On Notre Dame
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We will play Notre Dame every year in basketball so long as we both stay in the Big East. Given that Notre Dame is only offering its hoops team to the conference and Cincinnati is probably still thrilled to be in a BCS football conference, I don't see this arrangement changing anytime soon.
Speaking of Division I football, do you remember when Notre Dame stole our coach? Which might have been forgivable if he'd stuck around for (arguably) the biggest bowl game in Bearcat football history. [As a side note, a victory in the Papa Johns DOT com bowl doesn't exactly secure Kelly's legacy when compared to past greats coaching in Cincinnati.]
Although it's hard to imagine Kelly signing off on a home-and-home with his former team, the fact of the matter is that these two teams need to play each other often. South Bend is not far from the Queen City in D1 Sports miles, and the modern history makes even a matchup of mediocre teams ESPN2 worthy.
Rivalries have to have a starting point. The Miami-Cincinnati football rivalry escalated along similar lines. Ohio State now seems unwilling to acknowledge UC's existence. I'll gladly settle for Notre Dame.
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In Football I have a strong dislike for Notre Dame, and have since way before the Kelly exodus. But in Basketball? Not so much. I don’t have the dislike of the Big Easts deal with the devil that others do. I don’t think Notre Dame is as important as it once was on the College Sports landscape but they have enough history and the corresponding amounts of cash to call the shots, and I don’t have an issue with that. The current arrangement is a product of the past, but everyone makes enough money off of it for there to be no incentive to change things.
by Matt Opper on Mar 11, 2026 3:56 PM EST reply actions
i still hate
Memphis, Louisville, Xavier, Charlotte, and Marquette a lot more.
by BigStein on Mar 12, 2026 10:50 AM EST reply actions
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