Clemson, Notre Dame football agree to long-term scheduling partnership

Clemson is set to face Notre Dame every season from 2027-2038 now.

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Tuesday, May 06 2025

Clemson and Notre Dame football have announced a 12-year scheduling agreement that will start in 2027.

The teams were already set to have a home-and-home series in 2027 and 2028, but it will continue the series between the stalwart programs each season through 2038.

ADs for both schools commented in a story to ESPN:

"It's been such a great rivalry and we want to see it happen every year," Notre Dame athletics director Pete Bevacqua said. "It's historically been a great back-and-forth. I think we could see it continue to develop into one of the great rivalries in college football."

"This locks in a huge rivalry for us with a non-conference opponent that's going to be strong year in and year out," Clemson athletics director Graham Neff said. "The association of national brands like Clemson and Notre Dame create a great fan experience, strong viewership and value on that is obviously a fundamental component."

The deal comes on the heels of new ACC measures that will send more revenue to teams that garner higher TV ratings, where a national brand like Notre Dame can aid in.

With the changing landscape in conference affiliations, ESPN's story notes that this is a deal that exists out of the ACC deal and would be there in case of any moves. It also locks in a marquee opponent in case another league like the SEC were to expand their conference slate and reduce non-conference matchups.

Clemson has the annual rivalry with South Carolina and upcoming dates with LSU, Georgia and Oklahoma that are set to run through the scheduling deal with Notre Dame.

Clemson news release

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson Director of Athletics Graham Neff and Clemson Football announced today that Clemson and Notre Dame have agreed to a 12-year annual home-and-home series between the Tigers and Fighting Irish spanning the 2027-38 seasons.

“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.”

“We strive to consistently create a football schedule that positions us for success in the College Football Playoff, and that goal requires us to form historic partnerships like this one with Clemson,” said Notre Dame Vice President and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua. “This rivalry has already produced some of the most memorable moments in recent college football history, and our fans deserve these matchups to continue to make those indelible memories.”

The series will feature two of the nation’s winningest programs in both recent history and college football history. Clemson ranks 13th all-time with 808 wins and three national championships, including two in the last nine seasons. Notre Dame ranks fourth in total victories with 962 and has 11 national championships. Since 1970, Notre Dame has 467 wins and Clemson has 458, and both teams have earned three national championships in that span.

Since the inception of the College Football Playoff prior to the 2014 season, the schools have combined for 10 CFP appearances, including seven by Clemson and three by Notre Dame. Both squads qualified for the playoff in 2018, 2020 and 2024, and Clemson claimed additional berths in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Notre Dame will be just the fourth non-conference FBS school Clemson has faced at least 12 consecutive years. It will be Clemson’s first new such series since 1973-87, when Clemson faced Georgia 15 consecutive years. Clemson had previously faced Georgia Tech as a non-conference foe every year between 1962-77 and South Carolina from 1971-2019 following the Gamecocks’ departure from the ACC.

For Notre Dame, this will mark the first time that the Irish have started a series of 12 or more games since 2002. Notre Dame played Michigan 18 consecutive years from 2002-19. The 12-game series with Clemson will be just the third such series Notre Dame has started in the last 35 years.

Clemson is currently riding a streak of 14 consecutive seasons with nine or more wins, the nation’s second-longest active streak and the fourth-longest streak in major college football history. Notre Dame has recorded a streak of eight straight seasons with at least nine wins, the nation’s third-longest active streak.

Excellence in the classroom has also been a common denominator between the two institutions. Only three schools have won the national championship and the AFCA Academic Achievement Award in the same year: Notre Dame in 1988, Alabama in 2017 and Clemson in 2018. Notre Dame and Clemson were two of seven schools to earn the AFCA Academic Achievement Award this past season.