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Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua continues to play hardball when it comes to ND-USC football series

Eric Hansenby: Eric Hansen07/29/25EHansenND
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua
Notre Dame director of athletics Pete Bevacqua sings the Alma Mater after the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium on April 12. Michael Caterina/Imagn Images

Are Notre Dame and USC going to continue to play football on a regular basis — or at all — after October’s final contracted date?

Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua opted to play volleyball, so to speak, with the question and push it back in USC’s lap during a 45-minute gathering Tuesday with a small group of Notre Dame sports media.

“I’ve said it. [Notre Dame head football coach] Marcus [Freeman] has said it. And we make no secret about it. We want to play USC every year. As I’ve said in the past, I just think that would be a horrible thing if we don’t. I think it would be bad for us. I think it would be bad for college football.

“And USC knows that.

“We’re going back, we’re having conversations to try to put something together. You have to ask them specifically, but we are 100 percent committed. A HUNDRED percent committed to doing everything we can to keep that series going.”

The series started in 1926 and evolved into one of college football’s great rivalries. The two teams have played every season since ‘26, except for 1943-45 (because of WWII) and 2020 (because of the COVID-18 pandemic). Notre Dame leads the series 52-38-5, with wins in six of the past seven meetings.

The Oct. 18 game in Notre Dame Stadium is the last one attached to the current contract between the two schools. USC coach Lincoln Riley and USC officials have expressed hesitation about a long-term commitment — or a commitment — at all beyond a possible 2026 meeting in Los Angeles.

The Irish want more. 

“I think Marcus said it well,” Bevacqua said. “Whether it’s the beginning of the year, the middle of the year, the end of the year, we want to keep that going. Whether it’s working in a neutral site every once in a while, we want to keep that series going.

“I think that’s one of the great series, not just in college football, but in all of sports.”

The Irish open the 2025 season Aug. 31 at Miami and start training camp for the upcoming season Thursday on campus.

The conversation with Bevacqua was wide-ranging, from what the College Football Playoff format should look like going forward to the state of men’s and women’s basketball and baseball, to how the other Olympics sports will be funded to the future of college sports. And more.

Stay connected to Blue & Gold for much more content to come.

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