Notre Dame football has some interesting options and the Irish are the lynchpin for a number of college football realignments.
Ever since the Big Ten made its move for USC and UCLA, signaling an entirely new era of college football realignment, I have thought Notre Dame held the key to the next steps.
If Nore Dame football was to join a conference, no matter what conference that might be, it would be a major change for the college football landscape and would certainly impact the current path of realignment.
But you get the sense that Notre Dame football was to remain Independent. From the perspective of the Irish, it’s worked and it’s been lucrative, so you can understand them not wanting to change that right away.
The Irish are going to be courted likely by the Big Ten, the ACC, and the SEC. Yet, you also know they are going to try and hold onto their independence. We’ll see if that remains a viable strategy and it might not be depending on what happens with the playoff.
And here’s a look at what each conference has to offer and break down things from the perspective of Notre Dame football.
ACC
Not many are talking about a move for Notre Dame to the ACC but the Irish did spend their only season in a conference in the ACC and played for the league title the last time they made the playoff.
The league also has some big-time names such as Miami, Florida State, and Clemson, plus Duke and North Carolina for basketball.
If the ACC added Notre Dame, as well as possibly taking West Virginia from the Big 12 (it belongs in the ACC with Pitt, Virginia, and Virginia Tech) as well as potentially teams like Jackson State and UCF, it could have enough star power to remain its own entity in this changing world of college football.