Mike DiMauro: Geno predicted ND's departure....

[pap49cba]

"It was after a game last year, standing in a hallway of the XL Center, that Geno Auriemma called this one. Geno, holding court with a few of us, said that based on conversations with People Who Know These Things, Notre Dame's exit from the Big East would be inevitable for this reason: It needed a landing spot for its non-revenue sports, lest they be forced to travel all four time zones and whittle away money because of the Big East's new expanse."

LINK

 

[wire chief]

Now that just now occurs to me...that Providence & San Diego State, multiplied several times because of several teams. will have big time increased expenses. Will there be grumbling?

 

[triaddukefan]

Now that just now occurs to me...that Providence & San Diego State, multiplied several times because of several teams. will have big time increased expenses. Will there be grumbling?

Isnt SDSU only a football only member of the Big East ??

 

[rjp172]

If Geno's reason is THE reason, wouldn't that hold true for every school? I'd think ND would be in a position to absorb that cost and in some cases relish it because they've always made a point of taking their show on the road because the alumni base is spread out coast to coast. The real reason is that ND is going to have to join a conference. They just had to pick one that was on stable ground and contained member schools that appealed to history and philosophy. They were already under contract for 4 ACC games. The ACC now makes up several former rivals that will appease alumni. The ACC is allowing a transition period to finish out contracts and planned off campus games. ND had an offer from the B12, but it just didn't match up with the intangibles like alumni base and containing the same Olympic sports.

 

[EricLA]

Isnt SDSU only a football only member of the Big East ??

Yes and so is Boise State. I believe the others (SMU, Memphis...) are in it for all sports tho.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Eric is correct.

I didn't see, but may have missed, any reference to the ND comment that the midwest towns of the B1G did not meet the needs of Notre Dame. It was in one of the early articles I read, and almost disrespected the B1G for having the nerve to suggest that they would be any advantage for ND. Notre Dame didn't leave for the travel, they left for the advantages to Notre Dame of the new arrangement.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Eric is correct.

I didn't see, but may have missed, any reference to the ND comment that the midwest towns of the B1G did not meet the needs of Notre Dame. It was in one of the early articles I read, and almost disrespected the B1G for having the nerve to suggest that they would be any advantage for ND. Notre Dame didn't leave for the travel, they left for the advantages to Notre Dame of the new arrangement.

Where did you see this comment? I must have missed it when I read and reread the article. rjp commented that the ACC matched ND's search criteria better than the Big 12, which is true. ND's nonrevenue sports are more like ACC schools than B12 schools (or even B1G schools). Plus the ACC is not full of large land grant institutions like the B1G, but rather has more private schools that are smaller (like ND). There's nothing wrong with the college towns of the B1G. They are mostly far better than South Bend (which, honestly, doesn't take much). I think rjp was merely stating that ND doesn't need their conference to be local because their fan base is not local and ND likes to recruit nationally.

 

[alexrgct]

Where did you see this comment? I must have missed it when I read and reread the article. rjp commented that the ACC matched ND's search criteria better than the Big 12, which is true. ND's nonrevenue sports are more like ACC schools than B12 schools (or even B1G schools). Plus the ACC is not full of large land grant institutions like the B1G, but rather has more private schools that are smaller (like ND). There's nothing wrong with the college towns of the B1G. They are mostly far better than South Bend (which, honestly, doesn't take much). I think rjp was merely stating that ND doesn't need their conference to be local because their fan base is not local and ND likes to recruit nationally.

ND doesn't "like" to recruit nationally; it has to. You're not winning football games with kids from Chicago and Indiana. Not enough of them, and too many other regional schools that are also competing for the same kids.

The ACC has DelMaVa/DC, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, all of which are extremely fertile recruiting grounds for elite athletes. ND has already agreed to a series of games with Texas, so they will enjoy additional exposure in the Lone Star State. Throw in the annual USC game, and you're covering a lot of bases, far more than would have been possible in the B1G.

However, I'd argue the real reason ND chose the ACC over the Big XII (where they have a strong ally in Texas) was that the ACC allowed ND to have access to conference bowl tie-ins without being a member in football.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Where did you see this comment? I must have missed it when I read and reread the article. rjp commented that the ACC matched ND's search criteria better than the Big 12, which is true. ND's nonrevenue sports are more like ACC schools than B12 schools (or even B1G schools). Plus the ACC is not full of large land grant institutions like the B1G, but rather has more private schools that are smaller (like ND). There's nothing wrong with the college towns of the B1G. They are mostly far better than South Bend (which, honestly, doesn't take much). I think rjp was merely stating that ND doesn't need their conference to be local because their fan base is not local and ND likes to recruit nationally.

From Sports Illustrated, although you are correct, the dig was more at the Big 12.

The move may cost the Irish some traditional opponents in football, as a Notre Dame official said the school's top priorities in football scheduling moving forward will be to retain a West Coast presence -- games against USC and Stanford -- and the annual game with Navy. That means Notre Dame's games against some of its Midwest opponents could be in danger.
The timing of the departure is "very murky," a Notre Dame official said. The earliest Notre Dame could leave the Big East without penalty is 2015.
The Notre Dame officials said the move will align the university with more like-minded schools in markets up and down the East Coast in which Notre Dame wants to gain exposure. Notre Dame had flirted with a scheduling arrangement with the Big 12 and joining that conference in other sports, but this move appears more logical than playing games in obscure Midwest markets.
"In any short-term way there's no financial benefit," the official said. "If we wanted to do something for money we would have joined the Big Ten. What it's really about is postseason play."
The official added: "It's a really good fit academically. There are sports that we're going to play, the non-football sports are very good and they're going to test us."


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/ncaa/09/12/notre-dame-acc/index.html#ixzz26OxobeEU​

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

PS - I would edit the above post to put quotes around the body and delete some extraneous stuff, but for whatever reason, I can't. But to be clear, it is all quoted from the linked article.

 

[Fightin Choke]

From Sports Illustrated, although you are correct, the dig was more at the Big 12.

The move may cost the Irish some traditional opponents in football, as a Notre Dame official said the school's top priorities in football scheduling moving forward will be to retain a West Coast presence -- games against USC and Stanford -- and the annual game with Navy. That means Notre Dame's games against some of its Midwest opponents could be in danger.​

The timing of the departure is "very murky," a Notre Dame official said. The earliest Notre Dame could leave the Big East without penalty is 2015.​

The Notre Dame officials said the move will align the university with more like-minded schools in markets up and down the East Coast in which Notre Dame wants to gain exposure. Notre Dame had flirted with a scheduling arrangement with the Big 12 and joining that conference in other sports, but this move appears more logical than playing games in obscure Midwest markets.​

"In any short-term way there's no financial benefit," the official said. "If we wanted to do something for money we would have joined the Big Ten. What it's really about is postseason play."​

The official added: "It's a really good fit academically. There are sports that we're going to play, the non-football sports are very good and they're going to test us."​

​

​

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/ncaa/09/12/notre-dame-acc/index.html#ixzz26OxobeEU​

Now I understand what you meant. Thanks! As to that comment about Notre Dame not liking the midwest towns: what the author meant was that ND doesn't seek the TV market in those towns. Why clamor for TV time in Madison, Champagne, Ann Arbor, Iowa City, East Lansing, etc. Their fans are partisan anyway, and ND already gets great exposure in the Chicago market and even Detroit. Might as well try to become more popular in other areas of the country.

 

[Fightin Choke]

ND doesn't "like" to recruit nationally; it has to. You're not winning football games with kids from Chicago and Indiana. Not enough of them, and too many other regional schools that are also competing for the same kids.

The ACC has DelMaVa/DC, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, all of which are extremely fertile recruiting grounds for elite athletes. ND has already agreed to a series of games with Texas, so they will enjoy additional exposure in the Lone Star State. Throw in the annual USC game, and you're covering a lot of bases, far more than would have been possible in the B1G.

However, I'd argue the real reason ND chose the ACC over the Big XII (where they have a strong ally in Texas) was that the ACC allowed ND to have access to conference bowl tie-ins without being a member in football.

Come on, Alex! Notre Dame can recruit further than that without increasing its exposure on TV! While I completely agree that ND wants to recruit California, Texas, and the Southeast, Notre Dame has traditionally gotten the bulk of their athletes from Ohio, Penn, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Indiana.

And on that point about the ACC bowl tie-in: that was clearly the compensation that ND was seeking, but I do not understand why many posters are think this is a horrible deal for the ACC. Notre Dame wins by getting bowl exposure, but the ACC wins because they can negotiate for a higher bowl payout just because ND is a possible bowl participant. ESPN suggested this would raise annual ACC team income by 1-2 million per year. That's a lot of money once you multiply by the number of teams in the ACC. It's win-win. DiMauro is not thinking clearly if he thinks the ACC is sad about this deal and the Big East is rejoicing. He's letting his hatred cloud his judgement.

One more point. Many UConn fans are extremely upset by Notre Dame bailing on the Big East, but an even greater number are suggesting that UConn do the same thing if the opportunity arises. Notre Dame wasn't the first team to jump ship, they were simply the most recent. And they wouldn't have done that if the new bowl alliances and sinking prestige of the BE hadn't forced their hand. I would think the only valid reason to be upset with Notre Dame is that they never joined the BE in football, as the great exodus may never hasve occurred if ND had been a full member of the BE. But ND never said they would join in football, so they've been consistent and honest about their intentions.

 

[Icebear]

The great irony is that ND will now likely regularly play against teams they joined in the Big East and could have played for football there including Miami, VATech, BC, Pitt, and Syracuse.

 

[Fightin Choke]

The great irony is that ND will now likely regularly play against teams they joined in the Big East and could have played for football there including Miami, VATech, BC, Pitt, and Syracuse.

Good point, but Notre Dame never had anything against playing Miami, BC, Pitt, etc. in football, they just didn't want their schedule to lose flexibility as they like to play games around the country to appease alumni. For example, as an alumnus, I can get @USC tiks every other year if I feel like traveling from Scottsdale to LA at Thanksgiving. They play BC in Newton and Navy (at the Meadowlands) to appease NY/New England fans. Growing up in Boston, my Dad took us to BC games so we didn't have to go to South Bend for each game we saw, although we still made the pilgrimage to SB at least once a year. If ND joined a conference, especially one as regional as the B1G, their nonconference schedule would be ridiculous (USC, Stanford, Navy, BC). The 5 game ACC schedule allows 6 'nonconference' games, so ND could play USC, Stanford, Navy, 2 of the 3 B1G schools they regularly play (Michigan, Michigan St., and Purdue) and leave one wild card (for Air Force, Texas, Oklahoma, Northwestern, UConn, etc). It really was not all about TV money, although that is most certainly a factor.

 

[Icebear]

Good point, but Notre Dame never had anything against playing Miami, BC, Pitt, etc. in football, they just didn't want their schedule to lose flexibility as they like to play games around the country to appease alumni.

Well, now they have lost that flexibility anyway promising 5 games per year.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Well, now they have lost that flexibility anyway promising 5 games per year.

No they haven't. If they joined the B1G, they would have have 8 conference games and 4 open. By partially joining the ACC, they have 5 'conference' games and 7 open games. That's 75% more flexibility by joining the ACC.

 

[Icebear]

Pay attention I was speaking of the contrast to the deal they had with the Big East.