Baseball Among ND Sports…
Officials from Notre Dame and the Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Wednesday that the school is leaving the Big East for the ACC. All Notre Dame sports except football and hockey are scheduled the conference for the 2015-2016 academic year, but ND Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said that the move could come sooner.
Current Fighting Irish baseball coach Mik Aoki is getting ready for his third season as ND’s head coach after leaving Boston College. Aoki released a few comments on the impending move.
On joining the ACC …
“From a baseball perspective, this is obviously a very positive thing for our program. This is the second time that I’ve gone through this process, the first time when I was at Boston College. I’m excited about going to the ACC. The BIG EAST was moving in the right direction with the recent additions of UCF, Houston and Memphis and there is a bit of nostalgia leaving the league considering my career in the conference. I know the league will move on and be successful, but I’m excited about where we are going.”
On baseball in the ACC …
“Baseball is a really big deal to the ACC. Our conference tournament is exciting, the venues from Miami to Florida State to Clemson to Georgia Tech to North Carolina to NC State to Virginia. It is simply a who’s who of college baseball. The game operation, fan base and facilities, I just think it’s really a big move for our baseball program to compete in that conference. If you look at the ACC over the last 10 years or so, the ACC has either been #1, #2 or #3 in conference RPI. This is a major upgrade for our program.”
On any changes in recruiting philosophy …
“I don’t know that it necessarily changes our recruiting philosophy at Notre Dame, which is such a national brand with such a national recruiting base, but I do think that this move definitely helps us. I’ve put a real premium on trying to clean up our ‘backyard.’ I consider our ‘backyard’ to include Indiana, the Chicagoland area and Ohio. We can now make the case to those kids that you don’t have to go anywhere but here, the University of Notre Dame, to compete in arguably the top conference in the country. You can get an education second-to-none and play college baseball at the very highest level it is offered. It is a message that will resonate extremely well here at Notre Dame.”