Irish, ACC may link up temporarily
The Atlantic Coast Conference and Notre Dame are considering whether the Fighting Irish will give up their treasured football independence to play as a member of the league for the 2020 season that has been thrown into question by the coronavirus pandemic.
Two people involved in the ACC’s discussions about scheduling for the upcoming season told The Associated Press on Friday the ACC is looking at an 11-game schedule that would include 10 conference games and start Sept. 12.
There are other models also being considered.
Under the 10-plus-one plan, Notre Dame would play a full ACC schedule, the people told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks are still ongoing and details have not been disclosed. Whether those games would count in the standings and the Irish would be eligible to participate in the ACC championship game — and be eligible for the conference’s guaranteed spot in the Orange Bowl — is still to be determined. The final decision could come down to how revenue is shared between the conference and school, one of the people said.
A meeting of the presidents is scheduled for Wednesday, one of the people said.
Online sports network Stadium first reported Notre Dame could possibly play as an ACC team this season.
In 132 years of playing football, Notre Dame’s storied program has never competed in a conference and its fans cherish the Irish’s status as a football independent.
Notre Dame has been a member of the ACC since 2014 for all sports but football and hockey. The Irish have had a scheduling agreement with the ACC in football under which Notre Dame plays five or six games per season against ACC teams.
The Irish had six games scheduled against ACC teams this season, but the pandemic has forced conferences and schools to come up with alternative plans for 2020. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have already announced they will play only conference games this season. That cost the Irish three games.