Report: Big Ten willing to wait 'two years' for Notre Dame to join conference
It felt like Notre Dame was on the cusp of a momentous move to the Big Ten over the holiday weekend. An immediate agreement, however, has gotten less and less likely as the days go on.
Multiple reports from credible sources have indicated Notre Dame will remain independent in the wake of USC and UCLA’s departure from the Pac-12 and admission into the Big Ten. Wednesday, the writer who initially broke the news of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten reported on a timeline for Notre Dame to potentially join them.
“Source: ‘I’d be stunned if Washington and Oregon go to the Big Ten,'” tweeted Jon Wilner of the Pac-12 Hotline. “‘The Big Ten will sit back for two years, then try to get Notre Dame.'”
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The dust hasn’t completed settled. Multiple reports in the last 24 hours revealed the Big 12 has been in talks with six Pac-12 schools (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington) about forming a “super” conference of their own. Oregon and Washington have been considered two of the biggest fish remaining in the Pac-12, but based on Wilner’s report their options are down to staying put or joining the Big 12.
Notre Dame has all of its options on the table, meanwhile.
The Irish can remain independent, which appears to be the play as of now. They can join the Big Ten. They can join the SEC. The can join the ACC. The can go anywhere they please because, well, they’re the Fighting Irish. It’s Notre Dame, the biggest brand in college football even without having won a national championship since 1988. The logo is worth well more than 1,000 words and lord knows how many pretty pennies.
The timetable for Notre Dame joining the Big Ten would likely revolve around upcoming TV rights deals. The Big Ten’s ends after the 2022 season. When the new one is etched for public consumption, Notre Dame can take a peek and ponder on how much money there is to gain by getting in on the action. Of course, Notre Dame would reset the value of the deal. It’s why the Big Ten is willing to wait on the Irish. Notre Dame equals more money for all.
The money is going to be there now, and it’s going to be there in the future. That’s why Notre Dame can play the waiting game. And the Big Ten can, too, for that matter. It got what it wanted with USC and UCLA. The Irish are still out there, and the Big Ten should be considered the favorite to reel them in if they do ever feel like bursting the bubble of independence.
For now, it’s stilling floating through the chaos. Un-popped, unfazed.
