Notre Dame has decided that it will now play all sports excluding football in the ACC, not the Big East. The Big East is requiring the Fightin' Irish to pay a $5 million dollar penalty, when both Syracuse and Pittsburgh payed $7.5 million dollars after a negotiating to join the ACC also. They will start in June of 2013.
The football program will remain an independent. The school tried to align the football program with the Big 10 back in 1999, but the alumni base would not have it. Besides, why turn down a lucrative deal with NBC?