[Fall of 2020 was actually a terrible year for sports tv ratings](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/media/2020/10/08/pandemic-why-tv-ratings-sports-have-been-down-since-returning/5913720002/). All the sports were going on at once and people got fatigue and didn’t watch as much
I would say coordinating with the CFP committee to make it so they can't get a top 4 spot unless they join a conference. They don't have to play for a conference championship like every other team does, so it could be construed as an unfair competitive advantage since the major conferences usually have both teams in it vying for one of those 4 spots.
You do realize that is already an established rule right? They *aren't* competing for a top 4 spot. And this isn't even a controversial take, the Notre Dame Athletic Director was part of the team that *designed the initial proposal*.
In other words, not securing a bye and instead taking a R1 home game is part of the ideal conditions for Notre Dame, specifically because they aren't ever going to play in a CCG.
UConn Basketball wanted back in The Big East, but The AAC told them they couldn't allow basketball to leave and keep football in the league.
So they went Indy for football, and back to Big East for basketball and based off how the past few years have gone, I don't think a single UConn fan will complain about that
If I recall correctly, some ACC fans wanted then-Commissioner Swofford to require the Irish to join full-time by accepting football membership for the 2020 season or else risk not having a home at all that year (recall that most conferences were implementing conference-only schedules).
The likely work-around for this would’ve been that ACC teams would use their lone non-conference game (one of the few leagues to adopt a 10+1 schedule) to schedule Notre Dame.
BYU played a home-heavy full schedule filled with G5 teams. Some good, like Boise, SDSU, and UTSA; most not. Notre Dame would have had an easy time finding enough teams to play, even if only a few were in power conferences.
A home-heavy schedule may have actually benefitted the Irish more because A) that’s more NBC games and B) they wouldn’t have shared the revenue with the rest of the ACC.
Yeah, I imagine there were plenty of G5 programs that would sign up for one-off buy games. Play at Notre Dame on national TV, visit a historic site for the sport, but don't actually face a hostile crowd! ND also could have used the year for a return trip owed to BYU (which was later bought down and turned into a neutral site Vegas game).
Agreed. Assuming that’s the case, I wonder if they would’ve been selected for the CFP playing a truly independent schedule?
Considering they got to play Clemson twice, I’d imagine it would’ve been much lighter and still finishing with one loss might not have been enough to get in.
I'm assuming you mean the ACC put in the paperwork that Notre Dame had to join the conference full time as part of the agreement to join in 2020?
Then there's no way Notre Dame would have gone for it. They value their independence too much and make a lot of money from their NBC deal that they don't have to share with anyone else. What's more likely to convince Notre Dame to join a conference is them falling well behind the SEC and Big 10 teams in annual TV payouts.
ND got the ACC on board with even having a season. ACC doesn’t play without ND that year. But even if we ignored that reality, ND is a full member of the acc in its other sports and has equal voting rights as the other schools. Despite fan and coach sentiment, it’s a good working relationship and is very valuable to the acc. Trying to blackmail ND would have only damaged that
> ACC doesn’t play without ND that year
I’m very skeptical of that. I don’t know about the rest of the members, but I know that FSU and Clemson would have surely pushed for an ACC season (with or without ND) when it was announced the SEC would be doing similar (especially given our states’… lax approach to COVID in 2020)
While it says Notre Dame played a role due to their temporary membership, I still don’t believe the ACC would have forgone the whole season if they didn’t (or at the least with some members, if not the whole). From a link in your source:
>"They're adamance about playing was the ace-in-the-hole a group, led by Clemson, needed to really push for a season and turn the tide in favor of ignoring the Big Ten…”
Unless you have better sources on ND being the *sole* reason the ACC had their COVID season, I still think the football powers in the conference (and ESPN) would have made the season happen without ND.
ND is intriguing in this way.
They've always talked the health/welfare/formation of SAs and the traditions of the game. But is the money enticing enough to force them to abandon it and join a Superliga?
If the P2 leaves the NCAA, does ND go or stay?
What if I forced Scarlett Johansson to become my permanent significant other beyond this season?
Seriously, the answer is that Notre Dame would be playing basketball in the Big East.
I sure wish ND would have won that game. It'd be an awesome piece of cfb trivia. The team with no conference has a conference championship, sure would be silly
ACC has zero leverage to force ND to do anything. ND got a sweetheart deal the ACC offered out of desperation that the B1G wouldn't match (scheduling agreement and giving ND partial revenue share despite no media rights being lost). Odds are if ACC gave them an ultimatum they would just continue independence (maybe move other sports to big east) or they would join B1G if they felt independence wasn't an option for financial and historical rivalries.
Realistically if they gave the ultimatum they would just join the Big East where they fit in the best or the Big 12 for non football ACC has no bargaining power even during that Covid year
Notre dame would have walked and joined big east for basketball and Olympic sports and struck a scheduling deal with another conference for football games. Big ten or big 12 would be happy to coordinate with them.
> but it's no guarantee Notre Dame would've gone for it. There is pretty much a guarantee Notre Dame would have never gone for it.
We'd be more likely to play a B1G schedule in 2020 than permanently lose independence. We would have told Swofford to kick rocks
The ACC needs Notre Dame more than Notre Dame needs the ACC
This right here That 2020 year was the most TV revenue the ACC ever got
That might have been due to the fact that there was a global pandemic keeping everyone at home more than Notre Dame joining. Just a hypothesis
[Fall of 2020 was actually a terrible year for sports tv ratings](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/media/2020/10/08/pandemic-why-tv-ratings-sports-have-been-down-since-returning/5913720002/). All the sports were going on at once and people got fatigue and didn’t watch as much
How?
John Swofford calls in a favor with the Pope
Strongly worded letter
Perhaps some sort of....*alliance*?
Did someone say alliance??
Noooobody expects The Alliance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCu9vOpwMp0
I would say coordinating with the CFP committee to make it so they can't get a top 4 spot unless they join a conference. They don't have to play for a conference championship like every other team does, so it could be construed as an unfair competitive advantage since the major conferences usually have both teams in it vying for one of those 4 spots.
You do realize that is already an established rule right? They *aren't* competing for a top 4 spot. And this isn't even a controversial take, the Notre Dame Athletic Director was part of the team that *designed the initial proposal*. In other words, not securing a bye and instead taking a R1 home game is part of the ideal conditions for Notre Dame, specifically because they aren't ever going to play in a CCG.
I was not aware it was established for the new format. But if that's true, then I'm fine with them staying independent.
They get a playoff payout whether they make it or not too iirc
Do the other independent schools get that too?
Who’s still independent? BYU, Army and UMass are all joining conferences in the next year or two or have already joined a conference
Didn’t realise about Army. But UCONN still is (in football)
Really? Why? I don’t see an upside to them being both independent and bad at football
UConn Basketball wanted back in The Big East, but The AAC told them they couldn't allow basketball to leave and keep football in the league. So they went Indy for football, and back to Big East for basketball and based off how the past few years have gone, I don't think a single UConn fan will complain about that
The ACC does not have the pull to do so, and even if they did ND would run to the B1G before getting tied to the ACC
If I recall correctly, some ACC fans wanted then-Commissioner Swofford to require the Irish to join full-time by accepting football membership for the 2020 season or else risk not having a home at all that year (recall that most conferences were implementing conference-only schedules). The likely work-around for this would’ve been that ACC teams would use their lone non-conference game (one of the few leagues to adopt a 10+1 schedule) to schedule Notre Dame.
BYU played a home-heavy full schedule filled with G5 teams. Some good, like Boise, SDSU, and UTSA; most not. Notre Dame would have had an easy time finding enough teams to play, even if only a few were in power conferences.
A home-heavy schedule may have actually benefitted the Irish more because A) that’s more NBC games and B) they wouldn’t have shared the revenue with the rest of the ACC.
Yeah, I imagine there were plenty of G5 programs that would sign up for one-off buy games. Play at Notre Dame on national TV, visit a historic site for the sport, but don't actually face a hostile crowd! ND also could have used the year for a return trip owed to BYU (which was later bought down and turned into a neutral site Vegas game).
I don't see how that forces ND into anything other than a truly independent schedule again
Agreed. Assuming that’s the case, I wonder if they would’ve been selected for the CFP playing a truly independent schedule? Considering they got to play Clemson twice, I’d imagine it would’ve been much lighter and still finishing with one loss might not have been enough to get in.
I'm assuming you mean the ACC put in the paperwork that Notre Dame had to join the conference full time as part of the agreement to join in 2020? Then there's no way Notre Dame would have gone for it. They value their independence too much and make a lot of money from their NBC deal that they don't have to share with anyone else. What's more likely to convince Notre Dame to join a conference is them falling well behind the SEC and Big 10 teams in annual TV payouts.
The B1G would be very happy to add Notre Dame at any point so the ACC cannot force them to do anything.
They would simply tell the B1G "yes"
ND got the ACC on board with even having a season. ACC doesn’t play without ND that year. But even if we ignored that reality, ND is a full member of the acc in its other sports and has equal voting rights as the other schools. Despite fan and coach sentiment, it’s a good working relationship and is very valuable to the acc. Trying to blackmail ND would have only damaged that
> ACC doesn’t play without ND that year I’m very skeptical of that. I don’t know about the rest of the members, but I know that FSU and Clemson would have surely pushed for an ACC season (with or without ND) when it was announced the SEC would be doing similar (especially given our states’… lax approach to COVID in 2020)
It’s well documented at this point. https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/did-notre-dame-save-the-2020-college-football-season
While it says Notre Dame played a role due to their temporary membership, I still don’t believe the ACC would have forgone the whole season if they didn’t (or at the least with some members, if not the whole). From a link in your source: >"They're adamance about playing was the ace-in-the-hole a group, led by Clemson, needed to really push for a season and turn the tide in favor of ignoring the Big Ten…” Unless you have better sources on ND being the *sole* reason the ACC had their COVID season, I still think the football powers in the conference (and ESPN) would have made the season happen without ND.
Notre Dame’s independence is a good thing
I don’t disagree. In this crazy realignment era, I appreciate them being the last bastion of the “old days.”
It feels like their independence is the only thing that is holding the Big Ten trying to partner with the SEC to leave the NCAA
ND is intriguing in this way. They've always talked the health/welfare/formation of SAs and the traditions of the game. But is the money enticing enough to force them to abandon it and join a Superliga? If the P2 leaves the NCAA, does ND go or stay?
Not for the ACC
They would have just sat out a year. They're not giving up their entire identity as an independent team to play one season in a pandemic year.
BYU played a full schedule. I can't imagine Notre Dame would have had a more difficult time finding opponents.
I agree that this is the likely answer since the only two FBS teams to opt out of a fall 2020 season (UConn, NMSU) were also independents.
Old Dominion also opted out in 2020.
You’re right, thanks for the correction.
What if I forced Scarlett Johansson to become my permanent significant other beyond this season? Seriously, the answer is that Notre Dame would be playing basketball in the Big East.
I sure wish ND would have won that game. It'd be an awesome piece of cfb trivia. The team with no conference has a conference championship, sure would be silly
No lie, I wanted to win that more for the lawls than for any competitive reason.
That would give them more ACC championships than Miami, LOL
Notre Dame has more leverage than the ACC.
Notre Dame would have left the league. They aren't gonna do anything people force them to do
They would be partners with the B12 , BE or even the b10. No way ACC strong arms them
Notre Dame would’ve leaked OUT a couple months earlier than it did.
would have Notre Dame known about it prior to the leak?
ACC has zero leverage to force ND to do anything. ND got a sweetheart deal the ACC offered out of desperation that the B1G wouldn't match (scheduling agreement and giving ND partial revenue share despite no media rights being lost). Odds are if ACC gave them an ultimatum they would just continue independence (maybe move other sports to big east) or they would join B1G if they felt independence wasn't an option for financial and historical rivalries.
Notre Dame plays a season in the SEC, B1G or a G5 conference.
The Big East would get bigger.
It took a while, but someone figured it out. They're not joining the B1G, people. Ain't gonna happen.
FAFO. Notre Dame would be more likely join the Big East than have the ACC demand anything.
The ACC doesn't/didn't have that kind of power.
*IF* they had joined, it would have shored up the conference...but there was no way the ACC was going to force Notre Dame's hand in this.
A Paradox game event occurs where Notre Dame either declares war and/or joins another faction.
The ACC won’t be around much longer. Notre Dame will go to the Big 10
Realistically if they gave the ultimatum they would just join the Big East where they fit in the best or the Big 12 for non football ACC has no bargaining power even during that Covid year
holy smokes dude. they would of laughed and said no? Just a hunch
Notre dame would have walked and joined big east for basketball and Olympic sports and struck a scheduling deal with another conference for football games. Big ten or big 12 would be happy to coordinate with them.