Would BC, ACC throw Notre Dame a lifeline?

It looks like the conference shuffle will happen again and Notre Dame is finally on the hot seat. The fork in the Irish road is stay independent in Football and watch the Big East collapse and undermine all their non-football sports currently playing in the Big East. Or join the Big Ten in all sports, reap huge financial gains, yet lose the independence so critical to the Irish aura. Notre Dame fans are up in arms at the thought of joining the hated Big Ten. But Notre Dame's leadership is too smart to let the school get dragged down with the Big East 3.0 (which might include underfunded Catholic programs and some less than desirable fill ins like ECU or Memphis).

From my perspective it seems like Notre Dame needs three things. 1. Non football stability, 2. Continued revenue growth, 3. The flexibility to play football outside the Midwest. They want their current Big East setup but with a little more money and prestige. The only conference that I think could offer them that would be the ACC.

The Pac 10 needs two full-time football members to get their championship game. The Big XII is in danger of being raided and would also need full-time football members to replace any defections. The SEC could "add" Notre Dame in non football sports, but culturally and geographically the Irish would be a huge fish out of water. And I don't know if they would bring that much to the table to justify say the Ole Miss softball team traveling up to South Bend in late April.

The ACC on the other hand with its mix of public and private schools is more inline with Notre Dame. Like the Irish, many of the ACC's biggest programs have strong followings in the North East corridor. The ACC already has championship game so they don't need ND for football. However, the ACC could create a bowl agreement with the Irish and create a partial ACC schedule for them (similar to the old Big East deal). While many BC and ACC fans would be outraged about making special accommodations for Notre Dame, if structured well, the deal could improve our bowl slots and increase the value of the TV contract.

I don't think this will happen. I think the Big Ten money will prove too enticing and Notre Dame will finally join the conference they've dreaded for decades. However, and despite the protest I am sure most BC fans would have, the ACC needs to at least reach out to Notre Dame.

Looking under the books

Unlike most of our public university rivals, BC is not under any obligation to share employee salaries. However, the salaries can't stay private forever, as Bob Hohler showed in Tuesday's Globe. According to federal tax returns, during the 2007-08 season Al Skinner made $2.2 million dollars. The salary made him BC's highest paid employee and doubled Jags' 2007-2008 salary of $1.1 million. BC nor Skinner's agent was willing to explain how the compensation package worked. The Globe implies that there were probably some unique one-time bonuses related to Al's then new contract and the move to the ACC. Regardless, this shows BC is more than competitive with our rivals when it comes to compensation.

Radio and TV deals and other links

How desperate is the ACC to sign a big TV deal? Desperate enough to reach out to the NFL Network. Spin it however you want but the ACC expansion was all about money. Now that the current TV deal is nearing an end, all eyes are watching the new negotiations. After big pay days for the Big Ten and SEC, is there still money on the table for our new conference? That is where the NFL Network comes in. They have money and time slots on Saturday. And if there is a NFL work stoppage they will also need new content. But does the NFL want to spend enough money to get the ACC? I doubt it. Also would the ACC want to leave ESPN? We all dread ESPN's power, but not being on the worldwide leader hurts perception among recruits and fans.

If you don't have the NFL Network, rest assured that you'll still be able to listen to BC sports! Fenway Sports Group, ISP, and BC agreed to an extension of their current deal.

Joe Trapani was the only basketball player to make an All ACC team (3rd).

Skinner expects Corey Raji to play Thursday, despite his bad shoulder.

This is a few days old, but here is a good article on Brady Heslip.

Brockton football star Carlito Weaver is hoping to get more attention from the BC staff.

Florida State's "sod game plaque" for the BC game, now has an asterisk.

More of the same in loss to NC State

It seems appropriate that this team lost its regular season finale like they did today. Sluggish offense and wasted possessions: check. Allowing a mediocre offense to score at will down the stretch: check. Forcing too many 3 attempts: check. Our ACC Tourney slot was already determined, so the only thing this loss did was put us on the NIT bubble. Now to get into the NIT we will have to run deep into the ACC, perhaps the Finals. But that is a discussion for later this week. Now leave your comments on another frustrating loss.



Likes
-- Rakim Sanders' defense. I don't know what got into Rakim, but he was excellent on D today. He moved well and didn't make stupid lunges. He also grabbed some big rebounds. Let's hope it is not a fluke.
-- Ravenel in the low post. His stats weren't eye popping, but he plays with is aggressive and seems to have good touch.



Dislikes
-- Offensive rebounding. 2 offensive rebounds? That's pathetic, especially for a team that usually does well with the offensive rebounds.
-- Wasted possessions late in the game. Jackson has improved and is our best Point, but this offseason he will have to get better awareness of defenses and the shot clock.
-- Going away from the Flex in the second half. The guys got impatient and moved away from what worked early.

Skip Holtz claiming he passed on the BC job

As we know, the last coaching change was atypical. The five outsiders most often rumored for the job were Mike London, Al Golden, Randy Edsall, Steve Addazio and Skip Holtz. At the time most denied any contact or interest in BC. Even BC insiders claimed that Gene did not interview outsiders and was set with Spaz from Day 1. Well 14 months later Skip Holtz is sorting fact from fiction by saying that BC did have interest in him and he turned us down. This could be Holtz spinning at a booster dinner to make the USF faithful feel better about their new coach. But I imagine there were some talks between BC and his reps.

Regardless of when he was telling the truth (last year or now), Holtz's talk should provide some relief to BC fans. At the time of the search he was a hot coach who probably would have been a good fit at BC. Even if Gene wanted to promote Spaz from the start, he owed it to the school to conduct a real search and find the best possible coach for the time and opportunity. Now let's hope Spaz has a career that surpasses Skip's time at ECU.

Women keep rolling and other links

The women's basketball team must really like Greensboro. How else can you explain their sudden surge. They beat Florida State Friday night and now advanced to Saturday's semis.

The hockey teams' Friday night wasn't as fun. Up 3-0, the guys let UNH back into the game and tie it 3-3. With the tie, UNH clinched the Hockey East regular season title.

Baseball is still in Florida and beat Florida Atlantic 5-2 on Friday.

Women win ACC Tourney opener and other links

The women's basketball team didn't waste any time with Virginia Tech Thursday [Fixed]. They took an early lead and never looked back. The girls take on Florida State on Friday.

Bill Coen credits Al Skinner for much of his coaching success.

Ayla Brown is thinking about her life after basketball.