ESPN is taking over the Navy VS Notre Dame Football Series from CBS

The bi-annual football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Navy Midshipmen that is played ANYWHERE other than South Bend or Annapolis, is moving to a different channel. According to a Sports Business Journal report, ESPN has acquired the media rights for the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and this includes Navy’s “home” game with the Irish on even numbered years.

The agreement starts with the 2020-2021 football season — just in time for the game’s return to Dublin, Ireland for the 2020 season opener.

For many years (odd years anyways), this game was on CBS. Notre Dame played a lot of games on CBS before NBC came along with their exclusive contract in 1991. The famous 1988 game against the Miami-Florida Hurricanes was a CBS broadcast. While I’m not a huge fan of CBS broadcasts, I do enjoy CBS’s college football theme immensely, and it always sparks up a bit of nostalgia of a 12 year old me settling in on a crisp autumn Saturday for the day’s action.

We are still way too far off to find out how ESPN plans to cover the Notre Dame / Navy games, but with that first one on the WWL in 2020 — there are enough quirks to suggest that ESPN could send its Gameday Crew to Dublin. You just never know.

What I do know, is that I get one more opportunity to say these two things:

1. Drop Navy on the Notre Dame schedule. Wookie life debts are sooo 1977.
2. If they [Notre Dame] simply must play the Middies — FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLAY AT LEAST ONE GAME IN ANNAPOLIS.

I guess there’s always the Sun Bowl if we need the CBS juice. Hold on to your sombreros!