Sorry Big 12 Fans, Notre Dame Isn’t Coming… Again

So you’re saying there’s a chance? No, not really. Not at all. There’s always that rumor in Big 12 land that somehow, some way, the Big 12 might find itself in the good graces of those in power at Notre Dame, and lure the college football blue blood into the Big 12 Conference. But Irish leadership all but confirmed that that is not the case in a conversation with ESPN this week.

A relationship between the ACC and Notre Dame that was once called, “permanently damaged”, following the College Football Playoff drama between Miami and Notre Dame last year, apparently no longer is damaged at all.

Fighting Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua and the ACC appear to have moved on from last year’s war of words. ESPN reported this week that Bevacqua called the school’s relationship with the ACC “very good and healthy” and said he has had numerous conversations with conference commissioner Jim Phillips in the months since the playoff snub that have helped mend fences.

What Happened?

Notre Dame, which is in the ACC for all sports except football, had been ranked ahead of fellow ACC football team Miami in every College Football Playoff release until the final Top 25. Then, Miami jumped Notre Dame, which made a lot of sense since the Hurricanes had a head-to-head win vs. the Irish in Week 1. In the run-up to the committee’s final verdict, the ACC had backed Miami as a playoff team, noting the on-field result as the biggest point of differentiation.

The Big 12’s Dreams

As Notre Dame was blasting away on the ACC a few months ago, there was always that hope and prayer that maybe the door would open for the Big 12 to pick off a program like Notre Dame. But, we can put those to rest after Bevacqua also said this week, “I’ve always said, a strong ACC is good for Notre Dame, and a strong Notre Dame is good for the ACC.”

While it’s always fun to speculate, the Big 12 is much more likely to find itself in a position to pick off other schools from the ACC, if there is eventually another round of realignment. But as for the Irish, they’re probably more likely to find themselves going back to Independence as much as anything else, given their stature and clout that, while diminished, still exists, especially in college football.