Notre Dame and the ACC Relationship, What Gives?

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Matt Hayes
USA TODAY

AMELIA ISLAND, FL – The dynamics of it all are just so odd and off-putting, it’s uncomfortable to watch it play out.

Our home game kickoff times are officially set!

🔗: https://t.co/9FT7j5F9Zy #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/DBxvY9Bqax

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) May 7, 2026

One side gets what it wants without a hint of guilt in the surreal marriage between Notre Dame and the ACC. The other plays the role of sorry sod while being blamed for all shortcomings.

Guess who’s who in this narcissistic relationship?

Friday nights are set 📅

See the updated 2026 ACC Football schedule.

🔗 details: https://t.co/PVOjyTjrIZ pic.twitter.com/EmFYG2tGQA

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) May 15, 2026

“What does (Notre Dame) have to do for someone in this conference to get pissed off?” an ACC coach told USA TODAY Sports earlier this week during the league’s annual spring meetings. We now know, unequivocally, what Notre Dame can do: Insult the ACC, and blame the conference for the Irish not being selected to the College Football Playoff in 2025.

Spring Ball 2026: Specialists ☘️#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/stUlrBdDQJ

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 29, 2026

It can have athletic director Pete Bevacqua declare five months ago there is “permanent damage to the relationship between Notre Dame and the conference” — then stroll the halls of the swanky Ritz-Carlton resort this week and reaffirm a relationship that’s “incredibly strong.”

Rooted in history and tradition.

Introducing the official logo for the 2026 Shamrock Series presented by @MyCreditUnion1

🔗: https://t.co/wP64YLCCpr #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/nMK4TZHJVs

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) May 14, 2026

All while the ACC doesn’t take punitive action for behavior unbecoming a league member, or that endangers the good standing of the conference. The same, basic don’t-say-anything-stupid deal every FBS conference tells every member institution.

2026 Spring Ball: Offensive Linemen ☘️#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/8z835wp8pM

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) May 6, 2026

Only Notre Dame isn’t technically a member of the ACC in football. It just receives five football games annually from an absurd agreement between the parties ― one that allows Notre Dame to keep every cent of its booming media rights deal with NBC.

THE FIRST TWO SHOWS OF THE 2026 CFB SEASON ARE SET‼️

📍 Week 1: Baton Rouge
📍 Week 2: Austin pic.twitter.com/wDF9dLE1Vr

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) May 12, 2026

The way Notre Dame sees it, if anyone is getting a deal in this marriage, it’s the ACC.

In exchange for Notre Dame — in its infinite grace, no less — allowing the ACC to give the Irish five football games, the Irish will bless the ACC with its conference presence (see: affiliation) in Olympic sports. Notre Dame, you see, is allowing the ACC access to its orbit, and who wouldn’t want that?

Network & time updates for select 2026 ACC Football games announced.

🔗 details: https://t.co/s8bO0EK7Hf pic.twitter.com/KNwveqUZyv

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) May 12, 2026

A therapist would have a field day with this relationship.

The ACC didn’t fine Notre Dame — there’s zero chance another conference school could claim “permanent damage” and not get fined — for its insufferable insubordination in December. Didn’t blink when Notre Dame — after it lost to Miami in the regular season and had the same record as Miami at the end of the 2025 season — believed it should’ve been selected to the CFP and blamed the ACC for a lack of support. Whatever that means.

Luck of the Irish ☘️

Notre Dame had Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price become the first two RBs taken in Round 1, the first time since the Common Draft Era both came from the same school. pic.twitter.com/LXiQ1G0LeD

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) April 24, 2026

In fact, five months after the fact, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips — truly one of the good dudes in the sport who inherited an untenable situation — said Wednesday that “Notre Dame was a CFP-worthy team in 2025.” How disgustingly offensive and one-sided can this relationship get? What’s next, Notre Dame demanding it doesn’t have to play Miami after this season? Or it won’t play SMU, the next program on the rise in the conference?

North of the border 🇨🇦

Our 2027 game at Wake Forest will be played Week 0 at BMO Field in Toronto 🍊🍁

Full story: https://t.co/6lLNznvm8K pic.twitter.com/Lm8y6RhTEF

— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) May 7, 2026

Or worse, it chooses who it plays and where it plays — including a couple of neutral site road games (see: ACC home games) sold to Amazon or Netflix or Apple. If you don’t think that’s coming, you clearly haven’t been following this submissive relationship.

Introducing Agent 0@QuincyPorter18 on the mic 🎙️#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/M30o210ctD

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) May 1, 2026

Notre Dame speaks, the ACC jumps.

Because if it wasn’t that way, the ACC would’ve fined Notre Dame and told them the same thing the CFP selection committee told the Irish.

No. 9️⃣ Johnson through the lens 🎥#GoIrish☘️ | @taejohnson1012 pic.twitter.com/PIClp2nQj7

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) May 5, 2026

You lost to Miami. Deal with it.

And if Notre Dame wasn’t happy with that setup, go sell your narcissistic relationship to the Big 12. Because the Big Ten and SEC aren’t buying it, either.

That, everyone, is the craziest part of this dysfunctional deal. The ACC thinks it has no power when it clearly does.

Jalen Elliott '20 delivered an outstanding speech at last night’s Spring Monogram Jacket Ceremony. The former @NDFootball captain touched on why @NotreDame was the perfect choice for him a decade ago and will continue to be for the rest of his life!#4forForever ☘️ #NDFamily pic.twitter.com/oqh0eJxvYQ

— ND Monogram Club (@NDMonogram) April 28, 2026

Notre Dame says more than 90% of its ACC road games are sold out. Great, how about those TV ratings that drive the engine of the sport?

The Irish had two top-50 rated games in 2025, and one was against Miami. The other was against Texas A&M, and despite what Domers think, that game was a ratings hit because Texas A&M is ascending under coach Mike Elko — and Texas A&M is a member of the SEC.

Introducing the 12s to a true Notre Dame Man ☘️

Watch the full Jadarian Price feature on @ND_HCTI on Peacock.#GoIrish☘️ | @Jadarian15 | @Seahawks pic.twitter.com/2xMoMdUG9a

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 27, 2026

You remember the SEC, right? Merely the biggest, baddest television property in college football. By a long, long way.

The SEC may have forgotten how to win a national title, but the difference between the collective SEC and everyone else in television ratings — including the Big Ten — is night and day.

Two years ago, Notre Dame used those five ACC games to bolster its resume and reach the CFP, and advanced to the championship game with an impressive run of wins over Indiana, Georgia and Penn State.

Recapping yesterday’s Blue-Gold Game presented by @meijer ☀️🏈#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/Wzi0dheyTz

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 26, 2026

Then came the national title game against Ohio State, one of the top three television draws in college football. The game averaged 22.1 million viewers and was the fifth-least watched national title game since 1998.

Meanwhile, the ACC is walking on eggshells around Notre Dame, afraid of its own shadow ― and certainly afraid to stand up for itself.