Notre Dame football started the 2025 season 0-2 and won 10 straight games to finish the season 10-2. However, their opening game loss against the Miami Hurricanes is what kept them out of the College Football Playoffs. Miami also had a 10-2 record, which ranked behind Notre Dame for much of the regular season, despite the head-to-head win.
Miami is a member of the ACC, and Notre Dame isn’t in football, so it was a no-brainer to know which team the conference would advocate for when it came to getting a team into the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame has been whining and complaining about the ACC advocating for Miami:
I don’t understand why Notre Dame wants the ACC to treat it like a full member of the ACC. Notre Dame football is very much not a member of the ACC.
— Adam Lichtenstein (@ABLichtenstein) December 8, 2025
If you want the benefits of being in a conference — including the conference politicking on your behalf — join the conference. https://t.co/QLqBpz1P2T
Exactly! Why does Notre Dame expect the ACC to advocate for it when it is not a member of the ACC in football?
Notre Dame has reportedly called a press conference for Tuesday at noon:
Notre Dame just announced that AD Pete Bevacqua will hold a press conference on Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET.
— Mike Singer (@MikeTSinger) December 8, 2025
If they announce plans to pay approximately $55 million to leave the ACC in non-football sports, it doesn’t change anything for FSU. The 2026 football matchup against Notre Dame has already been cancelled, and FSU won’t face Notre Dame until 2029 at the earliest. FSU could very well have plans to leave the ACC itself by then.
FSU already led the ACC in TV viewership without having Notre Dame on the schedule. FSU averaged more viewers than Notre Dame with a 5-7 record, and Notre Dame was getting propped up by TV networks as they beat up on scrubs after losing its first two games against ranked opponents.
Notre Dame has bad teams in basketball and baseball, so they don’t add anything to the ACC in the other sports that could be somewhat profitable.
If Notre Dame wants to leave, it doesn’t make a difference to FSU one way or another. FSU is one of the strongest brands in college sports and doesn’t need Notre Dame to participate in the ACC.