Over the past several years, one scheduling sticking point for BYU and its fans has been the contracted football series with Notre Dame.
Where the contract stands
The original contract was announced in 2010 as a six-game series between the two schools, though it was restructured to a three-game series when Notre Dame entered into a scheduling agreement with the ACC.
So far, there have been just two games played between BYU and Notre Dame — in 2012 and 2013, with both games in South Bend, Indiana. The third game has yet to materialize.
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick addresses BYU series
During a recent interview with fan site Irish Sports Daily, Swarbrick was asked about the BYU series. His response gives some optimism to the third game being played.
“Relative to playing BYU, all I can say at this time is what I’ve said before: We absolutely recognize and will honor our obligation under the original contract,” he said. “We had two games here, one game that they get to decide where it’s played. And we’re going to honor that.”
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe on working with Notre Dame
During BYU’s media day last month, the school’s athletic director, Tom Holmoe, also sounded optimistic about getting a deal done.
“Hey, let me tell ya, there’s been some really good discussions with Notre Dame. In years past, it’s been crickets on the set. But I would say that there are good discussions,” Holmoe said during a BYUtv segment. “I think we’re getting close to being able to put together a game that would benefit both of our schools.”
When could the game take place?
While it’s common practice in college football for schools to schedule games many years into the future — both universities have matchups scheduled well into the 2030s, for example — let’s look at something a little closer if it’s possible.
BYU has 11 games scheduled for the 2022 season already, including six home games and five on the road. Notre Dame also has 11 games scheduled for 2022, per FBSchedules.com, including six at home and five on the road. A neutral-site matchup could fit right into the plans for both teams. For example, BYU opens its 2021 season with a neutral-site game against Arizona at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Both schools have an open date on the weekend of Oct. 8 in 2022, according to FB Schedules, though that, as of now, would ensure BYU would play eight straight weeks without a bye to start the year. Right now, neither team has a game scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 29, either.
Keep in mind, though, that as of now, two scheduled Notre Dame games and one BYU game, against East Carolina, currently don’t have the date determined, per FB Schedules.