Notre Dame-Navy rivalry on hold

Notre Dame will open its season as an Atlantic Coast Conference football member against visiting Duke on Sept. 12 and won’t face Navy for the first time in more than nine decades as part of the ACC’s reconfigured schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, the conference released the schedule featuring the Fighting Irish, who are giving up their coveted football independence and competing for the ACC title this season. The ACC had announced plans last week for a 10-game league slate with one nonconference game and its championship game played either Dec. 12 or 19.

Those nonconference games are required to be played in the member school’s home state, while opponents must meet ACC medical protocol requirements that include regular testing for athletes, coaches and staff to try to control the potential spread of coronavirus.

That report from ACC’s medical advisory group also recommends schools evaluate travel policies for games, including modes of travel such as buses or flights, lodging accommodations and the size of the travel party. That comes as the 15 teams travel within an ACC footprint spanning nearly the entire Atlantic Seaboard from Massachusetts to Florida, and moving west into Kentucky and Indiana.

Games within 250 miles of the school are considered reasonable for bus travel while schools typically take charter flights when needed, according to information the league provided by email to The Associated Press.

The Fighting Irish and Midshipmen were originally scheduled to play for the 94th consecutive season in Dublin, Ireland.

Now Notre Dame’s lone nonconference game will be a previously scheduled visit from Western Michigan on Sept. 19. Navy announced Thursday it would replace Notre Dame with BYU this season.