Notre Dame To Join ACC As Full Member Except In Football, Hockey

The ACC announced on Wednesday that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will join the conference in all sports except football and hockey. The ACC council of presidents voted unanimously to accept Notre Dame as a new members. In addition, the Fighting Irish will play five football games annually within the ACC.

Notre Dame's hockey team, which currently plays in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, announced last October that it would join the Hockey East starting with the 2013-14 season. The ACC does not offer Division I hockey as a sport.

ACC commissioner John Swofford praised Notre Dame and said they were a perfect fit for the ACC:

"The ACC was founded on the cornerstones of balancing academics, athletics and integrity," said Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford. "Our partnership with Notre Dame only strengthens this long-standing commitment. Notre Dame enhances the league's unique blend of public and private institutions that are international in scope. The collective alumni and fan bases cover the entire country with exceptionally strong roots up and down the Atlantic Coast. This is a terrific milestone in the evolution of the ACC and showcases tremendous solidarity and vision by our Council of Presidents."

By joining the ACC, Notre Dame will once again be in the same conference as the Boston College Eagles. Notre Dame and Boston College were both members of the Big East from 1995, when Notre Dame joined, through 2005, when Boston College left for the ACC.

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