Notre Dame will play in the ACC for the 2020 season. That arrangement isn’t expected to continue beyond that, but Dabo Swinney wants it to.
The Clemson coach said Tuesday that he’d love to see the Fighting Irish as a permanent member of the conference.
“I’m happy they’re in the league,” Swinney said, via Matt Howe of 27Sports. “Heck, I wish they were a permanent member in the league, to be honest with you. I think it’d be great. Every week, I always keep up with the ACC and what’s going on. Typically I may not be checking in on Notre Dame every week, but this year I’ll be paying closer attention because not only are they in our league but we play them.”
There are other reasons Swinney would welcome Notre Dame. Adding the Fighting Irish to the ACC would improve the profile of a conference that has struggled to produce a consistent challenger to the Tigers. That has at times hurt Clemson in the College Football Playoff rankings, especially compared to teams that play in the more powerful SEC.
Notre Dame needed the help in 2020 due to their independent status and various schools not playing this fall. Hopefully, that won’t be the case in 2021. At that point, they’ll probably go back to their status as an independent.
