That is why it refused to play in an ESPN-made-for-TV bowl game. Why help advertising rates or viewership for a network that cuts your throat?

I appreciate that you haven’t come on this board to spew hatred and b.s. like another Irish follower. But it seems to me that whatever Notre Dame plans to do has been in the works for a very long time. The end of the ACC is foreseeable and there have been multiple reports in the past suggesting it makes sense for ND and NBC to play fewer ACC/Disney games and more Big Ten/NBC games. And (what a shocker), the AD is a former NBC suit. To me, ND taking steps to leave the ACC is a logical, predictable move. It’s no different than what FSU, Clemson, UNC and three or four other schools (including Virginia Tech) are or should be doing or trying to do. The only difference is that the Irish are less attached to the ACC than the rest of us and have far better long term options - though the option it prefers, independence, will be an increasingly less desirable one with the real Pac-12 gone and the ACC on its deathbed. So in my mind, whatever Notre Dame may plan to do next was preordained, long ago. The CFP snub just provides convenient cover and some arguably nonsensical talking points for exit negotiations. Notre Dame is not going to lash out at the SEC or Big Ten because, as collectives, they have more power than Notre Dame and, oh by the way, maybe the Irish would like to have scheduling agreements with members of both. The ideal future for Notre Dame is an independence where the five or six ACC games are replaced with Big Ten opponents and maybe one game a year on NBC against Texas in Jerry World or Alabama in Atlanta, for example. So if something like that is Notre Dame’s agenda, it is somewhat inevitable. What I find offensive is this nimrod Bevacqua throwing stones at the conference that has given his school’s numerous non-football programs a home that is better than they are apt to have anytime in the future. It’s juvenile. It’s unprofessional. And it’s in keeping with the political discourse that regrettably dominates the country these days. ** Edited by Tailgate Guru at 12/9/2025, 8:12:25 AM

If ND stayed in the ACC long term, I would not mind. After all, I live in Grayson County, Virginia. :) I like the fact that ND plays all around me.

I just think Notre Dame has unnecessarily overreacted and lashed out foolishly. No one ever feels sorry for Notre Dame, even those of us who ordinarily respect the way they compete and tolerate the way they do business.

I think that people greatly underestimate this. But, ND never does anything quickly, rashly or based upon emotion. I think that every school has a conference realignment plan. People should not be surprised if ND has several.

ND would eventually love a similar deal with B1G as it will solve several problems for them and make more money for everyone. Yes there are legal obstacles in the short term but anyone who thinks the B1G is going to continue to stand on principle is living in a 2015 world. They will make it work if it helps their members. ND is very strategic. The public grievances are more then just emotional venting. They are positioning for a negotiated divorce. This is just another bad headache the ACC doesn't need right now and ND realizes it and will exploit the already disunity of ACC school members.

of ACC-style scheduling agreement with ND. They have no need to. Same with the SEC.

Both the SEC and Big 10 would jump immediately if ND offered each conference, say, 4 scheduled football games a year. ND would want it to - that's 8 games, they can keep scheduling USC, Stanford, and Navy to make it 11, and then all they have to do is pay a G5 to come into South Bend every year, or even schedule a series with UConn, the only other remaining independent, who would also be a Big East member in other sports. And, the best part would be that they never have to play road snoozers against SMU, Wake Forest, Duke, Boston College, etc. ever again. This is clearly what they're going to do, with all their other sports parked in the Big East, with the most obscure (e.g., hockey) parked in the Big 10. People on here somehow keep forgetting that the ACC is dead conference walking, and is going to be on equal footing with the American or new-look Pac-12 here in about 3-4 years. ** Edited by Baltimore_Hokie at 12/9/2025, 10:33:24 AM

the ACC has with ND, football scheduling arrangement while parking their other sports in the Big 10. I think they could probably get like 4 games from the Big 10 or SEC a year, but not both.

Why wouldn't they? Anyone can say almost anything they want about ND, but you can't say they're not a big draw, both in terms of stadium ticket sales and TV viewership.

Pete Bevacqua said ACC football stadiums sell out 23% of the time on average. When Notre Dame visits an ACC stadium, the sell-out rate is 90%. Notes: Television ratings also rise with Notre Dame's participation.

world for them to have a few more games each year. That shuts out ESPN also. ** Edited by reestuart at 12/9/2025, 10:51:08 AM

There was a big article a few days back in the Athletic about the SEC's TV ratings; upshot is they are kinda crushing the Big 10 because the perception (and reality) is they have much better and deeper matchups each weekend, and they've been able to keep their identity while the Big 10's expansion strategy of "Hey the Rose Bowl between the PAC 12 and Big 10 was great. How about a terrible one every weekend?" has really diluted their brand. That, and in a streaming world, its easier for fans to find and navigate the SEC schedule because its all on one family of channels/networks. The Big 10 is a PITA to follow because they're on multiple platforms, can't just click around. ** Edited by mancunian at 12/9/2025, 10:47:06 AM

They're tailor made to park ND's other sports in. They're all private, Catholic schools (except UConn.) They're all in big urban metros. The basketball is elite, both in men's and women's. None of them play football (except UConn, who is independent.) It's a match made in heaven for that purpose. ** Edited by Baltimore_Hokie at 12/9/2025, 10:34:33 AM

Notre Dame is a little smarter than Penn State. It’s not going to make a big move without having a follow up plan. And the Irish will place their non-revs in the Big East and call it a day. Because deep down football is more important to Notre Dame than having a broad based athletic program like UVa or Stanford. ** Edited by Tailgate Guru at 12/9/2025, 9:06:38 AM

It is just not that big of a deal to ND, particularly and especially where football independence is involved.

Which is why no one cares about sending the basketball team to Waco or Newark, versus Chapel Hill, Durham and Louisville.

In the Seventies, under Digger Phelps, ND was a national power on NBC with Dick Enberg, Al Maguire and Billy Packer, playing UCLA, DePaul, Indiana and Kentucky regularly on national TV. After that, ND just became disinterested in basketball and neglected it. It plays in a small arena built in 1968 and it would not build an indoor practice facility for decades until donors paid for it and clamored for it. Football is everything at ND. Football independence is everything at ND. Everything and anything would be sacrificed to stay a football independent forever. ** Edited by TerryD at 12/9/2025, 1:22:51 PM

independence and joining the Big Ten. As the domers here will tell you, that's not on the table. So what is it? Partnership with the Big XII? Is that really better? I could see joining the Big East again, but who knows.

The Big Ten (and potentially, the SEC) has a choice. Enter into a ND-friendly foootball scheduling arrangement and have some control over scheduling or let ND cherry pick who it wants to play, and where. Nothing keeps ND and any B1G member from scheduling a neutral site game that is not subject to a conference contract to replace the B1G home game that is covered under the B1G contract. So ND can play Michigan at Ford Field, USC at SOFI, Wisconsin at Lambeau, Ohio State in Cincinnati or Cleveland, Penn State in Philly, Pittsburgh or NYC. (Or Texas/Oklahoma at Jerry World, A&M in Houston, LSU at the Superdome, Georgia or Bama in Atlanta, etc.) They already have a long term deal with, for example, Clemson. How hard is it to replace those five contractual ACC games without making any deal with a conference? Not very. Worst case, Notre Dame has to schedule a handful more games against Army, Air Force or a MAC school in South Bend.

agreement with Clemson for 10 or so years, they can do that with almost any school. They have traditional (rivalry) schools they have scheduled in the past like Purdue, Michigan, Miami, Michigan State, Northwestern, Boston College, Pitt, USC, Stanford, GT, and one could argue a few others like LSU. ND football would still want their home games, so the neutral site thing could be set up if a conference like the BIG don't want a USC as an example, to do an end around for more money. While I understand the angst of some on this board about ND, there is no other brand that rises to ND's level. The ACC is better with them than they are not. That being said...... The current B12 is much better off without Texas than they were with them. Maybe not in viewership numbers or money, but there is a sense of satisfaction when I engage other fans in the conference. Currently, the ACC is the only power conference where there is legitimate talk about schools wanting out. (Any school except ND would take a P2 invite, and that should speak for itself).

Wanting out is not exclusive to the ACC. It’s just that there are more ACC schools that have prospects of something better - or think they do - than the Big 12, because the Big 12 (and old Pac 12) has been picked through already. I am not sure any Big 12 school has a real chance for the P2 or some super league if it is ever formed. Utah and Arizona State and Kansas probably have aspirations but they are weak. BYU is a unicorn. West Virginia might move laterally to an eastern league if there was a comparable option available. Maybe UCF or Cincinnati would too. But most Big 12 schools are realistically in the best place they can be unless a super league forms, leading to the creation of a second tier super league composed of the best of the ACC and Big 12 remnants and possibly some P2 castoffs.

that imploded, they thought they were Big 10 worthy. Would they, or anyone in the B12 take a P2 invite? Absolutely, but with their athletic budget, they, and their fans, have changed their tune. Reality has a way of setting in for schools and their fans. I don't think any school except USCLA wanted out of the PAC, or be in a position to accept an invite to the B12 - but they did. That "mythical 3rd conference that everyone seem to be clamoring for, is just that - a myth. Unless something like that is funded by PE, there is no reasonable way for it to materialize. Like it or not, us fans are stuck with the B12. What happens in your conference has yet to be determined, but I have found over the years that where there is smoke ....... Until Utah, WVU, or any other B12 school has a better option, they are home.

If the schools like Kansas and Arizona and Oklahoma State and West Virginia are not thinking creatively about a future that does not involve the Big 12 as it is presently constituted, they are doing themselves a disservice. Which I doubt will occur. I think the Big 12 has a lot of positive aspects. But if you started from scratch and picked the 24-32 programs you’d like to bring together to form a second tier super league, there are some schools like Baylor and Cincinnati and UCF that are not sure to make the cut, especially if there are some stray P2 schools like Mississippi State or Kentucky or Minnesota or Maryland available.

of "the best available athlete". Starting from scratch was not an option for the B12, and when Cincy was added, I don't think anyone saw the PAC imploding. Had the PAC added a few b12 schools when they were floundering, there would be no B12 today. The ACC could have taken a few as well, and we would be having entirely different discussions today. Any school not currently in the P2 should be doing everything they can to put their programs in the best possible position to be "included" in the club. VT certainly is stepping up to the table with the monies made available and their coach hire. I assure you, every single University, including those in the bottom tier of their respective conferences, are looking at this hard.

I’m sure they’ve ruffled more than a few feathers in the SEC.

rejoin the Big East in all other sports. The Irish believe (right or wrong) that their athletic programs would benefit more in the Big East than the ACC when you compare the locations of the Big East members (think NYC, Philly, DC, Nap Town, Milwaukee, Chicago, etc.) to the locations of ACC members (think C-ville, Durham, Blacksburg, etc.). Also, culturally Notre Dame may align more with the Big East than the ACC.

and asked them to publicly lash out at the ACC if ND were to be left out of the playoff. The hope is that ND can get some traction on breaking away from the ACC. And the loss of ND would enable FSU and others to push out Phillips and put in someone hand picked that will allow the breakup of the ACC. This is all a coordinated effort to help FSU and others leave the ACC. Because the lawsuits were never about money. FSU and others truly hate the ACC and how much it is dragging everyone down.

but ND's response is more of a jilted lover's emotional lashing out. I still think there is a Mag7 club cooking something for when the window to leave gets closer, but I think they'll have help from the P2 / P4 elites that want to reshape a top football division.