Could Notre Dame and the ACC Breakup? It's Complicated

Ever since Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua publicly stated that "permanent damage" has been done between the Irish and the ACC due to how the CFP race was talked about / handled /manipulated, depending on who you speak with, by the conference, there have been more questions than answers about the future.

What does "permanent" damage look like on a practical level? What are Notre Dame's options should it wish to get out of its ACC deal?

Leaving the ACC would be easier said than done for the Irish

In the heat of the moment, full of frustration due to the CFP snub and ACC's lobbying against the Irish, it's easy for those in Notre Dame nation to react by saying "ditch the ACC" and the five games per year agreement the Irish have with the struggling conference.

While this move would feel satisfying for the Irish faithful, it cannot be made without Notre Dame knowing what comes next regarding filling out a football schedule and finding a home for all other sports as well.

I'm certainly not an athletic director, but this move seems like a massive one that would take lots of negotiation and planning. How realistic is a move like this in the short term? I'm just not certain what other options are available to Notre Dame and Bevacqua right now that would satisfy the Irish outrage that is permeating the landscape.

Bevacqua has painted himself into a difficult corner. He is the one who mentioned "permanent damage" publicly. When Notre Dame fans hear this phrase, they think change is coming. And if it doesn't? Pete Bevacqua looks like a big talker who is full of complaints but not actions. This is a tough place to be.

STATEMENT from ACC commissioner Jim Phillips on Notre Dame: pic.twitter.com/nNqmDDbphW
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) December 8, 2025

What other scheduling options would be available for Notre Dame?

If Notre Dame were to decide to try to move on from the ACC deal, what other options are available? One option is to join a conference as a full member, outside the ACC.

This would resolve the issue of trying to fill out a schedule and would alleviate the argument that the Irish get special treatment as an Independent. The downside? Notre Dame would be giving up its entire history and a large part of who it is and has been to instead now be like everyone else. This move would feel like the Irish were bullied and caved to the conference pressure.

The other obvious move would be for Notre Dame to go back to being fully independent and fill out all of its 12-game schedules on its own.

This option seems doable on the surface, but there's a big question that must be answered. Will enough other "big-time" football schools schedule Notre Dame to fill out a slate yearly with anti-Irish sentiment and rhetoric at an all-time high?

There is no easy solution to this modern problem Notre Dame has run into. Bevacqua is in a tough spot, and Irish fans want a change of some sort to prevent what just happened from happening again. There's a cost to being different, and the Irish are learning that the hard way.