TerryD

Away and insulated from all of this conference BS infecting college football right now.

You take what you can get/extract, and move on.

ND told the world ad nauseum that football would never join a conference. IF Swofford lied to ACC presidents or if the latter were duped by their own baseless hopes, that is not ND's fault. As far as a test drive, ND took that in 2020 and didn't like it. It beat feet back to independence as soon as it could. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/26/2026, 3:25:40 PM

ND doesn't want to join a conference in full and the very last place it wants to end up is as a full Big Ten member. That is ND's worst case scenario regarding conference realignment. A fate it does not want at all. ND has been fighting mightily against that fate since 1990.

Conference realignment played a big role in that. ND is looking to start new ones. Goodbye, Michigan and USC, hello BYU, Clemson and ??

No fees owed to the ACC at all that way.

Ten conferences thought about it and unanimously voted for it. Don't forget that the conference champ autobids were part of the MOU and ND would not vote for that unless it got its guarantee as well. Why would you expect ND to vote for autobids for others without getting something in return? It is all connected together in a MOU that required unanimous consent.

The ACC and the Big 12 voted to allow the P2 to control the playoffs. Do I have that correct? In return, they both got a guarantee that their champ would get an automatic bid. Do I have that correct? The P2 needed ND's vote to obtain control of the playoffs? Do I have that correct? Any changes had to be unanimous? So, in return for ND's vote, the Irish received this "top 12" guarantee. Do I have that correct? Then, if so, it seems that the gripe is that ND didn't throw away its vote and receive nothing in return.

If you want to unwind the giving the P2 control of the playoffs and the P4 champs automatic bids, along with ND's deal, be my guest.

Since all changes had to have unanimous agreement, the P2 had to get Notre Dame on board with giving the SEC and Big Ten control of the playoff format. So, ND needed to get something in return. The MOU is it. Had to give ND something to get ND's vote. All 10 conferences signed off on this MOU that gave ND this....and gave all P4 champs an automatic bid. Look, if everyone wants to go to straight 12 ranking with no carve-outs for ND or for conference champs, then fine by ND. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/24/2026, 9:01:56 AM

...a top 12 team be guaranteed a spot in a 12 team playoff. Oh, the horror!! If the playoffs are not about getting the top 12 teams in, then what are they about?

The Big Ten is no more. :)

I am just posting ND's point of view. ND doesn't find any existing conference as desirable enough to give up independence. If it is forced to give it up, it doesn't want to give it up and surrender to any existing conference, especially the Big Ten. If it is forced to give it up, it would rather give it up to an entirely new thing than an existing conference. So, the Super League. BTW, isn't Jack Swarbrick a big proponent of a Super League? Isn't once such concept called "Project Rudy"? :)

The restrictions are being lifted and the big $$$ is being spent. After all, its all legal now. The rest of college football changed before ND did. ND has decided to compete with Alabama, Ohio State, etc...without its previous cheapness and self imposed academic restrictions. Its a new day at ND, thankfully. ND finally woke up. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/19/2026, 4:47:56 PM

The usual suspects. My prediction is that the two will disagree more than cooperate in the future. They will fight each other for total dominance. "There can be only One."--Outlander

Keep them apart and feuding as much as possible.

....I said that football independence forever is the much-preferred option, forever. But, if forced to give up independence, then ND would consider a Super League as a better option than joining an existing conference.

....is much more preferable to ND than joining any of the existing conferences. ND would rather stay independent forever if possible. That is the preferred outcome by far. But, if that proves completely and totally untenable, then joining a Super League is seen as much better than letting any existing conference (ND is not a fan of any) "win" this particular war/contest/realignment by "conquering" ND.

Father Jenkins/Jack Swarbrick/Brian Kelly were replaced by the very much more focused and aggressive trio, Father Dowd/Pete Bevacqua/Marcus Freeman. The last-minute "fix" by the Playoff Committee was the end for anyone at ND who disfavored going full throttle in football. It's a seismic change at ND. It is now fully aligned to do whatever it takes to make the playoffs and compete for championships. Self imposed restrictions have been lowered and tons of money has been raised. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/18/2026, 2:48:01 PM

There is a seismic shift happening at Notre Dame, a complete and entirely different way the Administration has treated/considered the football program for decades now. The entire school is aligned now with this effort, from the Holy Cross fathers to the president, the Board of Trustees, and the AD. Everyone is on board to do what it takes to truly compete for multiple national championships, with no counter efforts because of fears that football overshadows academics. You see it in recruiting, with the transfer portal and with the playoffs. No more "shopping down a different aisle" for players or being content with "being in the conversation" about the playoffs or national title chase like it was under Father Jenkins/Jack Swarbrick/Brian Kelly. The last time I looked, ND was #1 in the country in combined recruiting class/transfer portal class. ND is much more aggressive about things under Father Dowd, Pete Bevacqua, and Marcus Freeman. Now, the official theme is "Leave no doubt". Pete Bevacqua has been saying that the goal is for ND to win multiple championships in the future. Not shy about it at all. Someone or something just woke ND up from a long self-imposed slumber. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/18/2026, 8:39:17 AM

.....to join a completely new thing, a Super League, rather than any of the old, tired,( undesirable to ND) existing P4 conferences. If ND is going to be strong-armed into giving up its independence against its will, I don't want any of the existing conferences to win that contest. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/18/2026, 8:31:38 AM

John Brice said that ND is spending $30-35 million on this year's roster. Previous restrictions on undergrad transfers have been lessened. ND used to take grad transfers only, with an occasional exception for guys from places like Navy, Northwestern, etc... Now, ND is accepting multiple undergrad players with multiple years of eligibility from schools like Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon. (ND now has 9 5 star recruits on its 2026 roster) ND has decided to spend the money necessary and lessen its internal restrictions. I don't think that is going to change any time soon. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/18/2026, 8:14:58 AM

Wake me up when it happens. I would laugh if it did, but with an ND exception. :)

ND wants to stay independent. ND doesn't like nor want to join any existing conference. But, a super league is not an existing conference. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/16/2026, 3:06:59 PM

"Directed this"=organized ND's lawyers would have a field day.

An organized group boycott can be a serious antitrust violation, especially if it's a "horizontal" boycott among competitors to restrain trade, fix prices, or exclude rivals from a market, often falling under the Sherman Act as a per se offense (meaning it's illegal regardless of justification) or rule of reason. While political or social boycotts might be protected speech, economic boycotts by competitors to gain unfair advantage are generally illegal, as they harm competition and consumers.

Got a link to this "rumor"? 09/06 - vs Wisconsin (in Green Bay, WI) 09/12 - Rice 09/19 - Michigan State 09/26 - at Purdue 10/03 - at North Carolina 10/31 - vs Navy (in Foxborough, MA) 11/07 - Miami (FL) 11/21 - Boston College TBA - SMU TBA - Stanford (Tentative) TBA - at Syracuse TBA - at BYU ** Edited by TerryD at 1/15/2026, 3:11:17 PM

Anything written or said to the contrary is BS. Several writers (Nicole Auerbach of NBC, for one) mentioned this back when USC was trying to bait and switch ND. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/15/2026, 2:53:45 PM

Independence is permissible and not outlawed, so why would anyone want to extract a pound of flesh from a school that resists assimilation? Conferences are not holy objects, but rather greed induced collectives.

Both are going to happen.

This was all mutually agreed upon. Make it all independents....fine by me. There is only one other.

They are just made for TV money-grabbing collectives, a business deal, nothing more now.

So, this is not different.

Are you okay with #16 Michigan getting in over #15 Kansas because the Big Ten gets 4 auto bids?

Hence, independence.

In a playoff era of multiple automatic qualifiers for P2 conferences and G6 teams getting in, I have no problem at all with ND getting a guarantee as well if ranked inside those parameters. The only difference is ND is independent and those other teams are in collectives. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/14/2026, 6:54:44 PM

I know you disagree and that is fine. At 16, it really won't matter to ND either way.

...not that it would matter.

But they just want to suck the life and all the cash out of ND, not treat it well.

Nothing else matters as much.

That ND ever "hinted" that football would join. There are one million examples of the opposite, though.

Even then, ND said it was only a one year safe harbor due to a global pandemic, not a permanent thing. Where I have slung mud? I missed that.

Where did the hints come from ? When? Who made them?

He is a former NBC Sports director, but he is also an ND alumnus and a former football player (a walk-on) under Lou Holtz. I don't know if anyone else mentioned has a similar background.