Ohio State AD, Notre Dame alum Gene Smith: Irish ‘should be in a conference,’ join Big Ten
Notre Dame isn’t going to exit the conversation about conference realignment quietly. The Fighting Irish are fixated right in the middle of it.
Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith, a defensive end at Notre Dame for four years and a member of the 1973 national championship team, commented on his alma mater’s independent status Friday.
And his statement went exactly where you might think it would’ve.
“I love my alma mater, and I’ve always thought they should be in a conference,” Smith said. “I hope they consider it, and I hope it’s the Big Ten.”
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The comment came roughly 12 hours after USC and UCLA officially announced they will leave the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten on Aug. 2, 2024. As soon as the news broke Thursday afternoon that it was trending in that direction (rather quickly), the focus shifted to Notre Dame. Can the Irish stay independent in an era of college football dominated by super conferences?
Former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn said on CBS Sports that he sees both sides.
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“There are some people who said, ‘Man, this puts us in a great position,'” Quinn said. “Who’s a more valued brand and school right now than Notre Dame? And that’s not just for the ACC which everyone seems to think is a natural fit because of the soft affiliation and other sports outside of football that are a part of the ACC. But no one seems to look at the Big Ten and say, ‘Wait a second, doesn’t this make the most sense?’
“That’s the conference that’s going to be able to pay you the most with the new TV rights deal coming up. That’s the conference that most represents what you’d like to do from a scheduling standpoint. You’re an independent. There’s been years where they play on the east coast. Then Chicago. Then in LA or versus Stanford up in Northern California. You hit all three spots along the way. Only the Big Ten is going to offer you that as a conference.”
Quinn noted if Notre Dame feels the need to join a conference it’d have to be the Big Ten. The talk has largely been spent pondering if Notre Dame would ever join the ACC. Thursday’s news shattered that narrative. Smith and Quinn’s comments only did more to shift the line of thinking.
