While Notre Dame may have reportedly turned down the chance to play BYU in this month's Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Fighting Irish will now instead face off with the Cougars in two future matchups.
And one will be in Provo next season.
BYU and Notre Dame have agreed to a home-and-home series, the two schools announced Monday, with the Irish coming to LaVell Edwards Stadium in 2026 and the Cougars heading out to South Bend in 2027.
"We are excited to announce this home-and-home series between BYU and Notre Dame for the 2026 and 2027 seasons," BYU athletic director Brian Santiago said in a statement . "We have tremendous respect for Notre Dame, and appreciate Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua, who has been great to work with in arranging this series. These will be competitive football games, and will highlight Kalani Sitake and Marcus Freeman, two of the best leaders and coaches in college football.
"As private, faith-based institutions, BYU and Notre Dame share many common values, and this series provides an exceptional opportunity to showcase two world-class universities. It's a matchup that will resonate strongly with Cougar fans and college football fans everywhere."
BYU's 2026-27 home-and-home series was originally slated to be with Cal, only for the Golden Bears to cancel last week following the ACC's move from an eight-game conference schedule to nine games.
Additionally, talks between Notre Dame and rival USC broke down regarding the continuation of their historic series in 2026-27, according to Yahoo's Ross Dellenger, thus freeing up the Irish to schedule these two new games with BYU.
Notre Dame's last visit to Provo was in 2004's season opener, where the Irish fell 20-17 to the Gary Crowton-led Cougars.
BYU has been waiting for Notre Dame's next trip to Provo for well over a decade now. Back in 2010, as the Cougars prepared to make the move to football independence, they scheduled a 6-game series with the famously-independent Irish, with the games set to all take place prior to 2020.
But after BYU's visits to South Bend in 2012 and 2013, the series stalled, with Notre Dame never making the previously-agreed return trip to Provo.
This disruption in the series was due to Notre Dame's scheduling partnership with the ACC that began in 2014, but many Cougar fans were upset regarding the original series essentially being abandoned and no game at Edwards Stadium ever coming to fruition.
The series drama was resolved in 2021, as BYU agreed to play Notre Dame in 2022's Shamrock Series neutral site game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where the Irish ultimately scored a 28-20 win over the Cougars .
But now, at long last, Notre Dame is coming back to Provo.
The Irish own a 7-2 lifetime record against BYU, with the Cougars having won that aforementioned 2004 contest and LaVell Edwards defeating Lou Holtz in South Bend in 1994.
The date, kickoff time and broadcast information for next year's BYU-Notre Dame game have all yet to be announced.
Coaches LaVell Edwards, right, and Lou Holtz shake hands following BYU's win in 1994. | Mark Philbrick, MarkPhilbrick/BYU
