The college football world is once again swirling with conference realignment rumors surrounding Notre Dame and the ACC. Unlike nearly every other major program, Notre Dame has held on to its independence in football, but that arrangement could face a major test if the ACC were to break apart.
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Without the ACC as a scheduling partner, where would that leave the Fighting Irish? Former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is now weighing in on the potential scenario, spilling the beans on the stakes for the program if the two sides actually go their separate ways.
“Notre Dame is very interesting, Kelly said during his appearance on the SiriusXM on October 1. “They have to have the ACC. They need the ACC because it provides them inventory. It provides them games. If you take that away from them, and I guess I’m just talking here, if the ACC had a breakup, where does that leave Notre Dame?”
“Notre Dame will stay independent as long as they can be independent. They want to be independent. But if you don’t have inventory, if you don’t have games—because, listen, you play nine games in the SEC and nine in the Big Ten. The last team you want to play is Notre Dame. So take them off your schedule.”
College football teams play 12 regular-season games each year. In the past, major conferences only played 8 conference games, leaving teams with 4 “free slots” to schedule whoever they wanted. Now, the powerhouse mega-conferences like the Big Ten and SEC have expanded and shifted to 9-game conference schedules. The remaining 3 non-conference games would easily go to teams which are an easy win rather than a powerhouse like Notre Dame. Notre Dame will be starved of games and forced to join a conference just to survive.
Another major catalyst for recent rumours is a legislative push in the U.S. Senate’s Protect College Sports Act. Rumours circulate that if this text passes into law, it would effectively cap the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, and Big 12 at 19 teams each.
The Big Ten currently has 18 members. It leaves exactly one spot open under a 19-team limit. This has reignited massive speculation that the Big Ten will make an aggressive, final push to poach Notre Dame before the door officially locks.
However, Notre Dame is in a unique position when it comes to conference realignment because the Fighting Irish aren’t operating from a place of desperation. The program has the luxury of listening to every proposal while knowing that conferences and television networks would love to have Notre Dame on their schedules.
Notre Dame successfully renewed its exclusive broadcast contract with NBC Sports through the 2029 season. “It helps ensure our independence, and that is so important to us,” Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told The Athletic.
This contract represents a massive financial escalation, bumping their annual payout to an estimated $50 million per year. Combined with the roughly $17 million they pull in annually from the ACC for their other sports, Notre Dame’s media footprint matches the financial scale of standard Big Ten or SEC programs.
“It becomes an interesting proposition. And listen, I’m not telling Notre Dame anything they don’t know. Jack Swarbrick is a brilliant AD. They are prepared to make the move if they need to make a move,” Kelly added.