Notre Dame Holding On To Its Independence As Long As Possible

When conference re-alignment blows up like it has in recent weeks, most are curious what Notre Dame’s next move will be.

The university has not budged despite the ever-changing landscape in college athletics which is taking shape from coast to coast at warp speed.

The SEC adds Oklahoma and Texas. What does Notre Dame do? Nothing.

The Big Ten adds USC and UCLA. What does Notre Dame do? Zippo.

The Big 12 adds Colorado and then Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. Notre Dame’s response? Notta.

The Big Ten welcomes Washington and Oregon. Notre Dame’s move? Stay the course.

This week the ACC entered the conference-discussion picture. It voted on whether or not to add Stanford and Cal. Four schools voted no so, at least for now, Stanford and Cal are still looking for a home since the Pac 12 has been decimated with defectors. Meanwhile, talk of Florida State and Clemson bolting for greener pastures intensifies.

What’s next? Who knows?

One thing, though, at least for now appears certain … Notre Dame loves its pseudo-independence.

Things change as we well know and when it comes to conference re-alignment things seem to change very fast.

Remember back in the day Notre Dame claimed it would never put an artificial surface in Notre Dame Stadium. Of course it did. The Stadium was never going to have permanent lights. Of course it does. And for years Notre Dame prided itself on not redshirting players yet it does.

My point is, things change and some believe it is only a mater of time before Notre Dame will change its stance on becoming a full-time member of a conference.

Currently Notre Dame enjoys part-time football membership in the ACC.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has said repeatedly three factors influence their current independent status: loss of broadcast partner; inadequate home for Olympic sports; loss of fair route to postseason.

Swarbrick is set to retire in 2024. By then, who knows what could happen with Notre Dame’s independence in football.

The university can talk a good game, but when push comes to shove the almighty dollar will dictate whether Notre Dame is forced to join a conference. Plus, if scheduling its annual football opponents like USC becomes a problem, the school may have no choice. Games against Tennessee State, Northern Illinois, Miami (Ohio) are not going to cut it.

Money talks and no way can the Big Ten’s mega-media rights deal sit very well with the Notre Dame brass let alone its fan base.

Starting this year Big Ten schools will rake in between $80 million and $100 million per year per school.

Reports have said Notre Dame is targeting $75 million annually in media rights revenue from current broadcast partner NBC. ND’s deal with the network expires in 2025.

Currently Notre Dame is earning $22 million annually from NBC. The network has been the rightsholder for Notre Dame home football games since 1991.

Overall, Notre Dame receives somewhere in the mid-$30 million range for overall rights fees.

Of course NBC, along with Fox and CBS, are the three networks involved in the Big Ten media rights deal.

Notre Dame has a strong partnership with NBC and hopes a new deal with the network will be much more lucrative.

It also recently announced a renewed commitment to Under Armour, which means additionally revenue to the university.

Plus, Notre Dame has a contract with the ACC that states if it were to relinquish its independence, it would be for the ACC.

All those who believe that, please raise their hand.

No way will Notre Dame be joining the ACC as a full-time member. It might jump to the Big Ten or even the SEC, but other than those two “super” conferences, it’s nearly unfathomable to think of a deal that lures the school away from its independent status.

Its contract with the ACC runs through 2036.

Notre Dame plays five ACC opponents each football season and is a part of the ACC in all other sports except hockey, which is part of the Big Ten.

Keep in mind years and years ago, Notre Dame wanted to join the Big Ten, but got shot down. Safe to say it hasn’t forgotten that and is still bitter.

Some around the university feel conferences need Notre Dame more than the Irish need them. Well that line of thinking was true in the 1980s, but some 40 years later things have changed a lot, and with the way things currently sit Notre Dame is losing a boatload of money being an independent.

Remember Notre Dame did join the ACC for a full football schedule in 2020 amid a COVID-affected campaign. The Irish went 10-2 that year and appeared in the College Football Playoff.

All good things come to an end right?

And sooner or later Notre Dame’s hand will be forced and it will join a conference as a full-fledged member. My money is on the Big Ten.

Could you imagine the Big Ten with Notre Dame, perhaps still the biggest brand in all of college football?

A Big Ten that included Notre Dame would be second to none by a long shot. Sorry SEC, but the Big Ten would be a top dog by a large margin.

For now, however, we will wait and see as the college conference landscape is ever changing and doesn’t appear to be close to being settled yet.

Special thanks to Woodlawn Hospital in Rochester for being one of MAX 98.3 FM WYMR’S loyal sponsors. Please give their website a visit by going to https://woodlawnhospital.com/

You can follow me on my personal Twitter page – @DougGriffMAX983 – as well as keep an eye on my posts on sportstothemax.net’s Facebook page – plus keep tabs on all the area happenings on Twitter @Maxsports983, on Facebook (facebook.com/wymrradio) and MAX’s website – MAX983.net!