NEW YORK, N.Y.—Notre Dame is headed to the ACC and, now, the only question that remains is when that move will happen.
On Wednesday at Big East Media Day in New York City, Irish coach Mike Brey weighed in.
“I think the chances that we stay another year are higher than not,” Brey said. “My mindset is that we’ll play this season and next before we go.
“If something crazy happens, alright, but I think the trend is two more seasons.”
Brey shared a room Wednesday with two Big East member schools who are entering their final seasons before bolting to the ACC, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
Both schools negotiated early exits from the league, paying $5 million each to bypass the mandatory 27-month waiting period and enter the ACC for the start of the 2013-14 season.
Reports were published last week saying that Notre Dame was in “very preliminary conversations” to exit the Big East early, following the precedent set by Syracuse and Pittsburgh.
Brey and the Irish enter the 2012-13 season after finishing 22-12 last season.
“I don’t think we’ve talked about it as ‘We have to win this before we go to the ACC.’ These guys are never going to play in the ACC,” Brey said, pointing to seniors Jack Cooley and Scott Martin to his right.
“This is their team as our captains, so for us to cut a net down at this Big East thing would just be a great accomplishment.”
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_