Is Notre Dame to the Big 12 imminent? Latest conference realignment causing seismic shifts in the college football landscape

Notre Dame boasts of being the only remaining independent college football powerhouse in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Fighting Irish have never been aligned with any conference in their history, but the current outlook of the landscape has become a threat to that. This has brought about the university’s recent link with the Big 12.

The news of the Irish potentially moving to the Big 12 has heated up in the last couple of weeks. It is said that the university, alongside three Atlantic Coast Conference schools, is in intense talks with the Big 12 leadership through third parties over a possible realignment.

However, there's no vivid evidence that the Fighting Irish are ready to shed their independent status in college football. More importantly, the Big 12 doesn't have the financial power to lure the Irish to its roster, making the probability of a realignment move very low.

Notre Dame values its Independent status

Notre Dame is synonymous with being independent in college football and that tradition doesn't look like stopping soon. Athletic director Pete Bevacqua disclosed earlier this year that the university continues to value the status and it's become more cherishable than ever.

“We are now in as good of a position as we've ever been in the modern era of college football to be independent," Bevacqua told Heather Dinich of ESPN

“You see all the conference realignment, you see everything that's happened, I think our position as being independent in football quite frankly is certainly more unique than ever, but also more valuable than ever."

This makes the possibility of Notre Dame moving to the Big 12 less likely. The Fighting Irish look committed to maintaining their independent status despite being less lucrative in the current college football landscape. It's a part of their heritage that they want to preserve.

The Big Ten is a more likely option

Should Notre Dame decide to align with a conference in college football in the next couple of years, the Big Ten appears to be the most likely option. Apart from the shared history with the league, the Big Ten also has the university in its unofficial plans.

According to reports, the Big Ten television contracts with CBS, Fox and NBC have a “Notre Dame clause.” This states that the three networks would pay an additional sum of money in media revenue to the conference if the Fighting Irish were to join the league. This is a more viable option for the school than the Big 12.