Well done, Irish.
get ur facts straight
September 13th, 2012
2:20 am
Yawn.
AC-Suckers
September 13th, 2012
2:46 am
The ACC are a bunch of suckers. The conference is not going to command enough of an increase in TV money to make up for Notre Dame’s, Syracuse’s, and Pitt’s additional membership and attract another quality member for a 16th. Syracuse and Pitt are dead weights for football and will not bring in the bowl game revenue in the near future. Notre Dame got out of the Big East because the conference had too many mouths to feed and not enough to go around. What do think is going to happen in the ACC?
So, when Notre Dame finally decides that being a football independent just isn’t financially justifiable.guess who they are going to run to? Big Ten. Only 14 members, if Rutgers eventually joins or Syracuse defects. Lots of revenue, less people to share it with, and many of their traditional rivalries can be maintained both in and out of conference.
AC-Suckers
September 13th, 2012
3:24 am
And $50 million ain’t all that. First, it is just a threat and a “keep out” sign for other conferences. If a school really wanted to jump, either a settlement would be worked out or the school would work out a deal with the new conference to pay some or all of the exit fee. And there are plenty of wealthy ND alumni to raise money from, if needed.
This deal is not going to work in the long term, the quality of Notre Dame athletics will fall off and the boosters will want out. See Boston College, whose supporters already want out of the ACC. Do you really think the ACC was Notre Dame’s first choice? The Big Ten told them “no football, no membership”.
The Truth
September 13th, 2012
7:07 am
If ND joins full time it makes Texas A&M and Missouri joining the SEC look like Twidle do and Twidle Dumb.
te29wr
September 13th, 2012
7:09 am
It was a win-win for both sides They were both close to being on the outside looking in as neither have won anything lately.. and with no prospects of winning a NC So who cares By the way the north ave trade school might have another sellout other than when UGA comes to town if they get to play ND
Notre Dame Joins the ACC Links Round-up | Atlantic Coast Convos
September 13th, 2012
7:30 am
[...] “It Won’t Be Long Until Notre Dame Is Playing ACC Football Too” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) [...]
Hal
September 13th, 2012
7:50 am
The ACC dosn’t need a jolt. The SEC needs to be reigned in. The Big Ten has its own network but the SEC owns ESPN and CSS and that is a fact.. It doesn’t need its own network. These networks feed the beast. The ACC hasn’t figured that out yet.
Walmart Retards
September 13th, 2012
8:00 am
Hal – you can throw in CBS too. Verne and the Doofus know nothing about college football outside of the SEC.
Hal
September 13th, 2012
8:01 am
“You won’t find many Bama or USC or Texas fans in the Bronx” You won’t find many Alabama fans outside the State. Heck when I lived in Seattle everyone thought Auburn was in Georgia because they had so many players from Georgia.
Pippa's hiney
September 13th, 2012
8:16 am
Partial membership is a load of it. Should NOT be allowed.
Aqua Velva Man
September 13th, 2012
8:19 am
Ditto on the “partial membership”, what a crock and double standard.
Common Sense
September 13th, 2012
8:37 am
Notre Dame is currently playing ACC caliber football. LOL
My question is why ND gets these special perks that don’t seem to apply to anyone else (5 games and you can be our bowl rep, NBC deal, etc.)?
Common Sense
September 13th, 2012
8:40 am
Atlantic Coast Conference, huh? I love riding those big waves in South Bend. Won’t be long before Brian Wilson writes a song about it.
I Gipp Around
Jack Bobeck
September 13th, 2012
8:45 am
You mean RUDY is now in the ACC with us? Ugh!
olddog
September 13th, 2012
8:51 am
Mark-
I don’t think I have ever disagreed with you more.
First of all, kudos to Notre Dame for pulling this off. Whoever negotiated this deal for them should receive a bonus. It’s a wonderful arrangement for the Irish. They get to keep their football independence, maintain their existing TV network and its revenue solely for themselves, share in the ACC TV network and revenue for away games, participate in all ACC bowls with the exception of the Orange Bowl, and, most importantly, get to become part of the best brand in college basketball, the ACC.
Here is what the ACC gets: a once proud football program that has been irrelevant for 2 decades, and nothing else. The Notre Dame brand? What is that worth now? About the same as the Kodak film brand. Watching Notre Dame play football is like watching the Rolling Stones perform. Your main emotion is wishing you could have seen them in their glory days.
The only brand that matters here and now is the ACC basketball brand, and the ACC has just given it away. While the conference is on this nostalgia tour, why don’t they invite the Carlisle Indians to join too.
The ACC panicked. Why don’t they ask the Big East how the Notre Dame tie-in is working for them these days?
Vince
September 13th, 2012
8:54 am
Notre Dame couldn’t do any better than the ACC? They must be really hurting for bowl revenue !!!!