Would Notre Dame basketball be a better fit in the Big East?

Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey has concerns about the Irish being accepted in the ACC. Is it time for a move?

As you have probably heard by now, the Atlantic Coast Conference issued a public reprimand of Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey for violating the ACC Sportsmanship Policy following Notre Dame’s game against Florida State on Saturday. In addition, the league announced that an institutional fine has been issued to Notre Dame ($20,000) as a result of the violation.

Brey went on a rant about how he doesn’t feel like the Irish get fair treatment as full members of a the ACC conference due to football not being a full member. Whether or not those comments have merit is tough to prove. That said, they do bring up another question:

Is Notre Dame a better fit in the Big East?

Sure, it’s fun to be in a conference with basketball blue bloods like Duke, North Carolina, and Syracuse, but what do the Irish really get out of being in the ACC? The football team is now tied to playing a certain number of games against ACC teams, which has resulted in a vanilla schedule full teams like Wake Forest, Duke and Pitt as of late. Those schools have all fielded teams capable of beating Notre Dame recently, yet those losses would be catastrophic to the Notre Dame football program. Sure you get a game with Clemson every so often, but you’re going to get games with big fish anyway — ACC affiliation or not.

Notre Dame being a football independent should be taken advantage of by the rest of the athletic department. Notre Dame has a chance to better match its other athletic programs with like-minded institutions, and the Big East — Notre Dame’s former conference — seems like a perfect fit.

Geographically, the new Big East has a footprint in New England, the New York City metro, Washington D.C, Philly, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Omaha — one of the gateways to the West. From both a marketing a recruiting standpoint, that footprint seems tailor-made for Notre Dame. Furthermore, even after the conference adds UConn next season, nine of the 11 members will be Catholic institutions.

Right now, it’s tough for Mike Brey to sell kids on his program and convince them that they can compete annually with the Dukes and North Carolinas of the world. It’s just a tough sell, like it or not. But belonging to a conference like the Big East — with a primary focus on basketball and playing games in the aforementioned cities inside that conference’s footprint — could make things easier for Irish hoops. Right now, top to bottom, it’s tough to argue that the Big East isn’t the best basketball conference in the country — and one that top recruits are drawn to.

Sure, Notre Dame takes home around $8 million a year from its ACC deal, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s chump change. A move to the Big East would likely only net Notre Dame a little over half that amount, but the marketing and exposure they would get from having a footprint in those major cities is invaluable.

Football is all set at Notre Dame, and the affiliation with the ACC or eventual lack thereof doesn’t change that. If Notre Dame wants the rest of its athletic department to be welcomed and respected by its peers, an eventual move back to the Big East could make sense, event if it doesn’t make cents.