Non-Key Tweets

[btstimpy]

The most ridiculous thing on the conference realignment board isn't the nonsense from the WV Twitter idiots. It's this ridiculous idea that the ACC is weak and is going to fall apart.

The ACC is set until 2026-2027, and it will retain all of its current members until then except for Maryland. Maryland left obligated to pay the exit fee provisions, but Maryland did not sign the Grant of Rights. Will someone want to leave in 2026? Who knows? That's 13 years away.

 

[whaler11]

The ACC is set until 2026-2027, and it will retain all of its current members until then except for Maryland. Maryland left obligated to pay the exit fee provisions, but Maryland did not sign the Grant of Rights. Will someone want to leave in 2026? Who knows? That's 13 years away.

I don't know what further evidence anyone could need. The ACC schools that matter all want to be in the ACC.

 

[kyleslamb]

It's not an idea. It's a fact. Notre Dame Football by contract is only permitted to join the ACC if they join a conference before 2026-2027. Nothing is crumbling either due to Grant of Rights signed by all 15 schools through 2026-2027. And the University of Maryland is going to be writing a very large check to the ACC to pay the remaining balance on the Exit Fee owed minus the offset that the ACC is collecting.

You can read the announcement of this if you like. http://espn.go.com/blog/notre-dame-...s-notre-dame-fighting-irish-at-acc-media-days

What the penalty would be should Notre Dame decide to break this contract was not disclosed. But they are in a contract preventing their joining another football conference.

Jack Swarbrick was also specifically asked about how they would view Maryland and others potentially leaving. It did not deter Notre Dame from entering the agreement with the ACC.

You're missing the point entirely. Their contract is for membership with the ACC. If they want to join a football conference while they are a member of the ACC, it has to be the ACC. Their contract is good until 2026-27.

What you seem to be ignoring is that if they pay the exit fee, they can leave the ACC, thus legally terminating their contract, and join any football conference they want -- which was the point. Like I said, if you think Notre Dame is going to lock themselves into a 15-year agreement with no ability to leave if they change their minds, you simply don't know Notre Dame very well.

On a semi-related but different note: my advice is you might not want to take everything Swofford says as gospel. He's going to give a bit of a slant to anything he says.

 

[CL82]

The ACC is set until 2026-2027, and it will retain all of its current members until then except for Maryland. Maryland left obligated to pay the exit fee provisions, but Maryland did not sign the Grant of Rights. Will someone want to leave in 2026? Who knows? That's 13 years away.

Courts typically frown on punitive exit provisions. The ACC immediately replaced MD and was worth more after it did so. It is hard to make an argument that MD's exit 'damaged' the conference. No damages = no payment.

I do agree that that ACC is looking pretty stable in near term.

 

[billybud]

You're missing the point entirely. Their contract is for membership with the ACC. If they want to join a football conference while they are a member of the ACC, it has to be the ACC. Their contract is good until 2026-27.

What you seem to be ignoring is that if they pay the exit fee, they can leave the ACC, thus legally terminating their contract, and join any football conference they want -- which was the point. Like I said, if you think Notre Dame is going to lock themselves into a 15-year agreement with no ability to leave if they change their minds, you simply don't know Notre Dame very well.

On a semi-related but different note: my advice is you might not want to take everything Swofford says as gospel. He's going to give a bit of a slant to anything he says.

Notre Dame signed the GOR...they would leave their media rights for basketball and all other sports with the ACC. I guess thay they could move out football...but the damages would be heavy and much easier to justify than for Maryland's leaving.

But the discussion is all a waste of bandwidth, the Irish are not going anywhere.

 

[billybud]

The Irish have signed a contract stating that, if they join a conference before 2027, that it will be the ACC.

 

[SubbaBub]

The Irish have signed a contract stating that, if they join a conference before 2027, that it will be the ACC.

A contract, I am willing to assume was primarily written by Notre Dame. The next concession ND grants to an athletic conference will be the first.

 

[UConn Dan]

No they didn't. Their scheduling agreement was just a part of their partial membership to the ACC. If Notre Dame pays the exit fee prescribed by the bylaws, the scheduling agreement is void. They are free to join any other conference legally.

Further, I suspect you haven't been around Notre Dame long enough to understand that's not how they operate. Believe me, they'd never sign a contract that stipulated they cannot join another conference. Nevermind that sort of contract would never be upheld in court.

Kyle -- this is not correct. Swofford is on record that if Notre dame joins any conference in football prior to 2027 it must be the ACC. I'm sure they could litigate, but they have a contract to that effect.

 

[btstimpy]

You're missing the point entirely. Their contract is for membership with the ACC. If they want to join a football conference while they are a member of the ACC, it has to be the ACC. Their contract is good until 2026-27.

What you seem to be ignoring is that if they pay the exit fee, they can leave the ACC, thus legally terminating their contract, and join any football conference they want -- which was the point. Like I said, if you think Notre Dame is going to lock themselves into a 15-year agreement with no ability to leave if they change their minds, you simply don't know Notre Dame very well.

On a semi-related but different note: my advice is you might not want to take everything Swofford says as gospel. He's going to give a bit of a slant to anything he says.

Notre Dame football is not in the ACC, but it is under contract to the ACC until 2026-2027 to play 5 games per year, and it is under contract that it will not join another conference until 2026-2027. The provisions of that contract that talk about their terminating it early are not disclosed. The rest of Notre Dame's Athletic Department other than ice hockey has signed the Grant of Rights to the ACC as well as agreed to be obligated to the Exit Fee.

Yes Notre Dame could pay $52 million and lose the rights to all Television of their non-football product and leave before 2026-2027. I'm not anticipating them to do so, and neither should anyone else.

 

[TerryD]

It's not an idea. It's a fact. Notre Dame Football by contract is only permitted to join the ACC if they join a conference before 2026-2027. Nothing is crumbling either due to Grant of Rights signed by all 15 schools through 2026-2027. And the University of Maryland is going to be writing a very large check to the ACC to pay the remaining balance on the Exit Fee owed minus the offset that the ACC is collecting.

You can read the announcement of this if you like. http://espn.go.com/blog/notre-dame-...s-notre-dame-fighting-irish-at-acc-media-days

What the penalty would be should Notre Dame decide to break this contract was not disclosed. But they are in a contract preventing their joining another football conference.

Jack Swarbrick was also specifically asked about how they would view Maryland and others potentially leaving. It did not deter Notre Dame from entering the agreement with the ACC.

ND signed the ACC GOR for the 24 sports which joined the ACC. Home football and hockey games are televised by NBC and are carved out of that GOR.

ND also agreed to the increased ACC exit fee to $50 million as part of its agreement to affiliate with the ACC. ND signed off on that agreement as well.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8369070/notre-dame-sports-football-hockey-acc


The ACC is exactly where ND wants to be. It could not be happier about its status than right now.

 

[UConn9604]

You can read the announcement of this if you like. http://espn.go.com/blog/notre-dame-...s-notre-dame-fighting-irish-at-acc-media-days

There could be -- actually, I'm sure of it -- other material performance provisions which, if breached by the ACC, could let Notre Dame out. Swofford only responded to a question at a presser, and obviously didn't go into great details about the agreement with Notre Dame, but obviously when he says, "if Notre Dame wants to join a league by 2026-27, it has to be the ACC," what he is really saying is, "assuming all parties perform in accordance with our agreement between now and then, if Notre Dame wants to join a league by 2026-27, it has to be the ACC." The point being, the agreement is more than just what Swofford says it is.

This may seem like a minor point, but it's not. There could be provisions in that agreement which would allow Notre Dame to get out if it doesn't get a bowl that it thinks it deserves, or whatever. After all, it's Notre Dame -- leagues are known to do stupid stuff to make them happy.

 

[specialisthusky]

The ACC is exactly where ND wants to be. It could not be happier about its status than right now.

That's nice. Help destroy a great conference that was more than accommodating and watch one of its rivals and ex conference mates get left in the dust. But I'm sure glad they are happy. Thanks.

 

[FDNY99]

That's nice. Help destroy a great conference that was more than accommodating and watch one of its rivals and ex conference mates get left in the dust. But I'm sure glad they are happy. Thanks.

Don't worry by 2026-2027 they will have done the same to the ACC and will have moved on somewhere else where they " will have never been happier". The ONLY confrence that won't get used and destroyed by them is the B1G...which by the way is most likely the one cinference they have ZERO interest in joining!

 

[TerryD]

That's nice. Help destroy a great conference that was more than accommodating and watch one of its rivals and ex conference mates get left in the dust. But I'm sure glad they are happy. Thanks.

Notre Dame did not "help destroy" anything. It told the Big East up front in 1995 that football would never be included.

BE was destroyed by a pre-existing hybrid setup (Miami got unequal revenues, its baseball program was independent, basketball only programs) and the fact that the BE football schools were divided, afraid of using the "get out of jail free" card to split and could not even agree among themselves about football expansion.

After Miami left in 2003, the Big East was Dead Man Walking. The majority of the football schools (Pitt, Syracuse, WVU, Rutgers) had one foot out of the door and were looking to bail.

 

[ddminct]

Notre Dame did not "help destroy" anything. It told the Big East up front in 1995 that football would never be included.

BE was destroyed by a pre-existing hybrid setup (Miami got unequal revenues, its baseball program was independent, basketball only programs) and the fact that the BE football schools were divided, afraid of using the "get out of jail free" card to split and could not even agree among themselves about football expansion.

After Miami left in 2003, the Big East was Dead Man Walking. The majority of the football schools (Pitt, Syracuse, WVU, Rutgers) had one foot out of the door and were looking to bail.

So what is your purpose here?

 

[TerryD]

There could be -- actually, I'm sure of it -- other material performance provisions which, if breached by the ACC, could let Notre Dame out. Swofford only responded to a question at a presser, and obviously didn't go into great details about the agreement with Notre Dame, but obviously when he says, "if Notre Dame wants to join a league by 2026-27, it has to be the ACC," what he is really saying is, "assuming all parties perform in accordance with our agreement between now and then, if Notre Dame wants to join a league by 2026-27, it has to be the ACC." The point being, the agreement is more than just what Swofford says it is.

This may seem like a minor point, but it's not. There could be provisions in that agreement which would allow Notre Dame to get out if it doesn't get a bowl that it thinks it deserves, or whatever. After all, it's Notre Dame -- leagues are known to do stupid stuff to make them happy.

Proof? Other than your own unsupported speculation, that is?

Any links? Any documents? Any reputable source?

 

[TerryD]

So what is your purpose here?

To follow realignment rumors? Isn't that what this board is for?

 

[specialisthusky]

To follow realignment rumors? Isn't that what this board is for?

That is great. This is a good board for following realignment.

Please don't bring your ND is holier than thou attitude with you though.

 

[btstimpy]

There could be -- actually, I'm sure of it -- other material performance provisions which, if breached by the ACC, could let Notre Dame out. Swofford only responded to a question at a presser, and obviously didn't go into great details about the agreement with Notre Dame, but obviously when he says, "if Notre Dame wants to join a league by 2026-27, it has to be the ACC," what he is really saying is, "assuming all parties perform in accordance with our agreement between now and then, if Notre Dame wants to join a league by 2026-27, it has to be the ACC." The point being, the agreement is more than just what Swofford says it is.

This may seem like a minor point, but it's not. There could be provisions in that agreement which would allow Notre Dame to get out if it doesn't get a bowl that it thinks it deserves, or whatever. After all, it's Notre Dame -- leagues are known to do stupid stuff to make them happy.

I'm glad you're sure of it. I'm not. I only know what I've been told and what has been disclosed. I see no evidence that Notre Dame is unhappy about their decision to join the ACC. Not from Notre Dame nor from the Notre Dame fan base. They haven't even played their first game in the ACC, and football won't until 2014. But nothing suggests that they want to get out of any of their agreements with the ACC. The ACC is happy to have them too.

Now Maryland on the other hand has a very unhappy fan base. I see that every day with all of them that I come into contact with. It will dissipate over time, but it's not pretty right now.

 

[Fairfield 1st]

I for one have grown tired of this GOR discussion with the ACC... The fact remains that unless and until the D4 idea begins to become a reality, we are simply stuck in the AAC. Everything else is wishful thinking... The D4 concept actually will upset the apple cart sufficiently to allow for real shifts in conference alignment as schools in certain conferences will likely opt out of high level football (Wake, Iowa State, etc...) Spots will open in that enviroment for us to get out of the AAc and/or merge with likeminded Mountain West Schools.

Everything I have read, seen or heard on the subject of the ACC GOR is really bs. No one I know of has read the document, or ND's deal with the ACC. Leave it alone.

Season starts next week. Nothing will happen until its over... lets freakin move on and get our a**ses to the Rent!

 

[TerryD]

That is great. This is a good board for following realignment.

Please don't bring your ND is holier than thou attitude with you though.

That is great. This is a good board for following realignment.

Please don't bring your ND is holier than thou attitude with you though.

I wasn't aware that pointing out that:

1) ND always told the BE that football would never join,

2) The BE was already an unequal revenue and hybrid conference prior to ND joining, and

3) The BE football schools were afraid to use the "card ", could not agree on a split, expansion and were looking to bail

= "Holier than Thou". My bad.

 

[ddminct]

I wasn't aware that pointing out that:

1) ND always told the BE that football would never join,

2) The BE was already an unequal revenue and hybrid conference prior to ND joining, and

3) The BE football schools were afraid to use the "card ", could not agree on a split, expansion and were looking to bail

= "Holier than Thou". My bad.

No problem. At least you get it now

 

[Dooley]

After Miami left in 2003, the Big East was Dead Man Walking. The majority of the football schools (Pitt, Syracuse, WVU, Rutgers) had one foot out of the door and were looking to bail.

I agree that the dead man walking effect began after Miami and Va Tech bolted. But, man, calling the likes of Pitt, Fruit and RU "football schools" should be the equivalent of calling Penn State, Nebraska and Iowa basketball schools, shouldn't it? By that premise, just playing a sport at a D-1 level longer than UCONN has, regardless of the lack of recent (decades or longer), qualifies as being branded a "(pick a sport) school".

I understand what you're saying, it just sounds funny. That's all.

 

[FDNY99]

It was during this time :
http://mysite.verizon.net/fethrs/Minutes July 2003.pdf
when the football schools should have gone their seperate ways! It is my opinion that the Catholic basketball schools used ND to help keep the BE together. All that did was extend the inevitable.

 

[upstater]

Notre Dame signed the GOR...they would leave their media rights for basketball and all other sports with the ACC. I guess thay they could move out football...but the damages would be heavy and much easier to justify than for Maryland's leaving.

But the discussion is all a waste of bandwidth, the Irish are not going anywhere.

What's ND basketball worth? The courts will have fun deciding that one. If bball rights are the reported 10-15% of the pie, ND would be out $2 million a year. Otherwise known as: peanuts. They are probably worth more than that. But the ACC is getting $17m per school. How much is the average school worth for bball?