Notre Dame and Big East reach agreement on departure

The Fighting Irish will be allowed to leave the Big East two years early and join the ACC July 1st

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The Fighting Irish will be allowed to leave the Big East two years early and join the ACC July 1st

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Notre Dame will leave the Big East and join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports, except football, this summer without paying an exit fee.  The two sides originally agreed on a 2.5 million dollar fee and 27 month notice for an early Notre Dame exit but have since changed plans.  Notre Dame will not claim stake in the millions of dollars owed from entrance and exit fees accumulated in the past few years and will then be granted a painless transition.    

In a joint statement with the Big East, Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dames vice president, said, "From the time of our decision to join the ACC we have stressed our commitment to ensuring that our departure was achieved in a collegial manner."

Luckily, both sides could agree that the decision is justified and could be handled amicably. 

Mike Aresco, commissioner of the conference, said,”The decision makes sense for the Big East.” 

Notre Dame is currently a part of the Big East in all sports excluding football.  The football team, whose unaffiliated with any conference, has been playing regular games with Big East opponents but despite efforts of the conference to maintain these matchups, Notre Dame football plans to play 5 ACC teams every year starting in 2014. 

The ACC has already taken steps to accommodate Notre Dame’s entry.  They have formulated a new basketball setup and scheduled home-and-home matchups with rivals like Boston College and Georgia Tech.  Pittsburgh and Syracuse will also head to the ACC and join Notre Dame in fleeing from the depleting Big East. 

The 7 other catholic schools in the Big East announced last Friday they will be leaving the conference and starting a smaller league on July 1st.  That leaves only 10 schools in the Big East with two, Louisville and Rutgers, planning to move on in 2014.   The Big East will be looking to pick up new schools and are required to change their name by July 1st. 

Here’s the video of ESPN’s report:
 

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