One of the most anticipated future series on Alabama's schedule is a 2029 and 2030 home-and-home matchup with Notre Dame. Alabama is scheduled for a trip to South Bend in 2029, with the Irish making the return trip to Tuscaloosa in 2030.
That series could now be in jeopardy.
After Notre Dame was left out of the College Football Playoff this year, reports leaked about a memorandum of understanding between Notre Dame and the College Football Playoff that grants them favorable treatment in 12 and 14-team playoff formats.
That MOU states that in future 12-team brackets, Notre Dame is guaranteed a playoff berth if they are ranked inside the Top 12, regardless of any automatic qualifiers. The Irish were ranked No. 11 this year, but were left out due to two automatic qualifiers being ranked outside of the Top 12. In future seasons, Notre Dame would have been let in anyway, likely at the expense of Miami or Alabama.
In 14-team formats, Notre Dame would be guaranteed a playoff spot if they are ranked 13th or better.
Predictably, that information is not sitting well with Athletic Directors of programs in Power Four conferences across the country. According to Yahoo's Dan Wolken, those ADs are now threatening to freeze Notre Dame out of future non-conference scheduling as a result:
After learning of Notre Dame's memorandum of understanding that grants the Irish preferential playoff access starting next year, athletic directors in other leagues are threatening to freeze Notre Dame out of future schedules, per @DanWolken pic.twitter.com/xrxN3meME8
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 11, 2025
Greg Byrne could look to cancel the Alabama-Notre Dame series
It's probably unlikely because of signed contracts, but it's clear that programs across the country are sick of Notre Dame's crap. This move could ultimately force the Irish to join a conference instead of maintaining their independence.
Notre Dame being unable to schedule games against Power Four opponents in the future would be detrimental to their ability to have the strength of schedule to garner potential playoff inclusion, but it would also be highly detrimental to their recruiting. The top recruits in the country want to go places where they can play for the best and against the best. That might not happen in South Bend moving forward.
The SEC's new scheduling mandate forces every league team to play one Power Four team out of conference to go along with the nine-game league schedule. Notre Dame can currently act as a substitute for a Power Four opponent.
Alabama is still looking to cancel a few future out-of-conference matchups. Alabama already has games scheduled against Oklahoma State (2029) and Georgia Tech (2030) that would satisfy the SEC's requirement.
Those seemed likely to be cancelled so Alabama could stick with scheduled matchups against Ohio State in 2027 and 2028 and Notre Dame in 2029 and 2030. But with the Power Four ADs finally standing up to Notre Dame, perhaps Byrne will look to get the Crimson Tide out of that highly anticipated home-and-home.
So if you were already planning your trip to South Bend in 2029, you may want to hold off until the dust settles.