million. ND's TV contract with NBC is $15 million. They get some other money but not near what the other schools get. I wonder if our traditional unwillingness to compete with top programs for top coaching talent (before we opened the checkbook for Freeman) has to do with our lesser football related income.
I'm not sure we need to join a conference, but if we do the ACC is absolutely the best for us (and the one we'd be required to join). We currently play 5-6 ACC games per year per our contract with them. ACC schools only play 7 ACC games per year (6 division and 1 crossover). So, adding a single ACC game to our schedule does not seem like an earth-shattering idea. I'm not sure it would change a lot.
We would still play 5 non-conference games. Could we maintain USC, Stanford and Navy as well as a couple others? Could we still play a couple of other games in other regions of the country? Would we still be a very strong national recruiting power given the east coast and southeast games of the ACC, Stanford and USC in the west, ND in the midwest and whatever other games we schedule (which I would argue should include a game in Texas)? Would we still be an incredibly strong national brand? I think the answer to all of those questions is undoubtedly 'yes'. Would we benefit from a whole lot more money in larger payouts? Yes.
I think a lot of the resistance to this has to do with the ND identity of being 'independent' and not with what would make the program stronger. A rational and legitimate argument could be made that the ND football program is stronger in the ACC. I'm not saying that it would be the right move for sure...I'm not certain what the right move is. But I think there would certainly be a lot of positives for the program.
A lot of the devil would be in the details of the negotiated entrance into the ACC. They want us in badly and we can negotiate from a position of strength would we choose to enter. Clearly, Clemson would need to be in the opposite division. Other division alignment considerations might be beneficial as well considering playing each of the division teams every year would have an effect on recruiting outreach depending on where the teams in ND's division are located. Which schools are in the most talent rich locations in the ACC for ND to recruit and can we get them in ND's division? If the ACC expands to 16 teams, only 7 division games would be played (no crossovers) to ensure ND could maintain 5 non-conference games to maintain its traditional rivalries and national brand. Might an opt-out clause until a future date allow ND leverage in further discussions for some time into the future? How long into the future might these provisions and safeguards be secured? These and other details should be negotiated from a position of strength and to ND's liking should this ever come to fruition.
If Texas and OU go to the SEC, ND will never be in a stronger position to gain as favorable deal as possible. I'm not saying it's the right move, but giving up $25 million every year to play one less ACC game so that we can call ourselves 'independent' seems like it may be a pretty steep price and that price is only getting steeper as more time passes.