Well, there's no question ND would receive a significant increase in TV revenue if they went to the ACC. The issue with the Domers is they value their independence over money. However, as college athletics evolves, and assuming their program doesn't take giant steps forward in the next 2-3 seasons (as in multiple top 15 finishes), their next contract with NBC will lock them into an annual payout that will put them at a competitive disadvantage with respect to the rest of the major players in BCS conferences. They can't expect donors to annually cover a $10M - $15M shortfall compared to the Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12, and Big XII. It's the tortoise & the hare argument. It doesn't matter that ND is the fast rabbit. If they get locked into a TV contract that puts them too far behind, the tortoises of college football will pass them.
Here's the issue with the ACC though...............the ACC's contract w/ ESPN is for all TV rights: Tier 1, 2, 3. If ND joins, they have to cede control of all of their TV rights to the ACC. So, there is no opportunity to have a national ND Network, which they've been looking into. Other than that, the ACC has all of the pieces. They stretch nearly 2,000 miles across the eastern seaboard. They have a number of current and former Domer rivals: Pitt, GA Tech, Miami, Boston College. And, they are one of, if not the most prestigious conference academically in D1. But, the ACC isn't going to go back on their Tier 3 stance. They already turned down Texas for that very reason.
If ND joins a conference in full, the ACC is the leader in the club house...............and by a lot. The dark horse would be the Big XII, simply b/c Swarbrick & Dodds (the ADs) have a very strong relationship, and in terms of national drawing power, they are #1 (Texas) and #2 (Notre Dame). The Big XII is attractive for that reason and their willingness to allow Tier 3 TV rights ownership by their members (the SEC is the only other that allows it as well). But, the Big XII will never be a serious contender to land ND as a full member unless they land 3-4 east coast members.
The Big Ten is a complete non-starter. Domers hate the Big Ten........with a passion. H-A-T-E!!! Fans get caught up on the fact that ND plays 3 Big Ten teams annually. But, they're marriages of convenience. Nearly everyone of their fans would love to see Purdue disappear from their schedule forever. And, despite perceptions to the contrary, just barely over half actually care about playing Michigan State or Michigan annually. At an administration (and booster) level, no one's forgotten that the Big Ten rejected ND's attempt to join multiple times due to their Catholic roots. So, in the eyes of the people that matter, the Big Ten would be a last resort.
I have zero doubt that w/in 10 years, you'll see ND in a conference. Money, competitive balance, scheduling difficulties (w/ everyone going to 9 conference games per year), recruiting, and competing for NCs are all going to push them that direction. And, since you're probably curious, ND & UConn in the ACC would probably bring in $21M - $26M per year per team (based on today's TV payout market). The one thing that hurts the ACC is their teams don't draw well outside their respective regions. The only exceptions are Florida State, Miami, Clemson, and VA Tech. FSU & Miami are national draws, and Clemson & VA Tech are regional draws (meaning, fans of other teams regularly watch their games). Clemson also has a strong following in the eastern part of the SEC.
I would love to see some kind of references behind what you're saying, as to viewership, media payouts, etc... because it's interesting, and I'd like to see the actual numbers, well because I don't trust you. Nothing personal.
As for the rest of it, I'm not agreeing with most of it. Not at all. The leadership at Notre Dame, has much, much, much, much more in common with leadership of the traditional basketball power schools in the Big East that have provided the backbone for the league to become a springboard for so many other football programs in division 1-A, than they have in common with the leadership in the ACC. It's called the Catholic priesthood. That same priesthood that has mishandled all other football playing 1-A college in the Big East footprint - not named Notre Dame for far too long, and have finally realized that if they continue, their basketball baby dies as an adult.
I believe, that it's finally come to the point, that all those men of the cloth, that value their institutions so highly, have sat down and realized that they really need to make this thing work in the future, otherwise that group of catholic basketball colleges, is going to fall behind.
Notre Dame is going nowhere but remaining independant in football, until there is a national playoff system for a national championship in college football that is a true system based on competition and involves all, and only, all conference 1-A champions. They are intimately involved in the survival of the Big East conference, because the Big East, is there only ticket to remaining independant in football, and they'll reamin independant as long as that playoff system doesn't exist, and when it does - they're much more likely to join the Big East than any other conference.
I can't prove what I will write now, but I believe that the ACC, working with knowledge about how their ESPN broadcasting contracts would be changed, has had the intention of breaking the Big East conference down for many years now, such that Notre Dame reaches a point where they cannot house their basketball and olympics sports in the Big East. I trully believe, that had Syracuse and UConn gone to the ACC in Sep 2011. The league would have split by now, and Notre Dame would be actively searchign for a home for all their sports, and running into walls with anyone that offered them competition but was willing to leave them independant in football. It would have been complete chaos in the landscape beyond anythign that we've seen in the past several months. It didn't happen, and ACC/ESPN people have Boston College leadership to thank for it. BC is really going to feel the love from Tobacco Road and further south now. Anyway....
What's finally become clear to all those other Catholic schools that have been the backbone, is that they need to build a powerful football conference, to maintain the basketball league, rather than do just enough to keep a football conference. You may not believe me, but 15 years, ago, the commissioner of the SEC, was very, very concerned about the Big East conference, because he knew that if the leadership got their priorities in order, the Big East could become by far the most powerful athletic conference in the country. Notre Dame, football and basketball, and ownership of the most powerful media forces in the country. That same commissioner scrambled to be instrumental in the creation of the BCS system to determine a national champion out of the infant bowl coalition contract system with the 6 major conferences at the time.
So - thanks for interest in UConn athletics. We will continue to recruit, compete at the highest levels, and work like hell to win games against whomever we are lining up against. As long as we remain tied to Notre Dame through athletics however convoluted it may be until there is a true national championship playoff system, and as long as we maintain relationship with the athletic conference that has ownership of our broadcasting reach in the NYC to Boston corridor, we are going to be just fine.
What that means, is the Big East. And I think that ability to broadcast football games over 4 time zones is a big deal. We actually won't be the only conference that's able to do it. It's all going to be about following the NFL model of national broadcasts with marquee matchups and regionalizing the other ones so that there is minimal overlap, and marketing the hell out of it.
