In all sports other than football and hockey, though they'll be sort of adjunct member in football, playing 5 ACC foes per year.

Here's the story, breaking today.

I think this shuts the door on Big 12 expansion for the foreseeable future. Rumor has always been that ND was always the sole target, and impetus, for the league to return to 12 teams. And now that the ACC has jacked exit fees to $50 million, Florida State and Clemson are out as well. Good move by the ACC to guard their flank and put themselves back into the national conversation. As for the Big East... well, it was nice knowing ya.

As much as I'd have loved to see the Irish in our conference -- and I know not everyone agrees with me -- this is a more natural affiliation for ND than the Big 12 would have been. Here's why:

1) Culturally, the ACC is a better fit. I know the culture on that campus, having grown up in South Bend. They see themselves as an Ivy that happens to be in the Midwest, and draw more students from the East Coast than any other part of the country. (After Indiana, the state that sends the most kids to Notre Dame is New Jersey.)

2) More natural rivalries: ND already plays Boston College, Miami, Wake Forest, and Pitt. Syracuse is on the schedule next week.

3) If you saw yourself as the premiere Catholic university in the nation, who would you rather play: Boston College, or Baylor? Yeah, that's an easy one. Hold the "Catholics vs. Baptists" shirts, please.

4) Wins are easier to come by in the ACC than the Big 12. That's true now and will be in the future.

5) The ACC, especially with the implosion of the Big East, is now the best hoops conference in the land. This is a big move for Mike Brey's squad.

6) Oh and... they get to keep all that NBC money.

So... good for the Irish, bad for us. What do you guys think?