The ACC and ESPN may have renewed their partnership, but what does this mean for Notre Dame? This might not have been your first thought when ESPN announced it would extend ACC media rights through 2036. However, with the Fighting Irish maintaining their independent status in the face of James Franklin’s calls for uniformity in the College Football Playoff, it’s important to examine their role in this deal, particularly as a league member for non-football sports.
ESPN’s David Hale and Andrea Adelson reported that a crucial element of the agreement is a commitment to enhancing marquee football and men’s basketball matchups, thereby maximizing the value of the ACC’s top brands. This could involve utilizing Notre Dame’s relationship with the conference.
Multiple athletic directors indicated to ESPN that the ACC could leverage its relationship with Notre Dame to strategically schedule more games against the conference’s elite teams. Recently, Notre Dame’s athletic director Pete Bevacqua expressed openness to facing Clemson more frequently. Currently, Notre Dame plays five to six regular-season football games against the ACC annually and participates in the ACC for all other sports.
Notre Dame’s past and upcoming ACC matchups reflect this trend. In 2024, they will face Louisville, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Virginia. As for 2025, they will kick off against Miami and compete against NC State, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Stanford. After a September clash with Arkansas, they’ll conclude the season with five ACC opponents in their final six games, with USC being the only exception.
Although this scheduling strategy isn’t entirely new, Puck’s John Ourand noted in his newsletter that the ACC is now actively ensuring its marquee programs — Florida State, Clemson, and Miami — play against Notre Dame more frequently. Historically, the Irish faced more second-tier ACC teams like Wake Forest, Pitt, and Cal.
For additional context, Notre Dame did play Florida State last season, but by the time the teams met, the Seminoles were already 1-8, culminating in a 52-3 defeat in South Bend.
As the ACC continues to assert its influence, Notre Dame may discover that independence has its boundaries, particularly when the conference is crafting its most valued matchups to which it is only partially committed. Nonetheless, the ACC seems dedicated to prioritizing matchups between its top teams and the Fighting Irish as a core component of its future scheduling strategy, especially in football.
