Clemson, Notre Dame strikes 12-year deal for home-and-home football series

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson Director of Athletics Graham Neff and Clemson football program announced that they have agreed to a 12-year deal to meet annually for a home-and-home series between the Tigers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish spanning from 2027-38.

The two teams last met on Nov. 11, 2023 where the Tigers defeated the Fighting Irish 31-23 at home. The two teams have had some instant classic matchups throughout the years. They were already scheduled to meet in 2027(Clemson), 2028 (Notre Dame), 2031 (Clemson), 2034 (Notre Dame) and 2037 (Clemson) before the new deal.

“Even in just the last decade, matchups between Clemson and Notre Dame have produced incredibly memorable moments and games,” Neff said. “We have immense excitement for the creation of this 12-year series between these two premier programs, as we know these will be must-see matchups for fans at Memorial Stadium and Notre Dame Stadium as well as television audiences nationwide.

Both teams made the College Football Playoffs last season with Notre Dame reaching the CFP title game and falling to Ohio State.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that these meetings will be included in Notre Dame’s five mandatory annual ACC games. This deal also comes on the heels of the lawsuit settlement between the ACC, Clemson and Florida State. The two programs wanted out of the ACC following the 2023-24 school year, but came to an agreement with the league settling with the two schools to remain in the conference under a new revenue distribution structure and more clarity around the grant-of-rights penalty.

This series is also part of a bigger plan in an attempt for commissioner Jim Phillips and league officials to reward the programs who win a lot like Clemson, and help promote the conference on a national level with their winning. The main reason for Clemson and FSU wanting to leave the ACC is because of the television distribution gap between the ACC and the two richest conferences in college: SEC and Big Ten. It is reported that the gaps in television distribution in both of those conferences could soar up to as high as $30 million per school within the next two years for both conferences.