The argument fans have been arguing over for YEARS now, starting to come to life
Someone has to say it…
It is time for Notre Dame to join a conference after Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC. With the addition of those two teams to the SEC, it is not looking good for the Big 12. Teams all over the Big 12 have been in meetings with other conferences such as the Pac-12 and Big Ten after the SEC shakeup. With the new 12 team playoff in college football, it is starting to look like 4 super conferences with each conference getting a bye in the playoff. Everything in college sports revolves around college football as seen with the move with Oklahoma and Texas.
Notre Dame is in the ACC in every sport besides football and hockey (Independence, Football and Big Ten, Hockey). The ACC has been memorable for Notre Dame especially last year with the home game vs Clemson and going to the ACC championship. Notre Dame does not fit into the ACC geographically but conferences and geographically are thrown out the window after Oklahoma and Texas.
The Big Ten makes more sense for Notre Dame. One of biggest reasons Notre Dame should join the Big Ten is because of rivalries. Notre Dame does not seem to have a big time rival in the ACC. Some people will say Clemson after last year but that rivalry does not carry over to basketball or baseball. Going to the Big Ten, that brings back rivals such as Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue playing Notre Dame in every sport. A lot of Big Ten fan bases do not like Notre Dame such as Ohio State, not a single Ohio State fan likes Notre Dame. Compared to an ACC team like North Carolina who does not like Notre Dame but does not hate them like these Big Ten fan bases with their backyard right next to Notre Dame.
Notre Dame is set to play Virginia this year in football, who went 4-5 last year. A Big Ten team that went 4-5 was Penn State. Notre Dame fans would agree they would rather play Penn State than Virginia.
Another reason would be the schedule of Notre Dame football. With teams from the Big 12 meeting with other conferences seeking to join and make bigger conferences in the future is not good for Notre Dame. Conferences will be better with more teams and the teams will not look to schedule a good Notre Dame team for their out of conference schedule. With Texas joining the SEC, they will have to potently play Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU, Oklahoma, and Florida every year and will not want to play Notre Dame. They are not afraid of Notre Dame, they just have a tough SEC schedule and can not afford an out of conference loss to Notre Dame.
It is looking like the perfect time for Notre Dame to join a schedule and the Big Ten makes the most sense.
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