More for the ND, Arkansas argument

[cyclones500]

Notre Dame has no interest in being in a conference for football. (The) reason they are still independent is not because they don't want to be in the Big Ten. ND will not join the big 12, big 10, big East, or any conference. It will not happen. They would lose LOADS of donor support if they were to join a conference.

ND will join a football conference at some point. Whether it's two years from now or 47, it will happen.

I doubt it will be the Big 12. If they don't jump on the Big Ten bandwagon soon (I'd say within 10 years), the donor-holdout fallout will lose most of its clout.

Just my prediction.

[dosry5]

Notre Dame will never, ever, ever, ever, ever join the Big 12. Ever.

Ever?

[MNCyGuy]

Ever?

Ever

[CyBelieve]

Ever

Ever ever?

[MNCyGuy]

Ever ever?

Ever X Infinity....yea

[CycoCyclone]

Orangebloods.com - Big 12 sources say Arkansas has put out feelers about a move

[CarolinaCy]

From that OB article, found this very interesting:

Several sources, including a source close to the discussions that took place between Notre Dame and the Big Ten over the past month, indicated Notre Dame would remain independent unless it appeared super conferences were forming.

And now that the Big Ten is at 12 schools already, Notre Dame might be more interested in joining the Big 12, where it might be the 12th school added to the league (along with Arkansas).

Notre Dame could also explore having its own TV network inside the Big 12, whereas that would not be an option in the Big Ten, which has a conference network that requires everyone to share their inventory.

A source close to Texas said athletic director DeLoss Dodds and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick have "a very close" relationship. The source said Dodds has helped serve as a mentor to Swarbrick since Swarbrick took over as Notre Dame's AD in June of 2008.

[Clonefan32]

If schools start going to more conference games and Notre Dame has trouble scheduling then they might be forced into a conference. Isn't scheduling the main reason they joined the Big East for other sports? Probably won't become an issue since there aren't that many football games and a lot of schools are willing to play them but you never know.

I wonder if the day will ever come where some schools or some conferences agree to strong arm Notre Dame into joining a conference by not scheduling them...

[MeanDean]

I don't really understand Arkansas's interest in joining the Big XII. We've already shown how unstable it is. Why would a team consider leaving the "best" conference in the land, sports-wise, to risk joining one run by one team?

Yes, they are on my list of best teams to add to the Big XII for the league's sake. I would have liked to have gotten Utah, but that ship has sailed. Memphis and Louisville do make good sense, but Cinci, in OH, is not contiguous. I like keeping the conference contiguous which makes UNLV, another on-the-rise school also less desirable in my mind.

[snowcraig2.0]

Adding Arkansas, ND, Louisville, and Cincinnati would garner a TV deal that would ensure total stability in the Big 12.