ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is predicting an end to Notre Dame’s college football independence.
In a recent conversation on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” the SEC Network personality shared his belief that the Fighting Irish will find themselves in a conference at some point over the next decade.
“I ultimately believe that Notre Dame has gotten away with this for a long time,” Finebaum explained. “I can’t imagine, long term, that they will, and I’m talking five, six, seven years down the road. At some point, they’re going to have to make a decision.”
Remaining Independent is a major part of the Irish’s history and has afforded them the power to build themselves into one of the biggest brands in sports.
However, it’s been a bit of a double-edged sword when it comes to ND’s on-field success and an even bigger issue for the ACC, Finebaum continued.
“I give them credit for being able to pull it off, and again, I think the ACC is really the loser of all this because Notre Dame joining the ACC like they did in everything but [football] was really how they were able to preserve their athletic department and remain Independent in football,” Finebaum said.
“Can you imagine the SEC doing that?” he asked. “Saying, ‘Okay, Notre Dame. We’ll let you play everything but football.’ That’s just not even fathomable to me and I think it’s a problem for the ACC now that they weren’t able to get them in.”
“Five to 10 years from now, I’m not sure the exact number… I strongly believe that Notre Dame will finally say, ‘Enough is enough. We’re getting into a conference.'”