Sweet Life: New Orange Bowl Will Pit ACC Champ Vs. SEC, Big Ten, Or Notre Dame

ACC Orange Bowl Deal Involving SEC, Big Ten, And Notre Dame Finalized, According To Report

The Orange Bowl will pit the ACC champion against the highest-ranked team of a pool including SEC and Big Ten squads and Notre Dame beginning in 2014, according to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd.

Dodd reports that the deal, which ESPN's Brett McMurphy first broke on Monday, is done, and that it finalizes matchups for the Rose, Champions, and Orange Bowls when they are not national semifinals. The current structure of the post-BCS bowl system would include those three "contract" bowls, two national semifinals, and a national championship game, but the 12 spots available in those games have been largely carved out as property of the five major college athletic conferences — the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Pac-12.

It is likely that revenues from the Orange Bowl will remain with the conferences of the participating teams, providing substantial financial benefits in addition to what is sure to be a windfall from the long-awaited playoff system.

For more on the Orange Bowl's evolution, check this StoryStream.

New ACC Orange Bowl Deal Includes SEC, Big Ten And Notre Dame, According To Report

The ACC and Orange Bowl are close to a deal which would extend their current annual tie-in.

Can Notre Dame And The ACC Squeeze Out A Decent Orange Bowl Together?

How could the ACC and Notre Dame make this Orange Bowl thing work? They might need to involve another conference as well, and even then it still might not make for great games.

For more on Irish football, visit Notre Dame blog One Foot Down.

Notre Dame, ACC Discuss Orange Bowl Partnership

Notre Dame still enjoys what amounts to favored-nation status in the American game of realpolitik that is the never-ending storm of conference expansion and ever-shifting bowl partnerships. The Irish are trying to retain that status in part by partnering with the ACC and staying in the mix of teams eligible for the Orange Bowl, the school confirmed Monday.

Notre Dame has long been happy with the status quo of the Bowl Championship Series, with any finish in the top eight of the final BCS standings guaranteeing the Irish a berth in a BCS bowl game. But with the BCS melting into the four-team playoff that will begin in 2014, the Irish may need new dance partners, and the ACC — seen as the distant fifth of the elite quintet of athletic conferences that also includes the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12 and Big Ten — would seem to be the league most likely to get on the floor with them, given the other four conferences' deals to secure spots for teams in major bowls.

Talks remain in the preliminary stage between the school and conference, but Rivals' Clemson site, Tiger Illustrated, reported that a group of ACC presidents met with Notre Dame on Sunday.

For more on Notre Dame, head to One Foot Down.

Notre Dame, ACC Meeting Likely Involves Orange Bowl Somehow

The debate has been underway for decades now: When will Notre Dame join a conference, and which one? The Big Ten was the favorite for decades (literally), but now the argument centers on the Big 12 and the ACC. The former could offer an independent-friendly spirit, considering Texas' largesse, while the latter offers similar universities and a couple former rivals.

Clemson site Tiger Illustrated reported Sunday that the Irish and the ACC have met, but not necessarily that conference realignment is the entire agenda.

Remember the ACC's new Orange Bowl deal, which gives the league half-ownership of a bowl that's included in the new playoff plan's big six bowls? A Notre Dame-ACC bowl would be a valuable property, and a win for both sides. The Irish could be guaranteed a spot at the table -- provided they win, say, nine games or achieve a certain ranking -- and the ACC could have a bowl that would do numbers, whether we like it or not. And often better numbers than it could get if it paired with the Big East's champ, an at-large, or the SEC's runner-up. If people watched the Champs Sports Bowl pairing of FSU and Notre Dame last year (and they did), they'd certainly watch the same game featuring the ACC's champ.

But that's all speculation for now.

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For more on Irish football, visit Notre Dame blog One Foot Down.

New Orange Bowl Deal Means Florida State Would Be Crazy To Leave The ACC

The BCS may be dead, but the power conferences didn't give up any of their guaranteed seats at the table. And no team has a better chance to take advantage of the new arrangement than FSU. Is that worth making less money?

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For more on FSU football, visit Florida State blog Tomahawk Nation and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

New Orange Bowl Deal Gives ACC Its AQ Spot Back