NBC Sports will have exclusive rights to broadcast Notre Dame home football games through 2010 under a five-year contract extension. The extension continues a relationship begun in 1991 and is expected to quiet speculation that Notre Dame football would end its independence and join a conference.
Financial terms of the deals have never been disclosed, but the University acknowledges that most of the proceeds are funneled into student financial aid. A press release said 111 undergraduates at the University this year are receiving need-based scholarships averaging $17,600 from an endowment funded by revenue from the contract. Since the inception of that fund, 1,263 undergraduates have received more than $12.6 million.