Notre Dame is reportedly close to moving their Olympic sports to the Big 12 and, as part of the agreement, could eventually schedule up to six football games per season against Big 12 teams.
Sources told Chip Brown of OrangeBloods.com that Notre Dame would likely play “three or so” football games against the Big 12 to start with before eventually adding more.
This doesn’t mean that Notre Dame is joining the Big 12 in football, only creating a scheduling agreement similar to what they currently have with the Big East. A motive for moving to the Big 12, Brown suggests, is that the Big East does not look like it once did.
Since Notre Dame joined the Big East Conference, Boston College, Miami (FL), and Virginia Tech have all left for the ACC. Pittsburgh and Syracuse are also leaving for the ACC, likely in 2013.
Is Chip Brown correct with his latest rumor? That remains to be seen. He was correct when he predicted that the Big 12 would stay together after the departure of Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas A&M.
But he also asserted that several ACC schools, including Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Miami, were in contact with the Big 12 about the possibility of joining. Those rumors were mostly denied.
After the playoff meetings in Chicago this week, Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick denied that the Fighting Irish were moving their non-football sports to the Big 12.
Speaking about Brown’s report, Swarbrick told the Chicago Tribune “I have no idea what prompted that. It is not based on any discussion, any meeting we have done.”
But Swarbrick did say there are three important factors to Notre Dame. One is the postseason format, two is their media relationship (i.e. TV deal), and three is “related to the stability of the Big East.” He went on to say that “…pieces of that are starting to fall into place, and that will put us in a time and place where we probably take a look at it and decide what we’re doing.”
Although Notre Dame hasn’t yet decided to move away from the Big East, it sounds like they will certainly weigh their options.