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While I'm not claiming they had their mind made up, I can tell you that Notre Dame absolutely came to the Big Ten asking for a partial deal like the one the ACC offered just months prior to going to the ACC.
The Big Ten, of course, rejected that and countered with an offer for a gradual full-membership plan. Notre Dame rejected that and inquired about joining the Big Ten for hockey only. The Big Ten reiterated its position, and the rest was history.
The point here is that Notre Dame has portrayed after the fact the ACC was its desired destination, but it strongly flirted with the Big Ten looking for the same sort of partial membership. Obviously the additions of Rutgers and Maryland had quite a bit to do with that, as it gave an East coast presence Notre Dame was looking for. But nonetheless, it did absolutely go to the Big Ten with the hopes of getting the ACC type of deal.
While I'm not claiming they had their mind made up, I can tell you that Notre Dame absolutely came to the Big Ten asking for a partial deal like the one the ACC offered just months prior to going to the ACC.
The Big Ten, of course, rejected that and countered with an offer for a gradual full-membership plan. Notre Dame rejected that and inquired about joining the Big Ten for hockey only. The Big Ten reiterated its position, and the rest was history.
The point here is that Notre Dame has portrayed after the fact the ACC was its desired destination, but it strongly flirted with the Big Ten looking for the same sort of partial membership. Obviously the additions of Rutgers and Maryland had quite a bit to do with that, as it gave an East coast presence Notre Dame was looking for. But nonetheless, it did absolutely go to the Big Ten with the hopes of getting the ACC type of deal.
ND was already committed to the partial ACC deal when Rutgers and Maryland were added, no? ND announced the ACC deal in September 2012.
ND went to the Big 12 for a partial deal too. They used that to leverage the ACC deal, playing one conference off against another.