By Kyle Golik
Three things the Notre Dame faithful love to tout are Rockne’s “Win one for ‘The Gipper,’” the mural of Touchdown Jesus that looks over Notre Dame Stadium, and their football independence. New athletic director Pete Bevacqua, who took over for long-time athletic director Jack Swarbrick, who served the position from 2008 to 2024, on March 25, spoke with ESPN recently about the Fighting Irish’s football status as an independent.
“We are now in as good of a position as we’ve ever been in the modern era of college football to be independent,” said Bevacqua, “You see all the conference realignment, you see everything that’s happened, I think our position as being independent in football quite frankly is certainly more unique than ever, but also more valuable than ever.”
I can appreciate Bevacqua’s bravado, he is trying to assert himself in a new role at one of the nation’s most prestigious jobs.
Bevacqua’s trying to masquerade Notre Dame’s postseason woes that have been heavily documented.
Between playing for only one national championship (2013 BCS National Championship Game) since the program’s last national championship in 1988, losing both College Football Playoff appearances by a combined 61-17, and winless in their last 10 New Year’s Six bowl appearances, Bevacqua didn’t shy away from the pressure to perform in the postseason.
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“That pressure has been on Notre Dame since Knute Rockne,” Bevacqua said. “That’s not a pressure quite frankly we shy away from. That’s a pressure we accept. As a lifelong Notre Dame fan and as an alumnus, we thrive on that pressure. There’s an understanding that Notre Dame football — maybe more than anywhere else in the country, certainly as much as anywhere else in the country — is part of the DNA of this university.”
With acknowledging the pressure, saying a national championship for Notre Dame is “an absolute need for us to win a national championship,” Bevacqua cited the financial stability Notre Dame has with revenues from the ACC, College Football Playoff, and NBC.
While Bevacqua didn’t directly comment on particulars of the financial windfall Notre Dame would receive from the College Football Playoff, ESPN Senior Writer Heather Dinich cited, that in 2026 Notre Dame could receive up to $18 million from the College Football Playoff revenue, higher than what any ACC or Big XII would receive and trail only Big Ten and SEC schools who expect to garner north of $21 million.
It’s easy to see why Bevacqua is bullish about Notre Dame’s position, to me the position is built on a house of cards that could easily tumble.
While Notre Dame possesses a brand much of the nation envies and would love to possess, their football independence is tied to the survival of the ACC.
The influence Notre Dame carries in the ACC was on display when they got Pac-12 refugees Stanford and Cal into the conference. Notre Dame still needed NC State to flip to yes to get the 12-3 vote necessary for admittance, the Irish had all the lesser desirable programs the TV networks don’t covet all vote for them.
The three no-votes came from the ACC’s most visible brands: Florida State, Clemson, and North Carolina.
With two of those brands, Florida State and Clemson, already having litigation against the ACC and Bevacqua like the rest of the ACC administrators are keeping a close eye on the subject.
“Clearly like everybody else in the conference we’re certainly talking about FSU and Clemson with the conference and Jim Phillips, but we feel that the conference is in such great shape, has a long-term relationship with ESPN which is important, and has secured its very important inclusion in the CFP like we have for the next eight years,” Bevacqua said in support of the ACC conference, a conference that is home to every Notre Dame sport except football and hockey (Big Ten).
How the courts view the ACC’s Grant of Rights clause will impact Notre Dame’s independence. If Florida State and Clemson did leave, it would be the two biggest brands to leave the conference and diminish the value of the ACC to ESPN, including the ACC Network.
The landing spots of both schools to either the Big Ten or SEC would only create more separation between the “Super 2” and the rest of College Football.
It would only be a matter of time before the Super 2 would want to command the lion’s share of the College Football Playoff spots and revenue. They may even create their own tournament, decimating the current infrastructure.
This isn’t to say the Super 2 wouldn’t want Notre Dame, they would be welcomed in a nanosecond by both the Big Ten and SEC, but that would end independence.
The two conferences could flex their muscles to destroy Notre Dame football, simply don’t schedule the Irish. With both conferences likely to have more than 20 teams, they can opt out of playing Notre Dame.
Is NBC willing to pay for a diminished Notre Dame brand if the program is not in the Super 2 and playing a schedule that does not contain the likes of Southern California, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Florida State, or Clemson?
While the Irish enjoy one of the most loyal and passionate fan bases in the country, the TV ad dollars NBC generates would not be at the same level losing those marquee opponents.
When Jack Swarbrick appeared on The Dan Patrick Show in August 2023 before Notre Dame’s contest against Navy in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, Swarbrick mentioned ways Notre Dame would join a conference.
He mentioned if Notre Dame’s access to the College Football Playoff was threatened, if they couldn’t compete financially without a conference, and if all their Olympic sports needed a home to compete at a level they are accustomed to.
Notre Dame’s alliance with the ACC is their lynchpin to their football independence. Pete Bevacqua will not openly say it, but a decimated ACC will topple the football independence house of cards the Irish.
