Earlier this week, legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban gave his opinion, saying that NIL is going to create an endless arms race that would squeeze out smaller schools.Though failed to address the rapid increase in coaching and staff salaries, facilities, and the historical reality of which programs dominate the list of National Champions.Another figure who spoke before Congress? Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua.
Bevacqua spoke about several issues, but one concern he raised about the future of college football is the potential for what he described as a "super league" to develop in order to maximize media rights income.Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua watches a NCAA men's basketball game against Bellarmine at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend on Nov.19, 2025.
( MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)"If you wanted to maximize media value around college football," he said."I think you would take 24 to 30 teams, create unbelievably competitive scheduling where a team like Notre Dame would play Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, and start to get a number that more closely resembles an NFL number."INSIDE THE FIGHT: NIL ARMS RACE FUELING NEW PUSH FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF EXPANSIONWell, another prominent college football voice saw those remarks, and didn't take too well to them.
Particularly because of Notre Dame's unusual standing within the game."Some guys really like to talk about something that could happen and who they might play," said Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema in a post on X."Actually it’s pretty easy just join a conference."Bielema's disagreement with Bevacqua highlights an often unmentioned part of the college football realignment and consolidation debate: How does Notre Dame fit into this?Illinois head coach Bret Bielema yells at an official during the second half of the Music City Bowl against Tennessee in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec.
30, 2025.(George Walker IV/...