If JC Told Notre Dame to Join a Conference...

Yes, Irish fans, I know it's taboo to talk about Notre Dame and that near-socialist idea of "the conference"...  BUT, let's pretend Jesus Christ returned and declared, "Notre Dame shalt join a conference of which it can choose, but thou shalt choose a conference, or thou shalt linger (with its fans and alumni) amongst the coals of the fallen angel for eternity!"

My first remark would be, "Huh...  That sucks."  Then, I would start sifting through the information to figure out which conference best suits our football team.

Let's begin with the X's and O's of a conference.  First, you have to understand how a conference works.  Conferences are conglomerations of teams that divide risk amongst themselves while trying to uniformly manage discipline, values, and other criteria amongst member schools. 

When five teams go to a bowl and the rest of the conference sits at home over the holidays, everyone still gets a payout.  While the five teams who go to a bowl get more money from their appearance in the bowl, they don't get all of the money. 

The bowl teams get a portion of their earnings, then the rest of the money is placed in a pot that is divided amongst all member schools.  And so, the semi-socialist nature of a conference is defined.  Even losers get their share. 

Second, you have to know that there are BCS conferences and non-BCS conferences.  The rich guys and the little guys. 

Well, I figure unless we want to take a vow of poverty, we have to join a BCS conference.  We're already a BCS member without being a member of a conference, so it wouldn't be that much of a stretch.

Now, let's look at the BCS conferences to see where we fit best.

Big East 

The most natural place for the Irish to look is at the Big East where it already has membership in all other sports.  From a football perspective, is this really the best choice?

  Big East teams include Pitt, West Virginia, Rutgers, UConn, Cincinnati, South Florida, and a host of others.  At the risk of sounding arrogant, is this really a conference that has power houses in line with the traditions and prestige of Notre Dame? 

Just a couple of years ago, the Big East's BCS bid was in serious question, and again, the Mountain West Conference is making a case to take the Big East's bid. 

While the prestige of the conference is the weakest of any BCS conference, there is a case to be made that Notre Dame could maintain a place at the top much more easily.

ACC

Similar to the Big East, the ACC isn't the strongest conference in the nation, but it isn't the weakest.  It has a smattering of traditional powers, a few natural rivals that would draw television audiences, and an academic credo that is more in line with that of the Irish. 

When you think tradition and power, you think Miami and FSU.  When you think of natural rivals, you think of those two, but you also throw in Boston College. 

As far as schools that do it right in terms of academics, you think of Duke, UNC, and UVA.  The competition is challenging but not impossible.  The ACC might be a fit.

SEC

When you look at the SEC, it appears Notre Dame might not be a fit at all, but let's take a closer look. 

The SEC is strong in the running game, has great defenses, and is really fast.  It also has underhanded recruiting techniques, shady academic standards, and even shadier coaches. 

Does Notre Dame want to fight its way through the best competition in the country week in and week out?  Probably not.

The Irish offense is designed for balance which you find much of in the SEC, but again, the other aspects of the Southeastern Conference give much room for pause. 

Notre Dame would have to sell its academics and values short to put its face on the emblem of the SEC.  Doubtful the Irish are a fit unless you looked at conferences from a purely competitive perspective.

Big 10 (11)

Geographically, everyone says ND is a fit and the Big 10 would have its pretty 12 number it so desperately wants.  Is the Big 10 really a conference Notre Dame wants to be a part of?  There are natural rivals in Michigan, MSU, and Purdue...Ohio State if you want to throw them in too. 

There is some competition, but it hasn't been great lately.  It's much more solid than the Big East or ACC, though.  As far as academics, there are schools that are fast and loose with academics and there are schools that are a little more stringent, but nothing you would consider Duke or Vanderbilt. 

The teams are not that exciting and the conference is a little blah, it seems.  The character of the Big 10 fits perfectly with the character of the Midwest.  It's just kind of blah.

Big XII

How would Notre Dame fit with a bunch of traditional powers from the middle of the country?  Notre Dame certainly doesn't have the cowboy attitude about it that the Big XII teams have, but there are some traditional powers that would be fun to watch Notre Dame play. 

Jerome Bettis' former favorite, Oklahoma ,is always a powerful team, as is Texas.  A&M is a team with a military history similar to Notre Dame's and has a higher academic standard.  There are newcomers like Kansas, the state that killed Rockne, and Missouri. 

The Big XII would lend quite a variety to Notre Dame's schedule while maintaining a balance between upper level teams, average teams, and downright awful teams.  Does Notre Dame have a Big XII attitude, though?

Pac-10

Lastly, we consider the Pac-10.  How does Notre Dame fit on the West Coast?  Well, considering the Irish success in recruiting out west, most of its players could play near their parents. 

There are traditional powers like USC and UCLA.  There are fun teams like Oregon and Oregon State.  There are awful teams like Washington and Washington State.  As far as academics UCLA, USC, and Cal are great institutions, but there are also purely party schools. 

The conference attitude?  Well, having lived out West, the attitude is as follows:  surfing is number one, then professional sports, then college sports if the team is good.  As soon as the team falls apart, fans jump off the ship faster than mice. 

There is no band playing while the ship sinks like there is at Notre Dame.  Additionally, the Pac-10 has its moments of weakness.  The conference can fall apart in a second, despite what the writers want you to believe.

If I had to choose?  Well, it would probably be burning in the pits of hell.  If I had to choose a conference, however, I prefer the ACC for the balance and benefits it affords. 

There is a wide variety, there are academic schools, and a good amount of traditional rivals. 

That's just my opinion.  What do you think???