Duke33
Registered User
Well some would say the Big-10 already did that with adding Penn State. PSU has a huge presence here on the East Coast and before the scandal often plundered New Jersey and Maryland for top football talent. Maryland frankly is a joke of a program. ND has a huge following in NY as well. That's why their deal with Syracuse has them playing Syracuse on the "road" at Giants Stadium or whatever it's called now and not in Syracuse. There will be 15,000 Syracuse fans there and 60,000 ND fans.
No matter if ND stays independent, or aligns more with the ACC or any other conference, they will never, ever hurt for money. People don't understand how much moolah that school takes in, even outside of athletics. But the ACC deal was a shrewd move, they got the ACC cash and also got to keep most of the flexibility with their football schedule.
It worked out well for the ACC too, they added a midwestern (but nationally followed) school that has averaged 9 wins in football under Kelly. The mens basketball team has made the NCAA tournament several years running. The womens basketball is a perennial title contender. ND's hockey team is consistently in the top-25 and other sports like lacrosse and soccer are both very successful. And most importantly they graduate the overwhelming majority of their athletes. Worked out for both parties I'd say.
