The Mormons and the Catholics will meet in Sin City.
No. 16 BYU will face Notre Dame at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday, completing a series of matchups between the two independent college football programs.
Allegiant Stadium is not exactly middle ground for the two programs. It is a nearly six-hour drive from BYU’s home in Provo, Utah, and a 27-hour drive from South Bend, Ind., home to Notre Dame.
So why are the teams facing off in the Nevada desert? The Sporting News has answers.
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Why is BYU vs. Notre Dame in Las Vegas?
When BYU announced in 2010 that it was becoming an independent in football, it also announced a six-game series with Notre Dame. According to a 2022 article by the Deseret News, the agreement included Notre Dame hosting games in 2012 and 2013 and BYU hosting one game.
Eventually, the series was cut to three games, but there was no guarantee that the Fighting Irish would travel to Provo for the final contest.
Nine years after the last game between the schools, the programs reached an agreement to play the game in Las Vegas. As part of the deal, the Fighting Irish control the tickets and television rights.
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Sounds a bit lopsided, right? Well, BYU isn’t coming away from this empty-handed. BYU deputy athletic director Brian Santiago said that Notre Dame is paying BYU enough to cover a buyout of the third game and more, per the Deseret News.
“It’s actually very beneficial for us to play this game in Las Vegas. Notre Dame has been very generous to us, and we are getting the game,” Santiago said. “In our estimation, which is why I give kudos to [BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe], it is a double benefit for us. It’s financially very viable for us with Notre Dame being very generous, and we are playing the game in a place where we are comfortable playing.”
BYU played in the Las Vegas Bowl five consecutive seasons from 2005-09 and again in 2015. It has played at former Mountain West rival UNLV as recently as 2017.
It is likely that this was the only way Notre Dame would agree to a third matchup in the series. Santiago said it appeared the discussions were trending toward the game being played in Las Vegas or not at all, according to the Deseret News.
“The best option was, through years of negotiations, to play the game in Vegas. Certainly, we have shown unbelievably in Vegas,” Santiago said.
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