What Would It Take For Notre Dame Football To Join The Big Ten or The SEC ?

[Anonymous]

Notre Dame's incoming AD has an undergraduate degree from Notre Dame and a law degree from Georgetown.

[Anonymous]

https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/lists/big-ten-opponents-notre-dame-should-play-annually-if-it-ever-joins/

The above article lists 7 Big Ten opponent. Currently, Notre Dame has agreed to play 5 ACC games per year. The regular college football season consists of 12 games. 7 plus 5 is 12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/lists/big-ten-opponents-notre-dame-should-play-annually-if-it-ever-joins/

The above article lists 7 Big Ten opponent. Currently, Notre Dame has agreed to play 5 ACC games per year. The regular college football season consists of 12 games. 7 plus 5 is 12.

My suggestion is that Notre Dame--if it played a 13 game regular season--could satisfy its contract for 5 ACC games per year and satisfy the Big Ten's requirement of 8 Big Ten Conference games per year. OR one conference could be flexible and bend the requirement by one game for Notre Dame.

The obvious issue would be that a successful Notre Dame team could only play for one conference championship.

Also, for a plan like this to work, Navy might have to join the ACC as the Notre Dame/Navy rivalry is a strong tradition.

Nevertheless, money is the fuel and the solution to issues such as these.

[Anonymous]

Notre Dame needs a national audience. The only coast-to-coast conference in college football is the Big Ten Conference. UCLA & USC on the west coast; Maryland & Rutgers on the east coast and 12 schools in between.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/lists/big-ten-opponents-notre-dame-should-play-annually-if-it-ever-joins/

The above article lists 7 Big Ten opponent. Currently, Notre Dame has agreed to play 5 ACC games per year. The regular college football season consists of 12 games. 7 plus 5 is 12.

My suggestion is that Notre Dame--if it played a 13 game regular season--could satisfy its contract for 5 ACC games per year and satisfy the Big Ten's requirement of 8 Big Ten Conference games per year. OR one conference could be flexible and bend the requirement by one game for Notre Dame.

The obvious issue would be that a successful Notre Dame team could only play for one conference championship.

Also, for a plan like this to work, Navy might have to join the ACC as the Notre Dame/Navy rivalry is a strong tradition.

Nevertheless, money is the fuel and the solution to issues such as these.

Why would the Big 10 be flexible where ND is concerned? They don’t need them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/lists/big-ten-opponents-notre-dame-should-play-annually-if-it-ever-joins/

The above article lists 7 Big Ten opponent. Currently, Notre Dame has agreed to play 5 ACC games per year. The regular college football season consists of 12 games. 7 plus 5 is 12.

My suggestion is that Notre Dame--if it played a 13 game regular season--could satisfy its contract for 5 ACC games per year and satisfy the Big Ten's requirement of 8 Big Ten Conference games per year. OR one conference could be flexible and bend the requirement by one game for Notre Dame.

The obvious issue would be that a successful Notre Dame team could only play for one conference championship.

Also, for a plan like this to work, Navy might have to join the ACC as the Notre Dame/Navy rivalry is a strong tradition.

Nevertheless, money is the fuel and the solution to issues such as these.

Why would the Big 10 be flexible where ND is concerned? They don’t need them.

You are correct in stating that the Big Ten Conference doesn't need Notre Dame; the Big Ten Conference wants Notre Dame.

The Big Ten is & has been flexible regarding Notre Dame. Notre Dame has an open invitation to join the conference and, before Notre Dame's recent entrance into the AAU (American Association of Universities), the Big Ten Conference waived that informal requirement only for Notre Dame. (Nebraska, the only Big Ten Conference non-AAU member school, was an AAU member when it initially joined the Big Ten Conference.)

Notre Dame brings a devoted national audience and Notre Dame has a convenient midwestern location & one of the most storied and historical football programs in the nation. Several Big Ten schools have a football rivalry with Notre Dame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The University of Notre Dame's TV contract with NBC expires after the 2024 college football season. Notre Dame receives about $22 million per year from NBC. Notre Dame is seeking at least triple the amount under any new contract with NBC (seeking in the area of $65 million to $75 million). No progress has been reported on the negotiation of a new contract between the two parties.

Big Ten Conference will pay about $90 million to each of its members in just a few years, but will be paying in the $70 million to $75 million per team over the next two years under the terms of its new deal with Fox, NBC, and CBS.

My understanding is that independent football teams, such as Notre Dame, are ineligible to receive a bye in the first round of the newly designed College Football Playoffs.

Projected payouts for SEC football teams are about $60 million per member.

There is a whole thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1141897.page

This thread should focus on Notre Dame and what it will take to get Notre Dame football to join a conference.




The other thread is about Big Ten Conference expansion and it involves many schools and different considerations.

I started thread because of a strong interest in Notre Dame football and the dearth of current articles about Notre Dame football's upcoming TV/media rights contract negotiations.

If ND doesn’t join a major conference, they will be cut off in the near future from playing a decent schedule against the perennial top teams. Why schedule ND when you already have plenty of tough competition in your own conference?

Notre Dames annual schedule is not against "top teams" - they generally rotate the same 10-15 schools with a focus on Navy, Stanford and Boston College as constants.

Agree. ND schedule is not tough…

In 2023 they’re playing USC, OSU and Clemson, along with a number of solid ACC teams and Stanford. Not a ND fan, but that not an easy schedule. NDs schedule is usually around top 20 in terms of toughness; difficult enough to get some respect, easy enough to get into the playoffs if they’re a good team. I don’t see it changing much in the B10; there are a lot of bottom feeder teams in the league to go along with the OSUs and Michigans.

[Anonymous]

Notre Dame's 2023-2024 college football season schedule is ranked as the 18th toughest (out of 133 teams) schedule by Sports Illustrated based on winning percentage of scheduled opponents:

https://si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/ncaa-football-rankings/college-football-schedule-rankings-2023

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/lists/big-ten-opponents-notre-dame-should-play-annually-if-it-ever-joins/

The above article lists 7 Big Ten opponent. Currently, Notre Dame has agreed to play 5 ACC games per year. The regular college football season consists of 12 games. 7 plus 5 is 12.

My suggestion is that Notre Dame--if it played a 13 game regular season--could satisfy its contract for 5 ACC games per year and satisfy the Big Ten's requirement of 8 Big Ten Conference games per year. OR one conference could be flexible and bend the requirement by one game for Notre Dame.

The obvious issue would be that a successful Notre Dame team could only play for one conference championship.

Also, for a plan like this to work, Navy might have to join the ACC as the Notre Dame/Navy rivalry is a strong tradition.

Nevertheless, money is the fuel and the solution to issues such as these.

Why would the Big 10 be flexible where ND is concerned? They don’t need them.

You are correct in stating that the Big Ten Conference doesn't need Notre Dame; the Big Ten Conference wants Notre Dame.

The Big Ten is & has been flexible regarding Notre Dame. Notre Dame has an open invitation to join the conference and, before Notre Dame's recent entrance into the AAU (American Association of Universities), the Big Ten Conference waived that informal requirement only for Notre Dame. (Nebraska, the only Big Ten Conference non-AAU member school, was an AAU member when it initially joined the Big Ten Conference.)

Notre Dame brings a devoted national audience and Notre Dame has a convenient midwestern location & one of the most storied and historical football programs in the nation. Several Big Ten schools have a football rivalry with Notre Dame.

I was referring to being flexible remark. The B1G will not give ND any special privileges compared to its other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/lists/big-ten-opponents-notre-dame-should-play-annually-if-it-ever-joins/

The above article lists 7 Big Ten opponent. Currently, Notre Dame has agreed to play 5 ACC games per year. The regular college football season consists of 12 games. 7 plus 5 is 12.

My suggestion is that Notre Dame--if it played a 13 game regular season--could satisfy its contract for 5 ACC games per year and satisfy the Big Ten's requirement of 8 Big Ten Conference games per year. OR one conference could be flexible and bend the requirement by one game for Notre Dame.

The obvious issue would be that a successful Notre Dame team could only play for one conference championship.

Also, for a plan like this to work, Navy might have to join the ACC as the Notre Dame/Navy rivalry is a strong tradition.

Nevertheless, money is the fuel and the solution to issues such as these.

Why would the Big 10 be flexible where ND is concerned? They don’t need them.

You are correct in stating that the Big Ten Conference doesn't need Notre Dame; the Big Ten Conference wants Notre Dame.

The Big Ten is & has been flexible regarding Notre Dame. Notre Dame has an open invitation to join the conference and, before Notre Dame's recent entrance into the AAU (American Association of Universities), the Big Ten Conference waived that informal requirement only for Notre Dame. (Nebraska, the only Big Ten Conference non-AAU member school, was an AAU member when it initially joined the Big Ten Conference.)

Notre Dame brings a devoted national audience and Notre Dame has a convenient midwestern location & one of the most storied and historical football programs in the nation. Several Big Ten schools have a football rivalry with Notre Dame.

I was referring to being flexible remark. The B1G will not give ND any special privileges compared to its other schools.

No way to know this until a deal is done.

The Big Ten Conference can do whatever the member teams agree to do. Being flexible to attract & enroll Notre Dame could be a wise move financially for all Big Ten member schools.

The biggest issue might be the 8 game annual scheduling requirement against Big Ten Conference schools in light of notre Dame's 5 game commitment to the ACC when college teams play 12 regular season games. Most likely, the ACC would bend making a Big Ten scheduling exception a moot point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/lists/big-ten-opponents-notre-dame-should-play-annually-if-it-ever-joins/

The above article lists 7 Big Ten opponent. Currently, Notre Dame has agreed to play 5 ACC games per year. The regular college football season consists of 12 games. 7 plus 5 is 12.

My suggestion is that Notre Dame--if it played a 13 game regular season--could satisfy its contract for 5 ACC games per year and satisfy the Big Ten's requirement of 8 Big Ten Conference games per year. OR one conference could be flexible and bend the requirement by one game for Notre Dame.

The obvious issue would be that a successful Notre Dame team could only play for one conference championship.

Also, for a plan like this to work, Navy might have to join the ACC as the Notre Dame/Navy rivalry is a strong tradition.

Nevertheless, money is the fuel and the solution to issues such as these.

Why would the Big 10 be flexible where ND is concerned? They don’t need them.

You are correct in stating that the Big Ten Conference doesn't need Notre Dame; the Big Ten Conference wants Notre Dame.

The Big Ten is & has been flexible regarding Notre Dame. Notre Dame has an open invitation to join the conference and, before Notre Dame's recent entrance into the AAU (American Association of Universities), the Big Ten Conference waived that informal requirement only for Notre Dame. (Nebraska, the only Big Ten Conference non-AAU member school, was an AAU member when it initially joined the Big Ten Conference.)

Notre Dame brings a devoted national audience and Notre Dame has a convenient midwestern location & one of the most storied and historical football programs in the nation. Several Big Ten schools have a football rivalry with Notre Dame.

I was referring to being flexible remark. The B1G will not give ND any special privileges compared to its other schools.

No way to know this until a deal is done.

The Big Ten Conference can do whatever the member teams agree to do. Being flexible to attract & enroll Notre Dame could be a wise move financially for all Big Ten member schools.

The biggest issue might be the 8 game annual scheduling requirement against Big Ten Conference schools in light of notre Dame's 5 game commitment to the ACC when college teams play 12 regular season games. Most likely, the ACC would bend making a Big Ten scheduling exception a moot point.

I think we're past that point. The TV deal is done and runs through 2030. Unless that deal has a clause specific to adding ND, then it doesn't move the needle any more than adding any other school would. Who knows what the landscape will look like by 2030. Right now two mega conferences followed by an enlarged Big12 looks very possible. If the ACC implodes like people expect and the SEC and Big10 both pick up the biggest names and the PAC12 media deal is as bad as people think and schools bail to the Big12 and Big10 rather than accepting it, then you may end up with ND being the one who needs to find a conference

[Anonymous]

It looks like ND is required to join the ACC if it joins any conference for football before 2036.

I assume there's some financial breakout clause, but that seems like a big stumbling block to joining the Big10. Because there's no way they would join the Big10 for football and leave all the other sports in the ACC - they'd just completely switch conferences.

I imagine the AD is hoping the ACC implodes, so ND has some flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/lists/big-ten-opponents-notre-dame-should-play-annually-if-it-ever-joins/

The above article lists 7 Big Ten opponent. Currently, Notre Dame has agreed to play 5 ACC games per year. The regular college football season consists of 12 games. 7 plus 5 is 12.

My suggestion is that Notre Dame--if it played a 13 game regular season--could satisfy its contract for 5 ACC games per year and satisfy the Big Ten's requirement of 8 Big Ten Conference games per year. OR one conference could be flexible and bend the requirement by one game for Notre Dame.

The obvious issue would be that a successful Notre Dame team could only play for one conference championship.

Also, for a plan like this to work, Navy might have to join the ACC as the Notre Dame/Navy rivalry is a strong tradition.

Nevertheless, money is the fuel and the solution to issues such as these.

Why would the Big 10 be flexible where ND is concerned? They don’t need them.

You are correct in stating that the Big Ten Conference doesn't need Notre Dame; the Big Ten Conference wants Notre Dame.

The Big Ten is & has been flexible regarding Notre Dame. Notre Dame has an open invitation to join the conference and, before Notre Dame's recent entrance into the AAU (American Association of Universities), the Big Ten Conference waived that informal requirement only for Notre Dame. (Nebraska, the only Big Ten Conference non-AAU member school, was an AAU member when it initially joined the Big Ten Conference.)

Notre Dame brings a devoted national audience and Notre Dame has a convenient midwestern location & one of the most storied and historical football programs in the nation. Several Big Ten schools have a football rivalry with Notre Dame.

I was referring to being flexible remark. The B1G will not give ND any special privileges compared to its other schools.

No way to know this until a deal is done.

The Big Ten Conference can do whatever the member teams agree to do. Being flexible to attract & enroll Notre Dame could be a wise move financially for all Big Ten member schools.

The biggest issue might be the 8 game annual scheduling requirement against Big Ten Conference schools in light of notre Dame's 5 game commitment to the ACC when college teams play 12 regular season games. Most likely, the ACC would bend making a Big Ten scheduling exception a moot point.

I think we're past that point. The TV deal is done and runs through 2030. Unless that deal has a clause specific to adding ND, then it doesn't move the needle any more than adding any other school would. Who knows what the landscape will look like by 2030. Right now two mega conferences followed by an enlarged Big12 looks very possible. If the ACC implodes like people expect and the SEC and Big10 both pick up the biggest names and the PAC12 media deal is as bad as people think and schools bail to the Big12 and Big10 rather than accepting it, then you may end up with ND being the one who needs to find a conference

Yes, the recent contract among the Big Ten Conference, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and CBS contains an escalator clause triggered by further expansion by the Big Ten Conference during the period in which the contract is in effect.

I have read that the contract may include an escalator clause specific to the addition of Notre Dame as well as an escalator clause for any other teams added to the Big Ten Conference (as it is widely expected that both Oregon & Washington will become members of the Big Ten Conference as those schools have both been vetted & cleared for membership by the Big Ten Conference).

[Anonymous]

My understanding--and it has been reported widely--is that Notre Dame still has an open invitation to join the Big Ten Conference after ND turned down the Big Ten when USC decided to join. The Big Ten then added UCLA to complement the addition of USC.

[Anonymous]

My best guess from decades of watching the Big Ten/Notre Dame courtship flirtations is that negotiations are underway in an informal, friendly manner. Biggest clue is the lack of speculation on the matter by established press sources--who are among the last to know of such major moves.