So the SEC wants ND to join a conference

[CTGoonie]

or at least Steve Spurrier is saying they do.

Spurrier said the league’s football coaches spoke with BCS executive director Bill Hancock, who told them he was meeting with the commissioners of BCS conferences — and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick.

“We just started trying to figure out why the athletic director of Notre Dame is equal to all the conference commissioners,” Spurrier said. “Nobody had a good answer except that’s the way it’s always been done.
“For whatever reason, all 14 of our head coaches thought that Notre Dame should join the (Atlantic Coast Conference) and play football like the rest of us.”

So what are the chances the playoff committee creates a rule that forces ND to join a conference? Obviously the hope here is that ND is forced to join the ACC and they need to add a 16th team. Of oucrse, with our luck they would probably add Cincy.

 

[GopherHawk]

I agree with Spurrier. It would be one thing if all of the independents had one representative, but Swarbrick sits at the table just like Delaney and Swofford.

I think if ND were nudged into membership by the Playoff it would help UConn. It would force the B1G or the ACC to choose because ND would need a partner. I would guess Delaney would move first to stop Swofford from getting you. It would put a smile on Delaney's face to make the ACC to take Cinci or Temple to fill out their conference because UConn was not available.

 

[pj]

I agree with Spurrier. It would be one thing if all of the independents had one representative, but Swarbrick sits at the table just like Delaney and Swofford.

I think if ND were nudged into membership by the Playoff it would help UConn. It would force the B1G or the ACC to choose because ND would need a partner. I would guess Delaney would move first to stop Swofford from getting you. It would put a smile on the Delaney's face to the ACC to take Cinci or Temple to fill out their conference because UConn was not available.

Let's hope he would stop the ACC by inviting UConn to the B1G!

At this point, I'm not going to assume the ACC will invite us when they have an opening. They have passed on us seven times when taking teams from the Big East; and it seems a very political, un-businesslike conference, with schools pushing parochial interests (like BC's fear of competition in New England and Syracuse's fear of competition in NY) and showing little willingness to sacrifice for the league as a whole. The ACC now has a big market hole in the mid-Atlantic region between Virginia and Syracuse/BC that Temple sits squarely in the middle of - and they seem to be fine with private schools with small alumni bases situated in big markets (BC, Miami) and a history of passing on public state flagships (West Virginia, Rutgers, UConn). If Notre Dame wants opportunities to play within driving distance of Philly/DC, Temple could be a partner for them. The ACC also has a foothold out west with Louisville and Pitt and who knows, if Cincy performs well at football the next few years and the B12 is still seen as a threat to move east, the same logic that drove the Louisville add might apply to Cincy. Maybe ND would like a Midwestern school to reduce travel. Who knows what they'll ask for; presumably they'll have great influence over their partner.

If we get an ACC invite and not a B1G invite and go to the ACC, I'll be pleased with the extra money but disappointed as a fan. I don't like the ACC as a home. It is the Big East with more internal conflict and longer travel. It is inferior athletically and academically to the B1G. Every time they make another weird business decision, it seems more culturally foreign. Even in terms of fan bases, we always got along well with the West Virginia and Rutgers fans -- the two schools that didn't go to the ACC. The schools that went to the ACC had more fans that seemed to lack conference spirit and saw conference mates as rivals. I think it would be a lot of fun to be a fan of UConn in the B1G -- the ACC, not so much.

 

[UConn990411]

Personally, I would like to see Notre Dame fall off the face of the planet.

But, assuming the Irish wouldn't be satisfied playing in a horrendous ACC, that would be very good news for UConn. That's a pretty big assumption, though.

 

[TRest]

ND just bought another decade of relevance and an individual seat at the power table by going to the championship game last year. It's absurd that it has the BCS access already, but a true playoff may involve champions of conferences as a play-in round.

 

[UConnJim]

Eventually, ND will have to join a conference. Basically, it will come down to ACC or Big 10. If ACC went to a 9 game schedule and breaks into 2 divisions, ND could play BC, Pitt, and Miami every year and continue to play USC, Stanford, and Navy every year.

BC/Pitt/Syracuse/Miami/ND/Louisville/VT/UConn

UVA/UNC/NC St./Clemson/Wake/FSU/GT/Duke

 

[pj]

Restoring the old ACC and Big East in two divisions of the ACC would make a lot of sense. For some reason that feels like a reason it won't happen.

 

[sportsart]

Touchdown Jesus will never allow them to join a conference. When I was at the ND vs UConn game I talked to him and he told me he had a friend in the HVAC biz that was preparing to put a freeze on hell if ND was forced to join a conference.

 

[CTMike]

So what are the chances the playoff committee creates a rule that forces ND to join a conference?

I think that's obviously where they are heading- how successful they will be in forcing that to happen is the question... I'm all for it. There is ZERO reason in this day and age for ND to have any special access or treatment.

 

[OkaForPrez]

What exactly is the leverage here? ND AD has equal voting rights on BCS decisions at the Power 4 commishes? Say this does turn into reform around ND's rights at the table? Would they even care enough to change their position? I doubt it.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

I think his question is the obvious and logical one: why does their AD get the same access and power as a conference commisioner? My guess, ND has the money and stroke to threaten to tie everything up in court through lawsuits for years to come had they been totally excluded. It is probably easier to give them limited access and hope they never make it than it would be to exclude them (as they should).

 

[freescooter]

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.

 

[uconndogs]

Now that's interesting. If there is a party out there with leverage versus ND it's the SEC. They start banging on the table loud enought.....hmmm.......

 

[larryredbull]

My guess is if ND was forced to join a conference (highly doubt it since no one has been able to yet) it would be the ACC. ND doesn't want to be tied to the Big 10 and has made that apparent. I would expect the ACC to take Cincy, Texas, Navy, or several others before Uconn was considered. The ACC already has their share of the NE with BC, Syracuse, and Duke.

The great additions of Pitt and Louisville round out the ACC nicely and would make an attractive home for ND.

 

[uconndogs]

My guess is if ND was forced to join a conference (highly doubt it since no one has been able to yet) it would be the ACC. ND doesn't want to be tied to the Big 10 and has made that apparent. I would expect the ACC to take Cincy, Texas, Navy, or several others before Uconn was considered. The ACC already has their share of the NE with BC, Syracuse, and Duke.

The great additions of Pitt and Louisville round out the ACC nicely and would make an attractive home for ND.

lol, Cincy, Texas and Navy......

 

[freescooter]

lol, Cincy, Texas and Navy......

rofl! Yeah, they should add Southern Cal and Stanford, too...Oh, and for what its worth, Notre Dame Duke was the 2nd lowest rated game ever on NBC. It had been the lowest for many years but was just nosed out by ND-Air Force in 2011. So much for the other comment about Duke being attractive to norther audiences...

 

[SubbaBub]

It's really easy. Playoff slots favor undefeated teams and conference champions. F ND.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[larryredbull]

rofl! Yeah, they should add Southern Cal and Stanford, too...Oh, and for what its worth, Notre Dame Duke was the 2nd lowest rated game ever on NBC. It had been the lowest for many years but was just nosed out by ND-Air Force in 2011. So much for the other comment about Duke being attractive to norther audiences...

Yeah Duke football isn't much of a driver. Duke is a basketball school and they have a large presence in the NY/NJ area. If you think ND isn't driver in College football, I don't know what I can say to you.

The main point is there are more attractive candidates to ACC expansion right now than Uconn. There may come a time when Uconn gets into the ACC, but there are a lot of things that would have to happen before that time.

 

[uconndogs]

Yeah Duke football isn't much of a driver. Duke is a basketball school and they have a large presence in the NY/NJ area. If you think ND isn't driver in College football, I don't know what I can say to you.

The main point is there are more attractive candidates to ACC expansion right now than Uconn. There may come a time when Uconn gets into the ACC, but there are a lot of things that would have to happen before that time.

Yeah, let us all know when ND and Texas put their football programs in the ACC. Should be any day now......

As a side note, seems like everytime we meet up with Duke on the hardwood or girdiron we kick their a**. That's kind of fun.......

 

[larryredbull]

Yeah, let us all know when ND and Texas put their football programs in the ACC. Should be any day now......

As a side note, seems like everytime we meet up with Duke on the hardwood or girdiron we kick their a* . That's kind of fun.......

If you read my response you would have seen that I stated its highly doubtful that ND (and by extension TX) become full members in the ACC. Its much more likely that they become member before UConn though

 

[uconndogs]

If you read my response you would have seen that I stated its highly doubtful that ND (and by extension TX) become full members in the ACC. Its much more likely that they become member before UConn though

You do realize that ND and/or Texas as full members in the ACC would really suck for Duke? Or are you just so fixated on visiting this board and being a pr*ck that little tidbit escaped you?

 

[TerryD]

The SEC coaches actually held a vote and it was a unanimous 14-0 vote in favor of ND being a full member of the ACC.

There was another recent unanimous vote held. The results were that the SEC should immediately disband and forfeit all of its players and athletic funds and facilities to Notre Dame.

The vote was 1-0. It was held in my kitchen.

It was just as meaningful and binding as the SEC coaches vote.

Seriously, though,everyone that counts wants ND involved and as a football independent.

They let coaches and sportswriters bitch about it once in a while to feed the hungry masses, but really do not want it to change.

ND had the same setup in the BCS, they essentially were considered as their own conference.

Many people said, "Just wait until the playoff talks begin, ND will be put in its place by the power conferences."

What happened? Jack Swarbrick was given a seat at the table with the conference commissioners and even tabbed to be the one announcing the new playoff deal?

Why? Because the people that count in these things (not coaches and fans) want to keep ND's setup intact.

They like ND staying an independent and having a special status. The Big Ten does not want ND to join the ACC full time. Neither does the Big 12 and probably neither does the SEC.

They would rather ND stay a football independent. So do the networks, apparently. Fox doesn't want ND to become an entirely ESPN property, for instance. NBC obviously doesn't, either.

The SEC does not want a "conference champ only" playoff setup. They want to be able to get multiple teams into the playoffs.

All of this works to ND's advantage. That is why ND will never be "forced", pressured or leveraged into joining a football conference.

The power brokers like ND just as it is.

 

[larryredbull]

You do realize that ND and/or Texas as full members in the ACC would really suck for Duke? Or are you just so fixated on visiting this board and being a pr*ck that little tidbit escaped you?

I could care less about Duke. In fact, if I could gift them to the AAC I would. ND as a member wouldnt be that bad. I would hate to have Texas as a member. They definitely seem to not play well with others.

 

[larryredbull]

The SEC coaches actually held a vote and it was a unanimous 14-0 vote in favor of ND being a full member of the ACC.

There was another recent unanimous vote held. The results were that the SEC should immediately disband and forfeit all of its players and athletic funds and facilities to Notre Dame.

The vote was 1-0. It was held in my kitchen.

It was just as meaningful and binding as the SEC coaches vote.

Seriously, though,everyone that counts wants ND involved and as a football independent.

They let coaches and sportswriters bitch about it once in a while to feed the hungry masses, but really do not want it to change.

ND had the same setup in the BCS, they essentially were considered as their own conference.

Many people said, "Just wait until the playoff talks begin, ND will be put in its place by the power conferences."

What happened? Jack Swarbrick was given a seat at the table with the conference commissioners and even tabbed to be the one announcing the new playoff deal?

Why? Because the people that count in these things (not coaches and fans) want to keep ND's setup intact.

They like ND staying an independent and having a special status. The Big Ten does not want ND to join the ACC full time. Neither does the Big 12 and probably neither does the SEC.

They would rather ND stay a football independent. So do the networks, apparently. Fox doesn't want ND to become an entirely ESPN property, for instance. NBC obviously doesn't, either.

The SEC does not want a "conference champ only" playoff setup. They want to be able to get multiple teams into the playoffs.

All of this works to ND's advantage. That is why ND will never be "forced", pressured or leveraged into joining a football conference.

The power brokers like ND just as it is.

Exactly. Well said

 

[GopherHawk]

The four team playoff may not help ND with access. In fact, I believe it will hurt them.

Current System of BCS. If ND was undefeated under the existing system they would have most likely gotten a chance at the NC game unless there were two compelling undefeated teams.

ND with one loss was going to be invited to a BCS bowl(read $$$).
ND with two losses was most likely not going to a BCS bowl.

New system of CFP. If ND is undefeated they will be in the four team playoff.

ND with one loss may or may not get invited to the playoff over a one loss conference champion from the SEC, B12, B1G or Pac12. That means that ND has a smaller chance to make the big bucks than in the past system. There were more BCS bowls/teams in the past.

ND with two losses does not get invited to the playoff over a one loss conference champion from the Power 5 or an undefeated Boise/BYU etc.

You say everyone likes ND just where their at. I think your right. The B1G, B12, SEC and Pac12 just made it more difficult for ND to make a big paycheck. It was a trade off. ND knew that they had to go undefeated today. They took the potential loss of BCS bowl money for the possiblity to make the CFP with one loss.

Now you will see the conference commissioners push the selection of conference champions like has been said. The SEC is certain their #2 team will be ranked higher than ND with one loss so they will play along.

The freeze out is starting folks.