The break-up

Wholesale change is unavoidable in college athletics. The Fighting Irish athletic director thinks a total realignment of Division I is coming with it.

“I can see a lot of that [rules compliance and enforcement] being transferred to the conferences.” “It’s going to be interesting to see how the federal government approaches it. It’s interesting to see how challenging it is to get the university presidents to work together. That led to a series of unproductive CFP meetings that Swarbrick described as, “the single oddest thing I’ve ever been through.” “I hate to see that,” he said. The schools that have been doing [under the table] this a long time just had a way they could describe it now and be covered. “But we’ve got to get something advanced that people will react to. Should the schism come, Notre Dame would be among those that still tied its athletics to the educational mission of the school and answered to its president and academic administration. There are so many schools trying to get out of their current conference, and they can’t get there.” The widening gap will place more stress on the current landscape, leading some schools to move away from their existing conference affiliations—and possibly leading some leagues to boot longtime members that don’t bring as much to the revenue trough. “Mid-30s would be the logical time.” Swarbrick also said there are “so many” schools trying to leave their current conferences, but they’re handcuffed by existing contracts.