Oct 17, 2009; South Bend, IN, USA; Southern California Trojans and Notre Dame Fighting Irish players line up at the line of scrimmage during the game at Notre Dame Stadium. USC defeated Notre Dame 34-27. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Could Mega Donors Be the Key to Saving the Notre Dame-USC Rivalry?

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated May 23, 2025 12:48 PM ET

The Notre Dame and USC football rivalry appears to be on life support as a deal between the programs remains undone, with the series set to expire following this October's game. All reports have indicated the schools are seemingly at an impasse and that the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football will soon be no more.

But could a few wealthy USC donors hold the keys to possibly getting a deal done? Or perhaps, using their money to make sure a deal gets done, anyway?

Scott Wolf has covered USC football for more than a quarter-century and reported late Thursday that some of those with the deepest pockets associated with the university are reaching out to the board of directors to change the thinking.

Some USC boosters are beginning to reach out to the Board of Trustees about the future of the Notre Dame game. One said he will take USC out of his will if the rivalry is canceled
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) May 22, 2025

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Take:

Money does make the world go 'round, and perhaps this puts a little bit of pressure on the board of directors to step in - but I'd still be surprised. The new athletic administration at USC is the group that doesn't seem to have any interest in continuing the rivalry with Notre Dame annually.

So the board then steps in and doesn't let the athletic administration operate the way the administration desires? It's nice in that it gives a faint bit of hope that something will be done by someone at USC to try and preserve this, but until someone in the athletic department changes their tone I won't let myself get excited.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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