ACC solidifies future with Notre Dame
Sep 13, 2012
The "Ninja Commissioner" strikes again.
After months of rumors that Notre Dame would eventually join a conference, either all-in or partially, ACC commissioner John Swofford closed the deal with minimal leaks. The league dropped the bombshell Wednesday morning about 30 minutes after reports started to surface that the Fighting Irish would come aboard as a partial member.
The arrangement is mutually beneficial. Notre Dame retains its football independence and the television money that goes with it. They also solve future scheduling problems since 9-game conference slates are the new normal in college football. The ACC also provides an aesthetic move in line with the Irish now that the Big East has become a jumbled mess spanning the country.
For Swofford and the ACC, the addition of Notre Dame will allow the conference to generate better bowl tie-ins and the better money that comes along with it. According to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports, the new scheduling arrangement with Notre Dame will open up a renegotiation look-in with ESPN as well.
Most importantly, Swofford snagged the final piece of the realignment pie and secured the conference's future. The changing dynamics of college football dictated that Notre Dame would eventually join a conference, so why not get the ball rolling with a strategic partnership. Detractors will gripe that not having a full-time football member makes the deal pointless, but that would be terribly short-sighted.
The ACC also killed any further defection speculation by upping the exit fee to 3-times the operating budget, which is an estimated $50 million. The idea that Florida State or Clemson would leave now would be incredibly silly and financially irresponsible.
Let's delve into some speculation.
Notre Dame's television contract with NBC ends in 2015, which creates interesting possibilities for consolidation of both contracts or certain percentages of any new deal being shared with the rest of the ACC. With ESPN in a position to spend in order to keep the best college football inventory, or the thirstiness of NBC to compete with their new sports network, there is more money out there to be made.
Then there is the matter of which school will become the 16th member. The ACC doesn't seem to be in a hurry to add another school since keeping Notre Dame as a partial member with a scheduling arrangement keeps divisions with 7 teams intact. However, the uneven number of teams in all other sports could create scheduling problems.
This puts the ACC in an interesting position if Notre Dame never has any intention of joining as a full member with football. Swofford could add Villanova or Georgetown, with their football staying at the FCS level with an eye to jump up a level should Notre Dame ever go full time.
Most Recent Comments
RE: ACC solidifies future with Notre Dame
'30 minutes after reports started to surface'Notre Dame has this on their Rivals site the night before
Posted Sep 13, 2:22 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 32719
Joined: Jan, 2008
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: ACC solidifies future with Notre Dame
- Posted by Certainly Duke is DukeHow long do Florida State and Clemson have before the new exit fee will apply to them? I assume that when they say it is effective "immediately", that means as soon as formal contracts are drawn up and signed, which I don't believe has happened yet.- Posted by Ken D.
If they don't sign the contracts, the ACC may have to decide whether to kick them out or not.
Clemson and FSU are not going anywhere
I agree that they're not going anywhere.
Also, I saw a quote where someone with the ACC was asked about this, and the answer was basically "it goes into effect TODAY".
Posted Sep 13, 12:09 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 1112
Joined: Sep, 2012
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: ACC solidifies future with Notre Dame
How long do Florida State and Clemson have before the new exit fee will apply to them? I assume that when they say it is effective "immediately", that means as soon as formal contracts are drawn up and signed, which I don't believe has happened yet.- Posted by Ken D.
If they don't sign the contracts, the ACC may have to decide whether to kick them out or not.
Clemson and FSU are not going anywhere
Posted Sep 13, 11:49 a.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 6448
Joined: Jun, 2007
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: ACC solidifies future with Notre Dame
How long do Florida State and Clemson have before the new exit fee will apply to them? I assume that when they say it is effective "immediately", that means as soon as formal contracts are drawn up and signed, which I don't believe has happened yet.If they don't sign the contracts, the ACC may have to decide whether to kick them out or not.
