With the Big Ten and SEC waiting on them to move, Notre Dame has the upper hand in the realignment.

According to longtime college football radio host Greg Swaim, the Notre Dame football program holds all the cards in the Big Ten and SEC’s next conference realignment moves.

“As of tonight it appears the B1G will not be adding schools this go around, and won’t until Notre Dame makes a move,” Swaim prefaced before saying, “Unsure about the SEC, but it’s sure sounding likely that they’ll take a pause as well. If anyone adds, I’ll wager it’ll be the Big 12 poaching the ACC, and also likely that it will be multiple teams…and we’re hearing as many as six.”

Swaim first reported the Big 12’s mutual interest in FSU and Clemson on July 9; a stunning turnaround in the sport after it appeared like the Noles and Tigers were headed towards a B1G invite despite their lack of AAU accreditation.

“As we’ve said for a year, FSU and Clemson will not get a B1G offer, due to neither being AAU accredited,” Swaim prefaced before saying, “But from Vegas the talk is the SEC has now turned the pair down. With new sponsorship the B12 probably won’t pay quite what the other two do, but with those two they’ll pay double what the ACC does.

“And it won’t end there. The talk is the B12 will take six from the ACC.”

Big 12 making ‘Power 3’ push alongside Big Ten and SEC
Adding FSU and Clemson, not to mention four other ACC schools, would push the Big 12 right up alongside the Big Ten, and not all that far behind the SEC, when it comes to depth and recent success.

Notre Dame itself doesn’t have the clout it once did, but they’d potentially be accompanied by Texas A&M if they sought out a Big Ten invite and by UNC if the SEC was the way; as strange as a geographical fit as that would be.

Brace yourselves, college football fans. What is now a “Power 2” may have to adjust in the near future for a new powerful Big 12 conference.