Notre Dame will join the Atlantic Coast Conference for all sports except football, the ACC announced in a press release on Wednesday.

While the Fighting Irish will remain independent in football, the agreement stipulates that Notre Dame will have to play five games each year against league schools. ND will become the 15th member in the conference, where it joins Syracuse and Pittsburgh, who will begin play in the ACC in 2013.

The Fighting Irish will have to pay $5 million and wait 27 months before it can exit the Big East due to conference bylaws. Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia all reached agreements in the past year with the Big East to leave sooner than the required 27 months.

“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 the release. “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.”

The Big East lost SU, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Texas Christian last fall, and regrouped by adding eight schools throughout the year. The league branded itself as the first conference to stretch across the nation.

Big East commissioner Mike Aresco said in a statement on Wednesday that ND’s departure has no affect on the conference’s future plans.

“Notre Dame has been a valued member of the Big East conference and we wish them success in the future,” Aresco said in the statement. “However, Notre Dame’s departure does not change our plans. We have prestigious institutions that are excited to be a part of the Big East. We remain committed to making the Big East stronger than it has ever been.”

The ACC added a prominent athletic program with a loyal following. ACC commissioner John Swofford said in the release that Notre Dame’s reputation in athletics and academics strengthens the conference moving forward.

“Notre Dame enhances the league’s unique blend of public and private institutions that are international in scope,” Swofford said in the release. “The collective alumni and fan bases cover the entire country with exceptionally strong roots up and down the Atlantic Coast.

“This is a terrific milestone in the evolution of the ACC and showcases tremendous solidarity and vision by our Council of Presidents.”

Published on September 13, 2012 at 4:02 am

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu