Former Notre Dame quarterback and current college football analyst Brady Quinn sees a potential fit between Notre Dame and the Big Ten.

The speculation about Notre Dame’s future ramped up on Thursday following the news that USC and UCLA will be joining the Big Ten in 2024. Despite the Irish’s partial deal with the ACC (which runs through 2036), Quinn believes the Big Ten would be a better fit.

“That’s the conference that’s going to be able to pay you the most with the new TV rights deal coming up” Quinn told college football analyst Josh Pate. “That’s the conference that most represents probably what you’d like to do from a scheduling standpoint.”

From a scheduling perspective, the Big Ten could offer games from coast-to-coast. Notre Dame’s independence has long afforded it the option of playing all over the country in a given season. But with the Big Ten now stretching from Los Angeles to New Jersey, the Irish could accomplish that same feat while playing in the Big Ten.

“Only the Big Ten is going to offer you that as a conference,” Quinn added. “So I actually think, as you look down the road, as far as where Notre Dame would potentially join … I think the Big Ten makes the most sense for a fit.”

It’s unclear how punitive Notre Dame’s exit fee would be if it ended its deal with the ACC before its expiration in 2036. The prevailing conventional wisdom is that Notre Dame’s fee would be significantly less than a full-time ACC member.

Here’s video of Quinn’s full comments to Pate: