Notre Dame half-way in the ACC is good for the ACC.

Mar 13, 2013, 2:42 PM

Does Notre Dame's half-@ss commitment to the ACC help Notre Dame more than it helps the ACC? Duh... of course it does.

But does that automatically mean it is bad or even negligible from the ACC's perspective? Not even close.

First of all, the immediate reason why Notre Dame is good for the ACC is that it will increase TV money. New York is a big place. For whatever reason, Notre Dame is bigger in the NYC market than Syracuse, Rutgers, Maryland and UCONN combined. Not only that, but by having Notre Dame in the bowl lineup, they will only improve our bowl negotiating power and perhaps we can add a better bowl.

But the biggest reason may be the long-term implications. It looks like the college football world may eventually move towards just a few superconferences. The Irish AD already said, though the plan is to remain independent, if something changed dramatically then they would join the ACC in football too.

Well... with all the concern that the ACC may be falling apart and that Clemson may get left high and dry (Our only possible option would be the Big 12) ACC AD's and Prez's know that Notre Dame said it would fully join the ACC if conference affiliation eventually became a requirement to play in the new super-conference league.

So? So this could very easily hold all the schools together and the conference could not only survive but seriously compete... and make a ton of money too. IF the move to superconference-only league does happen, the ACC can't hold on to itself with just FSU, Clemson and Tobacco Road leading the way. We NEED a Notre Dame to be involved in our image if the superconference crap hits the fan. That would give Clemson the best long-term conference security.