Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly and women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw released statements on the Wednesday announcement that the Irish will join the ACC.
Kelly said: "Today is a great day for the University of Notre Dame and our athletics department, including the football program," coach Brian Kelly said in a statement. "Speaking strictly from a football standpoint, we have further solidified our future as an independent in college football, maintained our unique ability to schedule nationally and greatly improved our postseason bowl game options. I applaud Father Jenkins and Jack Swarbrick for this move. They have set our entire athletics department up for great success in the future."
McGraw said: "This is an exciting day for Notre Dame women's basketball. The ACC is one of the nation's strongest women's basketball conferences and we're thrilled to be able to add our program to that mix. There are so many talented players, coaches and programs in the ACC and we will be challenged each and every night. I also think our fans, who are the best in college basketball, will be excited to see so many new faces coming in to Purcell Pavilion in the next few years. My hat is off to Jack Swarbrick and Father Jenkins for the hard work they put in to make this move a reality.
"At the same time, we are certainly sad to be leaving behind the many friends and colleagues, as well as the numerous rivalries we have developed in the BIG EAST. Our program has grown exponentially in the past 17 years and the BIG EAST is a major reason for that development."
Notre Dame also said that it would eagerly entertain the opportunity to continue its longstanding rivalry with Connecticut in women's basketball on a non-conference basis.
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