Big East Commish Mike Aresco Speaks About Notre Dame's Move To ACC

Big East commissioner Mike Aresco commented Thursday on Notre Dame's impending departure for the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports besides football and hockey, two sports the Fighting Irish didn't play in the Big East anyway. Aresco's brief comments are unsurprisingly, blandly positive:

Notre Dame has been a valued member of the BIG EAST Conference and we wish them success in the future. However, Notre Dame’s departure does not change our plans. We have prestigious institutions that are excited to be a part of the BIG EAST. We remain committed to making the BIG EAST stronger than it has ever been.

Notre Dame's move has already been praised by Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross and represents a change of heart for Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick, who questioned Syracuse and Pittsburgh's departure for the ACC last year. Adding the Fighting Irish will make the ACC a 15-school league in all sports but football.

For more on the Big East, visit the SB Nation blog Big East Coast Bias. Check out SBNation on YouTube for more on this and other stories.

Notre Dame Joins ACC: Syracuse's Daryl Gross Believes Move Is Brilliant

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have officially been accepted as a future member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and already the mastermind behind Syracuse Orange's move from the Big East Conference to the ACC, athletic director Dr. Daryl Gross, has spoken in favor of the decision.

"This is a brilliant move for the ACC and the for the future of Syracuse athletics," said Gross in a press release by the university's athletic department. "Notre Dame is obviously a significant nationally recognized institution that adds tremendous competitive and academic value to the conference. Notre Dame's commitment of playing a significant number of football games versus conference opponents annually is outstanding. All of our sports will benefit from the competition Notre Dame bring to the ACC. We are proud to be joined by Notre Dame in the ACC."

Gross's reaction expresses the opposite tone than Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick's response to Syracuse's and the Pittsburgh Panthers' move to the ACC last September. Back then, Swardbrick just didn't get why a program would ditch the Big East for the ACC (H/T NunesMagician.com).

"I don't understand it," Jack Swarbrick said as a new round of conference hopping in college athletics moved into high gear Sunday. "How do you vote as a collegiate president on something that has the potential to provide some benefit for your institution and the conference you're affiliated with but has a very negative consequence for a host of other members of the academy, as presidents like to call it?

"I'd like to know how much of these discussions are: What's right? What is the best thing for the larger enterprise, and how many other schools would be adversely impacted?

"I just don't know that that's happening."

I guess now, they will have to just agree to, well, agree.

Notre Dame Will Join ACC, Football Remains Independent (via sbnation)

For more on the Big East, visit the SB Nation blog Big East Coast Bias.

Notre Dame Joins ACC In All Sports Besides Football, Hockey

Notre Dame becomes the latest school to disassociate itself from the Big East Conference and move over to the ACC.

Notre Dame To ACC: The Big East Is Falling