Irish Eyes Spy the Bible Belt

By Jacob Shoor
SouthernPigskin.com

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In joining the ACC, Notre Dame, a truly elite university, finally has joined a conference that is its equal academically.

Once again, I need to emphasize that I do not have inside contacts at the ACC office. Nor do I have any such contacts with any ACC school. I have not been saying across the internet for more than three years that Notre Dame would be in the ACC sooner rather than later because someone with major power told me so; I have said it because my analysis of the changing sports landscape told me that was the smartest move Notre Dame could make.

It is now official: Notre Dame will join the ACC for all sports but football, and the Irish will be contracted to play five ACC teams per year in football.

Considering that this past summer saw all kinds of dolts swearing that the ACC was on its last legs because Clemson and Florida State were led by people stupid enough to leave the ACC to join the Bevo Fiefdom (AKA the Big 12), and that one of the arguments used to prove that the ACC was crumbling was that it had no grant of rights, which means schools refused to tie themselves to the ACC, I think the beginning of discussing this newly expanded ACC must begin with this quote from the ACC: "in addition to extending an invitation to Notre Dame, the Council of Presidents voted to increase the conference exit fees to three times the annual operating budget. Currently this would equate to an exit fee of over $50 million."

As I said in a Southern Pigskin article during the summer, schools do not leave a more academically prestigious conference to join a less academically prestigious conference.

In joining the ACC, Notre Dame, a truly elite university, finally has joined a conference that is its equal academically.

Now to the issues that will bother or intrigue sports fans.

If Notre Dame does not join the ACC for football, which is easily the biggest sport generating the most revenue and interest, how does this move help the ACC?

ND playing five ACC teams per year becomes part of the equation for ESPN in determining how much ACC football is worth, and when and where games are telecast. This tie will be worth an upgrade at the five year look-in that is part of the ACC TV contract. It also will help most ACC schools recruit a little better.

In addition, ND playing ACC basketball, which has also added Syracuse and Pitt, will elevate the ACC far above the Big Ten as the league with the largest number of TV viewers for basketball. As ESPN shows more hours of college basketball than it does of football, that will translate into more value for the ACC at the five year look-in.

And then there are the non-revenue sports. The power of football has made most fans fail to see that the total package is, well, total. If the SEC did not have Kentucky basketball and had lousy baseball, the SEC TV deals would be worth less even with SEC football as dominating as it is. The Pac-12 TV deals are as large as they are not because Pac football has any audience east of the Rockies, but because the promise of various top notch Pac non-revenue sports catching on with TV viewers is worth the over-payment for its football and basketball.

Notre Dame brings an unparalleled name brand to any sport that helps it secure an audience for its conference. ACC baseball will see a significant jump in national TV audience with the Irish on board. ACC soccer will see the same increase. The ACC totally owns lacrosse, which is easily the fastest growing sport in the country, and with the Irish added on the heels of adding Syracuse, almost all lacrosse TV viewing will be about the ACC.

Will those things make the ACC TV deals as rich as those of the SEC and Big Ten? No. But with those factors and improved football from, say, Florida State and UNC, Miami and Syracuse, Pitt and BC, the ACC TV deals will close the gap considerably.

And if Notre Dame joins for football, the ACC will make as much money from TV deals as any conference.

My guess now is that all parties - the ACC, ND AD Jack Swarbrick, ND President Father Jenkins - know that ND needs to join the ACC for football and that this is a step to ease Irish gridiron fears about losing independence. Irish football needs the challenge of playing for a divisional title and then in a conference championship game, and ACC membership for all sports but football will open most Irish eyes to that fact.

Next week, I will outline what I think would be best for ND football as a full member of the ACC.