SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick says the coming Big Ten television contract with NBC is a “perfect” way for the network to complement its deal with the Irish.
Swarbrick held a live online chat for Notre Dame’s alumni association Wednesday, during which he addressed recent developments with the Big Ten and how they could affect the school’s ability to remain a football independent.
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The Big Ten’s new media rights deals are not finalized, but the conference is moving toward contracts with Fox, NBC and CBS. The Big Ten also has said it is having discussions with streaming services to televise its games.
NBC has had exclusive rights to broadcast Notre Dame home games since 1991. The latest iteration of that deal runs through 2025.
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Swarbrick called the Big Ten’s strategy brilliant and said he expects the value of the deals will be “pretty amazing” for the conference.
“But it’s also perfect for Notre Dame,” Swarbrick said. “We need NBC to have more college football to more effectively promote our games and to talk about our games and to have NBC be seen in that light. So that was great for us that (NBC) got a big piece of this.”
Swarbrick said the recent expansions of the Big Ten (adding USC and UCLA in 2024) and Southeastern Conference (adding Texas and Oklahoma in 2025) have only strengthened Notre Dame’s position as a college football independent.
Notre Dame is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference for most of its sports and has an agreement to play five football games per season against ACC schools. Plus, a clause in Notre Dame’s deal with the ACC would require it to join that conference if it gives up football independence. That deal runs through 2036.
Swarbrick said the three factors Notre Dame would weigh if it considered joining a conference for football would be a television partner to broadcast all home games, access to the College Football Playoff and how it would affect Olympic sports.
“When I started this job … all the commentary was were we relevant anymore? This year, no one is asking that question,” Swarbrick said. “A lot of this dynamic has just reinforced the decisions made over a lot of years that have placed Notre Dame in a very good position. That’s my biggest takeaway.”
