I still say that ND understands the ACC's stance, insisting on full membership for all members. What this alleged 6-game deal tells me is:
1) Those school presidents discussed (likely way!) more than the Orange Bowl. FWIW, Swarbick and Swofford could have easily hammered out an Orange Bowl agreement down here at the Washington Duke Inn.
When school presidents meet, it's about conference membership.
2) The ACC, while understanding ND's need for independence, realizes ND's days as a (stubborn) indy are counting down, and they have something to offer ND, football-wise, and I'll post a quote
from today's Raleigh News and Observer:
Quote:“You’re talking about a league that a year from now that will be 14 member institutions – all of them are basically in the top 100 academically of the institutions in the United States,” Swofford said. “We have the entire eastern seaboard and nine contiguous states.”
Translation: "We know you need to have Eastern Seaboard access, and to be aligned with like-minded academic powerhouses. And FSU (I kid).
This is what I predict happens:
a) I'm willing to bet $50 in straight cash that the ACC and ND have reached an agreement to establish a path for ND's full membership.
b) They (the ACC) are going to slow drip the details, the first being this supposed 6-game agreement. The part you won't likely hear immediately is the two parties agreeing to some sort of arrangement around ND's NBC new deal.
c) Sometime around a basketball season, the "full membership" shoe drops, likely close to 2020.
The fun part is figuring out who #16 is. The likely suspects to be discussed ad nauseum here will be UConn, Navy (yea, I know I bring them up), Cincinnati, and Rutgers
While I'm currently on the Navy bandwagon, there's a certain school not listed above who I have mentioned at places on the
CessPool Conference Realignment board -- no, not Tulane, but another southern school.