A year from now Notre Dame will be preparing to play in its first ACC Basketball Tournament. After multiple outlets reported late Monday and early Tuesday that the Irish will move to the Atlantic Coast Conference as of July 1 this year, the university issued a release on Tuesday to make it official.
"From the time of our decision to join the ACC we have stressed our commitment to ensuring that our departure was achieved in a collegial manner," Notre Dame vice president and director of athletics Jack Swarbrick said in the release.
"This agreement realizes that intention and we are very grateful to the members of the Big East and Commissioner Mike Aresco for helping to facilitate this orderly and timely transition."
The original plan was for Notre Dame to leave the Big East by 2015, but the jump to the ACC will begin with the 2013-2014 academic year. The transition was accelerated by last week's announcement of the current Big East's Catholic 7 schools that they will be leaving to form their own league after the current academic year.
All Notre Dame sports, with the exception of football and hockey, will play in the ACC next season. Football will remain an independent. Hockey, which currently plays in the CCHA, is set to join the Hockey East Conference next season. Notre Dame's release says the Irish will play five ACC football opponents per season beginning in 2014.
Syracuse and Pittsburgh will join the ACC at the same time as Notre Dame to give the ACC 15 members in 2013-2014. Louisville is scheduled to join the ACC in 2014-2015. Maryland will leave the ACC for the Big Ten at the same time.
According to ESPN.com, Mike Brey's men's basketball team will play Georgia Tech and Boston College as well as two other ACC schools in home-and-home play next season. The Irish will also play one game each against the other 10 ACC schools.
