A rumor picked up steam earlier this week, as Fox Sports radio host Tim Brando reported that the Fighting Irish might be considering joining the ACC full-time. Notre Dame is a full ACC member in all sports except football, as the program agreed to play just five conference games a season when it joined back in 2014.
Notre Dame’s AD says full-time ACC rumors are ‘absolutely not true’
The Irish play five ACC games per year as part of their partial membership.
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A few days after this report, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick addressed that annual rumor.
”Absolutely not true,” Swarbrick said Tuesday during the ACC spring meetings, via the Orlando Sentinel. “We love the ACC but we love our relationship the way it is and there hasn’t been any discussion.”
Some of ND’s non-ACC, traditional future opponents include USC, Navy, Stanford, and Michigan, who will renew its rivalry with the Fighting Irish in 2018. If ND were to join the conference full-time, all of the Irish’s many rivalries might not get to be played during a single season.
As far as future ACC-vs.-Notre Dame matchups are concerned, the Fighting Irish have already planned that out well in advance. Like, 20 years in advance, as ND announced scheduled ACC games through the year 2037 last week.
This year, Notre Dame’s ACC matchups are Boston College, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, and Miami.
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