The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will join the Atlantic Coast Conference for all sports with the exception of football, adding another team to the list of defections from the Big East, according to ESPN.com.
The football team has been staunchly independent of any conference for years, but agreed to play five football games annually against other ACC teams. Basically the football team will play an ACC schedule without actually being part of the conference.
"We have monitored the changing conference landscape for many months and have concluded that moving to the ACC is the best course of action for us," said Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame vice president and director of athletics, in a statement released by the conference. "We are able to maintain our historic independence in football, join in the ACC's non-BCS bowl package, and provide a new and extremely competitive home for our other sports."
Notre Dame is one of college football's most historically successful and legendary programs, having won 11 national titles. But the Irish have struggled in the past two decades and haven't won a championship since 1988.
Brian Kelly became the coach in 2009 after five disappointing seasons under Charlie Weis. Kelly led the team to an 8-5 record his first year, including a bowl game win against Miami 33-17. In his second year the team had an identical 8-5 record, but lost their bowl game against Florida State 18-14.
The loss of Notre Dame marks yet another team leaving for the ACC from the Big East. The conference requires 27 months of notice to exit, although Notre Dame could pay a higher exit fee to leave sooner, much like Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia, who all left for the ACC as well.
The Irish will be able to join the ACC once they are able to move on from the Big East.
"The ACC was founded on the cornerstones of balancing academics, athletics and integrity," said ACC commissioner John Swofford in the statement. "Our partnership with Notre Dame only strengthens this long-standing commitment."
The ACC voted unanimously to allow the move and also announced that it increased its exit fee to about $50 million.
The move will affect all sports apart from hockey, which the ACC doesn't have.
The football team has played under unusual circumstances before, but with the move to a new conference, the schedule will be affected. The team has long standing rivalries with Michigan, USC, Michigan State, Purdue, Stanford and Navy, none of which are in the ACC.
The team also plays Boston College, Miami and Wake Forest, who are all part of the conference.
"Notre Dame is internationally recognized for its academics and athletics and its core beliefs and mission are in line with ACC member institutions," said Miami AD Shawn Eichorst according to ESPN.com. The news today further solidifies the ACC as one of the nation's premier conferences and Miami looks forward to welcoming the Irish to the league."
While the Irish football team would play five ACC games each year, they would not be eligible for the conference championship.
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