Notre Dame football has a unique ability to control multiple aspects of its program, mainly due to being an independent, and some of that has to do with its schedule.
The Irish have no “set” opponents every season, although they do have many that play almost annually. With that comes scheduling major opponents, and when USC opted out of the rivalry game, Notre Dame was quick to replace them with BYU. It’s just a two-game series now, starting this season, but there is a possibility that it could continue.
BYU’s athletic director Brian Santiago told John Kurtz that there is interest between both parties to extend its current deal. This wouldn’t just include football, as the two programs want to schedule other sports as well.
This could be the start of a very good relationship, and we can thank the Trojans for that. Without them ducking the Irish, Notre Dame and BYU might not have started the series. To me, this is a great idea, especially considering that the Cougars have other good teams. Both basketball teams are solid, the men’s team just had the No. 1 overall pick in AJ Dybantsa.
Hopefully the two sides work something out, and we’ll see more of BYU in the future.
BYU AD Brian Santiago tells me there is interest from both BYU and Notre Dame to continue the series in football beyond 2026 and 2027. Also says they want to play each other in sports beyond just football.
— John Kurtz (@jlkurtz) July 7, 2026
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Could Notre Dame extend a marquee match beyond the next two years?
