Florida State and Clemson seem hell-bent on getting out of the ACC, no matter how poor their court cases to do so may be. Could that conference find its demise soon and see a chunk of Notre Dame’s schedule vanish?
Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC are all headed to the Big Ten this year.
Is it finally time for Notre Dame to swallow some pride and follow the others to the traditional Midwest conference?
Let me make this answer clear for you:
Ab-so-lute-ly freaking not.
I know it’s difficult for the younger generations to understand but there was a time not all that long ago that literally dozens of teams were independent in football. For a variety of reasons, none bigger than money, all of those (besides UConn) have decided to join a conference for football.
But not Notre Dame – at least in recent years.
Believe it or not, Notre Dame tried to join the Big Ten (then the Western Conference) in the early 1900’s. Not only did Michigan Man Fielding Yost take the lead in denying Notre Dame entry, but he also led the charge for the conference to black ball Notre Dame in scheduling. That forced the small university in South Bend, Indiana to then travel nationally to fill a schedule.
And travel they did – going to Yankee Stadium to take on the dominant Army program and to the west coast to take on USC in what would become among the best rivalries in the sport. They played any willing participant in-between and usually beat them.
The bar-none best thing that ever happened to Notre Dame football was not getting accepted into the Big Ten when they tried and tried to over a century ago.
And God-willing, the best thing for Notre Dame football 100 years from now will be continuing to find a way to make it on their own – as an independent.
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