In a one-on-three interview that grew to seemingly 1-on-27 once the media had finished dogpiling back in January in Atlanta, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua threw out the idea of the Irish possibly playing Clemson in football on an annual basis.
Which would require a rewrite of the school’s football-scheduling agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Which, roughly four months later, has become a reality.
Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger was the first two report that the two schools have struck a 12-year football scheduling deal. Inside ND Source confirmed the reporting via a source.
Notre Dame followed shortly thereafter with a press release of its own, making it official
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“When you think about when we play a team like Clemson, I think that has become such a great rivalry in such a short amount of time,” Bevacqua said in Atlanta on Jan. 18, two days before the Irish played Ohio State in the CFP National Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium two nights later..
“I mean, I would tell you that’s the type of game I’d love to play every year. So, we’re starting some of those conversations with the ACC and [ACC commissioner] Jimmy Phillips.”
And this is what those conversations would look like now.
The series would start in 2027, but it would extend just past the end of the current agreement that started in 2014 and runs through 2037.
“We strive to consistently create a football schedule that positions us for success in the College Football Playoff, and that goal requires us to form historic partnerships like this one with Clemson,” Bevacqua said Tuesday.
“This rivalry has already produced some of the most memorable moments in recent college football history, and our fans deserve these matchups to continue to make those indelible memories.”
"Even in just the last decade, matchups between Clemson and Notre Dame have produced incredibly memorable moments and games,” said Clemson Director of Athletics Graham Neff.
“We have immense excitement for the creation of this 12-year series between these two premier programs, as we know these will be must-see matchups for fans at Memorial Stadium and Notre Dame Stadium as well as television audiences nationwide.”
The release did not address whether the Clemson games would count toward Notre Dame's contracted obligation of playing an average of five regular-season football matchups against ACC competition per season. Per, Dellenger, the previously scheduled games with Clemson will count toward the quota, and eventually it's expected that all 12 will do so.
"They have time to determine this as the first unscheduled game isn't until 2029," Dellenger wrote.
The rest of what was an equitable rotation would have to be reworked, and was under construction anyway, given recent admission of SMU, Cal and Stanford. On top of that, and as Yahoo Sports reported earlier this spring, the Irish are expected to play Miami and Florida State more regularly as part of the ACC rotation.
In the old structure, the Irish had four upcoming games with the Tigers: 2027 at Clemson, 2028 at Notre Dame, 2031 at Clemson, 2034 at Notre Dame and 2037 at Clemson. The Tigers lead the series 5-3, with Notre Dame’s most notable victory being a 47-40 double-overtime win over a No. 1-ranked Tiger team in 2020 in South Bend in what was a conference game, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notre Dame is 49-11 in regular-season ACC games since the agreement was put in place and had amassed a 30-game regular-season win streak at one point.
“We love being independent, as you will know. But also that ACC relationship for Notre Dame is very important,” Bevacqua said in January in reference to a question about playing the ACC name brands Clemson, Florida State and Miami more often in football. “It’s the home of 24 of 26 programs, and we want to do everything we can to help them in those sports.
“But also, what can the power of Notre Dame football do? When you think about some of those ACC programs coming together and playing — I think it’s great for us, and I think it’s great for the ACC.”
Per Yahoo Sports: “FSU, Miami and Clemson are expected to be the top beneficiaries of the conference’s new revenue-distribution structure. A portion of the league’s media rights will be unevenly distributed based on a media value metric. Those football and basketball schools generating the most television viewers annually are expected to receive a bigger cut of the revenue pie.”
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