In the latest move surrounding Notre Dame's postseason drama, the Fighting Irish's athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, met with ACC commissioner Jim Phillips.
Yahoo Sports and On3's Ross Dellenger and ESPN's Andrea Adelson even went as far as to share that the conversation was reportedly "highly positive and productive."
After years and years of adamantly remaining independent, after a couple of weeks of blasting the College Football Playoff Committee for leaving them out of the bracket, and a handful of days after opting out of their bowl game, the Irish seem to be bending a knee, at least slightly.
Could Notre Dame finally join the ACC?
There isn't any real sign of Notre Dame giving up its independence quite yet, but a two-hour-long meeting with the ACC commissioner certainly isn't a bad sign for the conference possibly gaining a powerhouse athletic program.
Sources: Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips met for roughly 2 hours Thursday in NYC, as @aadelsonESPN + @RossDellenger reported, in what has been described as a “highly positive and productive” conversation.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) December 19, 2025
Both sides look to move past the CFP drama. pic.twitter.com/bO1EoHPEM3
One of the biggest arguments against the Irish earning a spot in the playoffs this season was that the team didn't play a gauntlet of conference opponents like everyone else, losing the two games against teams that did make it into the playoffs (Miami and Texas A&M).
So, joining the ACC and completely blowing past opponents in the Power Conference could be exactly what Notre Dame needs to continuously prove its worth to the CFP committee, even though the Fighting Irish would argue they already did that without a conference.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has repeatedly advocated that his team plays enough top-tier opponents and continues to produce resumes worthy of the playoffs. This year, it simply wasn't enough for the committee to push the Fighting Irish through.