Chris Del Conte’s latest comments hint at uncertainty surrounding Notre Dame series originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
From the transfer portal and NIL to conference realignment and uncertainty surrounding the College Football Playoff, college football as a whole is in flux. That instability extends to non-conference scheduling, and it may impact the scheduled series between Texas and Notre Dame.
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On Wednesday at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, University of Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte implied the Longhorns aren’t necessarily locked into the home-and-home arrangement. When asked if the Fighting Irish would remain on Texas’ future schedules, Del Conte replied, “They’re tentatively on the schedule right now.” He then repeated the remark when pressed further.
Texas is currently scheduled to travel to South Bend in 2028, with Notre Dame slated to visit Austin the following fall. The most recent matchup between the iconic programs was in 2016, when the Longhorns defeated the Fighting Irish 50–47 in a double-overtime thriller at Darrell K. Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.
The Longhorns are currently in the middle of marquee non-conference agreements with both Michigan and Ohio State, having already completed the away leg of each series. Texas defeated the Wolverines 31–12 in Ann Arbor in 2024 and fell short against the Buckeyes 14–7 in Columbus last fall. Ohio State will visit Austin on September 12 at 6:30 p.m. CT, while Michigan is scheduled to make the trip next September.
While the series remains on the schedule for now, Del Conte’s comments come at a time when several major non-conference matchups across college football have either been canceled or reconsidered, including Georgia–Florida State, Georgia–Louisville, Alabama–Oklahoma State, and Miami–South Carolina.
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The SEC moving to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026 only adds to the conversation. Adding high-profile non-conference opponents to already challenging conference slates would create an even more demanding path to the College Football Playoff. Additionally, many across college football have argued that the CFP selection process has not rewarded teams for scheduling elite non-conference opponents, and specifically that the CFP committee places much more emphasis on win-loss records than strength of schedule or strength of record. So, instead of continuing to stack tough non-conference matchups onto difficult conference schedules, many programs have shifted toward minimizing risk in order to reflect the precedent set by the selection committee.
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The Texas Longhorns will open the 2026 season on September 5 against the Texas State Bobcats, with kickoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
