Rockne's Roundtable

I think struggling or not I don't see FSU leaving the ACC for the Big 12. It just doesn't make football sense for them. They have it made right now. For the record, The Irish stay independent for as long as the Post-Season format allows it. Period.

Talked with TCU Buddy today and thought is that the Big 12 is finalizing a 13 yr agreement for membership with TV deal paying each member 20 mil per yr. Strong thought that Louisville will go Big 12 also. ND would be full with football being similar to Big East set-up, play 4 Big 12 teams per year and keep existing NBC arrangement for home games. If we go into this agreement the expectation is a bigger TV share for all. The Big East is shakey at best for football now, and if Louisville goes..... If FL State and Clemson join Big 12 we'd be playingin South and South Central states as well as Cal and Midwest..
After the playoff is finalized we'll have a 2 tier football world and it'll be darn hard to get in without a conference tie-in.

TCU buddy is well informed @ TCU and now B-12. Expects decisions out by end of June if not earlier. Not making wild claims, just info on what he hears/sees. Looking at the Big East right now, there may be " Stuff Happening" quickly.

FWIW, this Notre Dame to Big 12 in all sports but football, with a Big 12-heavy football schedule is nothing new in the rumor mill.

It's not uncommon knowledge that Jack Swarbrick and Texas AD DeLoss Dodds kept in touch during all of the conference realignment hoopla over the past couple of offseasons. Dodds admitted as much during a taped Q&A that I've seen posted on YouTube. And the hire of Bob Bowlsby as the Big 12's commissioner will only fuel rumors of Notre Dame's relationship with the Big 12.

And I saw rumors about FSU and the Big 12 last week on the 247 site. Apparently a Baylor site mod heard that as a possibility.

All of the ingredients of the rumor are out there, but I've still yet to see any truly compelling insider info as it relates to Notre Dame and the Big 12.

They should do this and for all those that say we have to stay independent, I ask you this......why? How is this working out for us right now? If ND and Fla St would join forces with Oklahoma and Texas, those four are of the same caliber as the SEC big 4 of Bama, LSU, Florida and UGA. This would be huge for recruiting. And the TV deal would eclipse that of all other Conferences and what NBC will offer. Throw in making our own network and this deal is a slam dunk.

I agree it is an old rumor that seems to have momentum again. What I will say is that if The Big 12 does indeed raid the ACC then the dominoes will all begin to fall very quickly not unlike they would have last year if that Pac-12 raid of Texas, OU, OSU and TT had gone through. If The Big 12 does take away FSU and Clemson, then the Big East will collapse entirely, and the era of the Super Conference has begun at which point ND Independence is OVER.

Everyone should read through this thread: http://www.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?SID=880&fid=2208&style=2&tid=173711212&Page=1

There are some real insights.