In a 2026 college football predictions article published in The Athletic, Irish beat writer Pete Sampson forecast the following: “Notre Dame formally notifies the ACC of its intention to withdraw from the league and enters into a scheduling partnership with the Big Ten/SEC to fill out its missing football scheduling inventory. The rest of the Irish sports shift to the Big East.”
This intriguing speculation came on the heels of athletic director Pete Bevacqua expressing displeasure with the ACC and its media attacks against the Irish in the lead-up to the selection show. ““What we were really surprised by and disappointed was how the ACC conference really went on a social media campaign, in my opinion, attacking our football program,” Bevacqua said on Dec. 9. Such public criticism raises the question of how stable the relationship currently is, given that Notre Dame generally prefers to handle things behind closed doors.
At the very least, Notre Dame should consider the possibility floated by Sampson and utilize it to extract certain conditions on continuing the ACC partnership. If either the Big Ten or SEC expresses legitimate interest to Bevacqua about the formation of a scheduling agreement to buttress its television contracts, the ACC will need to prove it remains a good faith partner. Even then, especially if the Big Ten and SEC are interested, the scenario outlined by Sampson may well be a better opportunity from both a football and non-football perspective. The two leagues undoubtedly contain more high-profile programs and possess more influence in the sport; a partnership would ensure the Irish are further aligned with football’s “big boys.” The ACC sits at a glorified kids’ table.
Additionally, the Big East is considered one of the nation’s better basketball conferences with a solid performance track record in most other sports. High-profile men’s basketball schools include St. John’s, Marquette, Villanova and UConn — the latter two of which have combined for six national championships in the last 22 years compared to four from ACC blue-bloods Duke and North Carolina. While women’s Big East hoops does not boast the depth of the ACC, it includes the powerful, longtime rival and current reigning champion Huskies.
On and off the fields of play, the Big East is a natural fit. The arrangement worked before as a non-football conference from 1995 to 2012 and counts nine highly respected Catholic institutions among its members. Most are also in large metropolitan areas with prominent Irish fanbases, including Chicago, New York, Washington and Philadelphia. Additionally, the travel burdens and lost classroom time for the smaller sports would be less onerous without the routine need for teams to travel to California and Florida.
Of course, when all is said and done, football drives all in today’s college sports world and the ACC perhaps irrevocably tarnished its 12-year relationship with its negative playoff campaign. Miami had every right to advocate for itself, but the ACC’s push of a direct comparison between Notre Dame and Miami with no mention of SEC bubble teams in Alabama and Oklahoma shows that it does not view the Irish as an important enough football partner. Yet, as Bevacqua pointed out when expressing his disappointment, the ACC normally sells out about 23% of its games as compared to 90% when Notre Dame comes to town.
As far as the all-important television ratings, the Irish-Hurricanes tilt drew 4.3 million more eyeballs than the highest-rated ACC game of Miami-Florida State last season. The Irish’s prestige and credibility bring even more worth on the field; Miami would not have sniffed the College Football Playoffs if it did not have a quality win against Notre Dame. The Hurricanes’ otherwise pedestrian resume would have been barren without their early-season victory against the Irish.
A potential alignment with the Big Ten also presents numerous opportunities to benefit both parties. The league has television contracts with Fox, CBS and NBC. Additionally, the Irish have natural historical rivals in the conference including USC, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. In fact, the Irish match up against three conference teams in 2026, with a fourth lost only due to a loss of courage from USC. In addition, a three-game annual arrangement presents a golden chance to play exciting teams such as Oregon and Indiana and visit historic venues such as the Rose Bowl against UCLA. It is hard to fathom that the league’s TV partners would not be intrigued by the possibility of more big-name matchups.
As for the SEC, the conference’s mantra is “It Just Means More.” While its playoff performances lately have not lived up to that hubristic branding, the league no doubt means more because it is intimately aligned with ESPN, which currently holds all television rights to the CFP. Bevacqua volunteered that he spoke to the powerful SEC commissioner Greg Sankey in the aftermath of the playoff selections before talking to the ACC commissioner Jim Phillips. Further, Notre Dame has already worked to schedule games with SEC teams in the future including Auburn, Florida, Texas and Alabama. A scenario where they add one or two more opponents would be good for the program. As they say, keep your friends close, but enemies closer.
By potentially engaging in dual three-game annual series with the sport’s two elite leagues, the Irish completely blunt the specious and overdone argument that they do not schedule competitively. It is not Notre Dame’s fault, after all, that opponents like Florida State, Arkansas and Wisconsin lacked a pulse years after the games got scheduled.
If Notre Dame elects to stay with the ACC, the partnership needs new conditions, such as the following: Non-ACC referees should work all games, Notre Dame should be able to select three of the five opponents in order to ensure a greater likelihood of stronger opponents by admittedly rather pedestrian ACC standards and hold veto power on game dates.
Keep in mind that the “hot take” prediction is in an article intended to generate conversation and stir the pot. But the point is clear: Like Sampson, Notre Dame needs to be bold.
