Notre Dame is officially part of the ACC in football — at least for the 2020 season.
The ACC officially announced its modified 2020 schedule on Wednesday. Each school will play 10 conference games as well as one non-conference game against a conference-approved opponent. The league will also be reduced to one division for the season.
Most notably, Notre Dame, typically an independent, will play a 10-game ACC schedule and be allowed to compete for the conference championship. TV revenue, including Notre Dame’s nationally-televised games on ABC, will be shared among all 15 member schools.
The Irish compete in the ACC for basketball, but have remained independent for football. That wasn’t feasible for 2020 with many conferences playing a conference-only schedule or significantly limiting non-conference opponents, hence what is for now a temporary stint as an ACC football school.
The ACC made it clear that it would be happy to help Notre Dame fill out its schedule, which originally featured six schools from the conference already. This was simply a logical next step. Given how much the school prides itself on that tradition, it’s highly likely they’ll return to independent status for 2021.
