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Va would be even better but with the GOR I'd guess that's out of the question for the time being!
Well you can scratch Kansas off your list then as well.Va would be even better but with the GOR I'd guess that's out of the question for the time being!
From ACC Media Day Kick-off:
SportsBizMiss 12:51pm via TweetDeck
Swofford said if Notre Dame decides to join a conf in football, it'll be ACC through 2026/2027 per contract.
Welcome to having ND as a conference partner John. Enjoy.From ACC Media Day Kick-off:
SportsBizMiss 12:51pm via TweetDeck
Swofford said if Notre Dame decides to join a conf in football, it'll be ACC through 2026/2027 per contract.
Our only hope with regards to ND in the ACC full-time is for the playoff to add weight to conference champions. It will only take 1 year where ND doesn't get in the playoff but finishes in the top 10 for them to seriously think about going in full-time.
Frank - Are you saying that the Domers would rather remain independent than get a spot in the playoff? That's ludicrous. I'm not saying it isn't true but sacrificing a chance for an improved playoff seat to remain independent is just dumb and I thought the Domers were supposed to be smart?
Honestly, it won't. ND alums (who, unlike 99% of schools, truly do control the governance of that institution) are unlike any other breed. Getting a downgrade for not being in a conference means nothing to them. Seriously. (Besides, they're not getting a downgrade with the schedule that they're playing, anyway. Let's not kid ourselves.) In fact, Domers will make that into a rallying cry about the "prejudice against independence" and become more hunkered down than ever. ND has to be literally BARRED from being in the college football playoff in order to even *start* considering to drop independence. Not only is this NOT the case with the new CFP system (which very clearly doesn't attach any weight to conference championships for the 4-team playoff), but they have a deal with the Orange Bowl on top of it (which is more than you can say for any of the Group of Five conferences).
I deal with Domers everyday. If anything, people across the country *underestimate* how crazy this group of people is compared to everyone else. Most people just know groups of T-shirt Irish fans that have more of a casual connection to the school. The people I deal with are actual alums that have spent four years getting completely brainwashed about how special independence is in South Bend. Independence is how they define themselves as an *institution* (NOT just for football). To them, Notre Dame is defined as being independent as much as it is defined as being Catholic. That's why they look at it so differently than 99% of the other college football fans in America - there is zero capitulation from Domers on the independence topic outside of being barred from the national championship by explicit rule (not just by voting habits).
Exactly. What happens to the Big Ten's plans for the East Coast if Notre Dame joins the ACC as a full member? Heck, what happens to the Big Ten's own home base of Chicago (where ND is still the most popular college sports team)? Who gets into the playoff is an rounding error concern compared to the big dollars that affect 95% of the power conference schools that aren't realistically competing for national championships regularly (those that aren't named Alabama, Ohio State, USC, etc.).
Let me repeat this again: NO ONE wants to force Notre Dame to join *a* conference. They only want Notre Dame to join *their* conference. Coaches care about who gets into a playoff, which makes sense because that's an on-the-field matter that affects their job security. However, Notre Dame joining (or not joining) a conference is completely an off-the-field matter that's driven by money, power and prestige that guys like Steve Spurrier are either (a) clueless about or (b) don't care about since they are paid to have a laser-like focus on wins and recruiting.
Believe me: the Big Ten would rather let Notre Dame into the new CFP playoff 1000 times over compared to letting any Group of Five team into it. Notre Dame still makes the Big Ten (and every other power conference) money, but the Group of Five takes money away from them. All complaints about ND arise because they are such a high profile team, which is a de facto indicator of their unique power in college sports (and I say this as a complete Big Ten guy that thinks the average Domer are indoctrinated like the Borg).
Here's the thing that Spurrier doesn't get apparently. Notre Dame is a national brand. Florida, Texas, Alabama and all the rest just are not national brands on the same level. You might want them to be. You might wish they were, but they just are not. And that is the reason they get treated like all the other conference commissioners. In the ratings game, the SEC might beat out Notre Dame, but no individual SEC team could go head to head over the course of a season. Nobody watches the Longhorn network outside of Austin, and if some numbers are to be believed, few in Austin watch it. there is no "national" market for Florida, and surely none for South Carolina! And that,ol ball caoch, is the reason Notre Dame gets treated as it does.
And that is the reason Spurrier was making his point. Notre Dame needs to play football like the rest of the country. What he really should be advocating is that none (as in zero) major programs schedule Notre Dame. Let them play UMass, Delaware, Montana and Appalachian State or . . . . . join a freakin conference.