How NC State Would Be Affected by a Notre Dame Exodus
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RALEIGH — The college football news cycle erupted Sunday when the latest College Football Playoff bracket was officially revealed and excluded 10-2 Notre Dame, a program which firmly believed it belonged in the 12-team playoff just one season after finishing as the runner-up in the National Championship against Ohio State. The committee deemed otherwise.
What followed was a war of words between Notre Dame, the rest of the college football world and the media. The Fighting Irish opted out of bowl season and Fighting Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua claimed the ACC did "permenant damage" to its relationship with Notre Dame. While not directly affected by all of the drama, NC State does fit into the equation.
An ACC exodus?
Notre Dame has long been the subject of ire from college football fans for remaining independent from the conferences in football, but the Fighting Irish are affiliated with the ACC. The football program plays a pseudo-ACC schedule, rotating through opponents from the conference year in and year out. NC State made the trip to South Bend, Indiana, during the 2025 season, losing 36-7.
However, with the conference moving to a nine-game league season in 2026, it has put some strain on the relationship with Notre Dame. NC State head coach Dave Doeren advocated for an expansion of conference play, but understood the strain it puts on some other programs in the conference with their SEC rivalries. Notre Dame is another wrinkle, as it could force some teams to play 11 conference games in a given year.
Bevacqua's comments on Monday toward the ACC were somewhat alarming, as the conference does benefit from its football affiliation with the Irish, especially from a television ratings standpoint. ACC programs benefit from a television-revenue distribution system which helps teams financially that draw ratings. Any matchup against Notre Dame is going to get eyeballs and help the Irish's opponent.
NC State drew the short end of that stick in 2025, as the Wolfpack's game against Notre Dame was broadcast on Peacock, NBC's exclusive streaming service. The calendar helped NC State at times in that area, as the Wolfpack played a standalone ACC matchup against Wake Forest on a Thursday night and drew 1.18 million viewers.
Losing Notre Dame would no doubt hurt the ACC in television ratings for football, but it would help the conference slightly in other sports for another reason. Notre Dame is a direct affiliate in sports other football, making the conference include 18 programs after the additions of Cal-Berkeley, Stanford and Southern Methodist. Scheduling has become nightmarish for athletic directors across the country.
NC State's next date against Notre Dame in football is scheduled for 2029, but with the chaotic landscape only getting crazier, it's hard to bank on that game actually being played. Only time will tell.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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