Notre Dame Football: Why Fighting Irish Need Their Own Big Bowl Agreement

As 2014 fast approaches and the nature of the college football postseason is set to be indelibly changed, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame are one of the teams whose future hangs in the balance.

On the ACC side of things, it is clear that pursuing the Irish should be job one. However, where the Fighting Irish are concerned, the ACC should be the last thing on their minds. In fact, joining a conference in general should not be on the program's radar at the moment.

Still, with the new "Champions Bowl" between the Big 12 and the SEC coming to fruition, the landscape is laying itself out very nicely for the Fighting Irish's next big move.

Not to a league. Not joining a conference or risking their independence. No, the move has to be looking for a new bowl tie-in.

The auto-bids are gone, the SEC-Big 12 have paired their teams in a bowl game, and four teams are removed from the pool for the four-team playoff.

While the Big 12 and SEC look for the highest bidder to pair their bowl game with, the Fighting Irish should embrace their opportunity. The Fiesta Bowl is in a lurch, as they have had their lone tie-in, the Big 12 Champion, ripped out of their game.

The Sugar Bowl is going to have to go to the purse to beat Dallas and Atlanta out for the Champions Bowl. The Orange Bowl has the ACC but needs a partner in order to get a solid draw. That leaves Notre Dame with a number of choices, as Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel points out:

"

If anything, ND will be better off in new BCS. Nothing stopping it from signing its own 5-year deal with, say, the Orange Bowl.

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) May 18, 2012"

The Fighting Irish have been making plenty of cash. They are one of the college football world's most valuable products. They help sell out stadiums, they get eyeballs on television and they move the meter.

The Fiesta, Sugar and Orange Bowls each have a reason to secure their own future. If the Sugar Bowl loses out on the Champions Bowl, Notre Dame becomes the next sure thing. For the Orange Bowl, Notre Dame is more of a certainty than even the ACC Champion can provide as a draw. In the Fiesta Bowl, a bowl badly in need of a partner will be looking to bid for a reason to stay relevant.

If you're Notre Dame, the goal is to let people know you're interested, drop the hook. Certainly the four-team playoff remains the goal for the Fighting Irish, but a big-time bowl game is a solid consolation prize.

Drop the line in the water and see who bites. This can become another revenue stream for the Fighting Irish as the football team works to get playoff eligible.