College football realignment rumors: Notre Dame stance, FSU problem, Pac-12 stalemate

College football realignment rumors: Notre Dame’s stance revealed

The Big Ten has long been linked to Notre Dame as an expansion option. The Irish would figure to be the most attractive addition left on the market, well ahead of the likes of Oregon, Washington, Stanford and Cal.

But Notre Dame has also been resistant to the pull of a conference for decades now. Will that change now that the landscape is shifting again? Apparently not.

According to Pete Thamel, Notre Dame’s “view on independence” is not going to be impacted by changes to Big Ten membership.

That sure sounds like the Irish are content with their independence, thank you very much.

The expanding College Football Playoff makes it even more likely they’ll be able to lock in a bid in the future even without a conference framework, so independence would be viable from that perspective.

However, Notre Dame could run into a major problem that forces them to join a conference at some point. Their TV deal with NBC is up in 2025 and they’re looking for a new one with money competitive with the Big Ten schools. But the TV boom may be coming to an end as broadcast networks tighten their belts and streaming becomes the focus.

The $75 million-a-year deal they were pursuing last year, according to reports, may no longer be a viable ask. And that may be the thing that changes the tune in South Bend.