We no longer lead as an independent. We squandered that since 1993. The ACC provides us us the greatest possible opportunity to play regularly in a large part of the country. The institutions in the conference are much more similar to ND in outlook, size and Undergraduate emphasis. The fans of ACC schools seem impatient with us but clearly their leadership “gets” the crisis of identity this would be To surrender independence for a majority of ND alums and seem to value our leadership beyond our monetary value (see Big Ten).
I believe it is in our best interest to be a part of a team in trying to keep some semblance of sanity in college athletics. Think of Apple. They were the quick early leader in computer technology but were quickly passed- and almost buried by IBM and PCs. But they made the corporate change to mobile technology and the rest is history. Notre Dame football can still be a standard but I think by being fully committed to the ACC we can accomplish more going forward.