Notre Dame joins ACC as partial member
By: rmacrae@bellsouth.net September 12, 2012

By Will Vandervort

CLEMSON — Notre Dame will be joining the ACC as a partial member and will stay as an independent in football.
The ACC Council of Presidents has unanimously voted to accept the University of Notre Dame as a new member. The Irish will compete as full members in all conference sponsored sports with the exception of football which will play five games annually against league programs.
Clemson is expected to be one of those teams. A press conference will be held at 12:30 at Kenan Stadium.  A teleconference conference with the media will be held at 1:30 pm today.

“We are committed to keeping the Atlantic Coast Conference a vibrant and competitive league dedicated to ensuring the appropriate balance of academics, athletics and integrity,” said the ACC Council of Presidents in a joint statement. “The addition of Notre Dame further strengthens the rich tradition and culture of the ACC as well as allowing for future academic collaboration and we enthusiastically welcome them into the league.”

 In addition to extending an invitation to Notre Dame, the Council of Presidents voted to increase the conference exit fees to three times the annual operating budget. Currently this would equate to an exit fee of over $50 million.

The ACC is composed of some of the most highly respected universities in the country, and we at Notre Dame look forward to joining them,” said Notre Dame President, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. “With a mix of institutions – many of which are also private, similar to Notre Dame in size, and committed to excellence in research and undergraduate education – the ACC is an exceptionally good fit for us academically, as well as athletically.”

“It further secures this conference’s strength of schedule moving forward as we get in playoff scenarios,” said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney.