If rumors are any indication, it appears that the Big 12 will probably expand at some point this summer, by two, possibly four teams. Clemson, Notre Dame, Florida St., Miami and Georgia Tech have been among the rumored schools that the Big 12 is targeting.
Earlier this week, Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds admitted that Texas is attempting to court Notre Dame to join the Big 12 conference. Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame's Athletic Director, addressed Dodds' statement at this year's Big East spring meetings:
"I think a little bit more was made out of DeLoss' comment than might be warranted. But it's represented. I talked to my peers a lot. It's not that it's conferences. It's fellow ADs. And it's the nature of the business. I have extraordinary admiration from him. [I] learned an awful lot from him talking to him over the years, so it's fairly routine. And the focus tends to be discussions with other ADs not conferences."
It's the type of comment you'd expect from Notre Dame's AD, as there's nothing to gain by fueling the rumor fire at this point.
Even if Notre Dame and the Big 12 have mutual interest, a marriage between the two will be tough. Currently, Notre Dame a member of the Big East for all sports except football, where they maintain independence. It is unknown if the Irish would join the Big 12 for all sports -- and it would be tricky if they did, as the Irish have a television contract with NBC for their football games for the next two years.
Any move involving Notre Dame would be intricate and time consuming. Needless to say, we're a long way from Notre Dame joining the Big 12.