A new piece from Irish Breakdown makes the argument that the ACC needs Notre Dame more than the other way around. The issue of the Irish’s independence arose again over the past week with the Big Ten and Pac-12 announcing conference-only schedules for 2020. But the aforementioned piece showed why that independence likely won’t be going away anytime soon, and it has everything to do with where the ACC is.
The ACC and Pac-12 both pulled in $29.5 million for each school last season, but those figures were behind the three other Power Five conferences. And in spite of Clemson’s dominance, it typically drew fewer TV viewers than Notre Dame did. What’s more, the ACC title game had its lowest ratings ever, and it was the fifth straight year that viewership for the game fell.
Notre Dame isn’t struggling for relevance, and a TV deal other schools only can dream of helps ensure that. So why do the Irish need to do something to appease the mass of critics? They’re only jealous. Right?