The ACC just got even more brutal. But that’s fine with University of Miami men’s basketball coach Jim Larranaga, who Wednesday fired off a note of congratulations to Notre Dame coach Mike Brey.
The Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents unanimously agreed to accept Notre Dame as a conference member in all sports except football. But the Irish will play five football games a year against ACC schools.
“My first reaction is the best league in the country just got better,’’ Larranaga said in a phone interview with FOX Sports Florida shortly after hearing Notre Dame will be leaving the Big East, although not earlier than 2014. “Adding a university the caliber of Notre Dame, both academically and athletically, is tremendous. I think it’s great for Notre Dame and the Atlantic Coast Conference.’’
So how tough is this league now in basketball? There’s already Duke and North Carolina and several other perennial powers.
Add to that Notre Dame and Syracuse and Pittsburgh, which will be arriving from the Big East next July, and ACC membership eventually will swell to 15. Forget about the Big East recently having challenged the ACC as the top hoops league in the country.
“If you look at the history of ACC for a very, very long time and if you look at the recent history of Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse,’’ Larranaga said about how tough the league will be. “The ACC has won six of the last 12 national championships in basketball (including Syracuse’s 2003 win representing the Big East). Think about that.’’
But Notre Dame’s legendary football history, which includes 11 claimed national titles, will help the ACC less. Although the Irish will play those non-conference games against ACC schools, the Fighting Irish will remain an independent.
Miami football coach Al Golden, though, hopes this could be the first step toward Notre Dame eventually becoming a full-fledged member.
“I think I share the sentiment of everybody,’’ Golden told reporters Wednesday. “We would love to have them. They represent all the things we represent in the Atlantic Coast Conference, in terms of the commitment to student-athletes and graduation rates and doing things the right way. I would hope that it would be that (way) at some point.’’
For now, Golden, whose Hurricanes face Notre Dame on Oct. 6 at Chicago’s Soldier Field, is happy with the arrangement.
“I think it's great,’’ Golden said. “We have Boston, Pittsburgh and New York City now. With Pitt and Syracuse, we have all the Atlantic cities now, (Washington) D.C., Baltimore, Richmond, Charlotte all the way down to Miami.
“And now we're adding Notre Dame, who's got national appeal, even though they're not a full-time football member right now, in all the (other) sports. And, obviously, we'll have a scheduling, I guess, coalition or whatever you want to call it. All those things will benefit our product here in the ACC.''
Miami athletic director Shawn Eichorst said the school is “thrilled’’ with the addition of Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame is internationally recognized for its academics and athletics and its core beliefs and mission are in line with ACC member institutions,’’ Eichorst said in a statement. “The news (Wednesday) further solidifies the ACC as one of the nation's premier conferences and Miami looks forward to welcoming the Irish to the league."
In terms of recent national success, the ACC will be getting Notre Dame’s top program. The women’s soccer team won NCAA titles in 1995, 2004 and 2010. Now, the team is in the same conference with North Carolina, which has won 20 of the 30 NCAA women’s soccer crowns.
In men’s basketball, the Fighting Irish last season made their eighth NCAA tournament appearance in the past 12 seasons under Brey. The program began to get national acclaim in the 1970s under Digger Phelps, stopping UCLA’s record 88-game winning streak in 1974 and making the Final Four in 1978.
“Mike is an outstanding basketball coach,’’ Larranaga said. “We competed (from 1978-2000) when I was at George Mason and he was at Delaware. He’s done a terrific job …. And you go back to the Digger Phelps era… There is so much history, and it’s a great fit for the ACC.’’
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
