The Grounds

I'm blaming this one on JO. I saw that tweet.

Say goodbye to our baseball program.

I would hate to see this.

Not necessarily. Would be a virtual shoo-in to win the B1G title every year. Could be an even clearer path to the tournament on an annual basis.

But you're right, it isn't exactly a baseball conference ...

Who wants to play baseball in Wisconsin and Minnesota in March? It would destroy our recruiting. If this happens, we probably lose O'Conner and I can't say I blame him for leaving.

Wouldn't Carolina and GT have just as much to lose in baseball?

With the $20 million extra a year UVA would have in its athletic budget from B1G membership, I'm sure O'Connor could be strongly convinced to remain with an expanded bank account.

It's the obvious consequence of a move to the B1G. BOC would have about 30 lucrative offers within an hour of us announcing a move like that, and our recruiting would be completely shot. Like Kenny Saw said, there's a reason BOC doesn't coach at Notre Dame. I disagree completely with Perk; we would be dragged down to the B1G's level, not stay where we are now, and any tourney bid would be as a regional 3-seed at best.

If we went to the B1G I'd almost rather we just tear up Davenport Field and replace it with a hockey rink. Put a merciful and quick end to the baseball program instead of painfully watching it fall into wreckage and obscurity. Sure, we'd suck at hockey too, but if we're planning on being a northern team we might as well act like one and play sports like one.

I think there may be a little bit of smoke here - but, it's more likely fueled by delusions of B1G grandeur. The B1G would love to pull UVA and UNC. That would be the crown jewel for them. Regardless of what some of the tweeters think about UVA - which is obviously very uninformed. The ACC has lawsuit against MD right now. If that goes the ACC's way - and most likely will to a large degree - the ACC will stand pat. Nobody else can afford that kind of financial hit. Oh, except if you're MD and your #1 booster is the founder of Under Armour and has $60M sitting in the piggy bank on his dresser.

MD has bigger issues than the quick cash grab to the B1G - and going to the B1G won't solve those problems - not in the long-term. They have systemic troubles with their administration and brand. They just kicked the can down the road for a few years.

The question at hand, if UVa/Duke/UNC/Georgia Tech went B1G, what would Notre Dame do?

You could make a decent B1G East Division

Notre Dame
Ohio State
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland
Virginia
UNC
Duke
Georgia Tech
and one of Pitt or BC

Can't look at it like we'd maintain our current level of play or only drop off a little bit. The fall would be precipitous. We'd go from bringing in top-25 recruiting classes to top-125.

And like I also said.....that coach would be gone in a heartbeat. If we go to the B1G, I will be shocked if BOC sticks around.

Depends whom accompanies us. With UNC and GT, we retain 2 top-notch foes. If the B1G would relax their standards a little (and I don't think it'd be markedly different than adding Nebraska), they could easily lure FSU as the 18th team. Then, instead of series against Yale, Bucknell, Toledo and all the local schleps like Liberty, ODU, UR, etc, we play series against Coastal, other Southern teams, go out West, etc. The key is to schedule smart and don't waste any games.

The only decent/good teams we'd lose by going to B1G are Miami, NCSU, Clemson, and FSU, assuming they weren't invited. I don't think those games are irreplaceable. Half the seasons we miss one of the ACC big'uns anyway, so we'd have to replace between 9 and 12 games against quality competition. It certainly can be done, and this is all assuming none of the B1G teams emerge as decent competition.

Under such a scenario, I sincerely doubt Oak would leave. We should have no problem doubling his salary to make it worth his while.

I noticed in the W&M game going on now, we've played 14 players. Not a single one is from south of Va. The majority come from PA, MD, NJ or NY. We go to the B1G, we ramp up our OOC schedule, we keep our recruiting base, and nothing changes.