You don’t have to be a sports fan to be a fan of Notre Dame’s switch to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Some believe the move could provide a boost to the local economy.

“I would hope even in the early stages of an ACC that you see more interest or activity in terms of traveling here, which again could help the airport the restaurants the hotels all the merchants here locally so it’s sort of its new its fresh, people have heard about this school named Notre Dame, they knew it was on TV Saturday afternoon and now have a good excuse to come experience it,” said Jeff Rea, President of the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce.

While it’s not the sort of thing that has been researched extensively, it’s not unchartered territory.

“I think that generally, and I think we saw this with the Big East, when Notre Dame joined the conference for example, people decided that they wanted to come visit. “You know they hadn't been to a game on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, so wanted a chance to experience that now that there was a natural rivalry between their school and Notre Dame.”

Rea also believes that fans that come from places like Maryland and Florida, may be more inclined to stay one or two days.

While the Notre Dame Football program will not join the ACC, it has agreed to eventually play five games per year against ACC opponents.