Notre Dame and The ACC: What it means to you

So. Galactic Realignment of the college football world keeps going for the jugular. Each move seems to top the other and they all seem to signal the end.

But will it?

Much has already been made about the ACC/Notre Dame marriage and we give total and complete props to the ACC and John Swofford for staving off elimination by doing this.

Because both parties here benefit from this.

How? The ACC will not be going away. And they aren't going to be raided by someone else.

The reason: Lost in the hullabaloo over the agreement, a small clause that raises the departure fee for any school wanting to leave to $50 million. And yes, it's enforceable...to everyone, including Notre Dame.

So if you are in. You are in. You aren't leaving. There will be no SEC raiding North Carolina and Virginia Tech. The Big 10 or Big East....naw, ain't happening. The ACC now has 15 teams, and they won't be less than 15 teams anytime in the foreseeable future.

What does Notre Dame get out of this? All the benefits of being in the ACC without "Technically" locking their football team into the ACC. Yes, they play 5 conference teams now every year. And yes, they get to be part of the Orange Bowl options. But they don't have to be.

So tell us something we don't know: Could we have the ACC on NBC? Yes, yes we could.

Why? Because the addition of Notre Dame and we're guessing the eventual addition of...say...Louisville, will make the ACC a 16-team conference. And just by coincidence, that allows the ACC to renegotiate the deal they just cut with ESPN. And with Notre Dame part of the mix, you can bet your sweet patootie, NBC will pay what ever they can to get that deal away from the 4-letter word.

Think about it. We can only hope someone breaks ties with the Bristol Behemoth, and changes the sports TV landscape.

In summary: You will have at least a 15-team ACC next season. Galactic Realignment is almost over...because now there really isn't anyone else in play. If you follow a Big East team, well, you need to be nervous, very nervous. Your new football powerhouse is Cincinnati oh, and Boise State. The Bearcats have been consistently decent for the past several years, but half the ACC and most of the SEC would beat them every time they play. And folks, being great in basketball is great, but football is where the money is.

College Football is now essentially 5 "Power Conferences" (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC and PAC-12) and then everybody else.

Your winners: The ACC. John Swofford. Notre Dame, who gets to keep their NBC deal and all the money associated with it.

Your losers: The Big East. They have NO football juice. At all. Boise State. Yes, Boise State. They got antsy and jumped to the Big East without thinking it through. If they waited, they would become the biggest power-in-play left. Now they are stuck in a conference that is basically the Mountain West or Conference USA in Football.

ESPN. We hope they lose. We, nor any other TRUE sports fan wants them dominating the entire landscape. Competition is good and the 4-letter has gotten lazy and complacent. They just buy everything, dictate the schedule and don't apologize for pushing their teams and their games at the expense of anything on another network. And that, while we understand competition, is wrong.