crazy horse wrote:Few have mentioned Notre Dame - Are they still affiliated with the ACC and stubbornly clinging to their FB independence? Getting them all in could be a game changer. Though, Big 10 seems to make more sense for them in that scenario.
ND is an ACC member for everything but football (and they did fully join for one year during Covid). ND will never give up FB independence unless/until they can’t get great broadcast money and a reasonable playoff chance on their own. With NBC paying them and a 12-team playoff, it’s hard to see that changing. They do play 4 or 5 ACC opponents each year but that’s as far as the affiliation goes in FB.
There is still some bad blood between them and the B1G when the conference wouldn’t let them in for decades out of anti-Catholic bias, but I think that’s fading with time. They will,though, stay independent as long as the $ and the playoff path are both good.