Notre Dame are getting some huge upgrades ahead of the 2026 College Football (CFB) season. The Fighting Irish have enjoyed a very busy week. Notre Dame have signed the richest sponsorship deal in college athletics historyGettyNot only did they announce a jersey patch sponsorship with SoFi worth $20 million annually – the biggest deal in college football so far – but they also unveiled a new practice facility. Named the Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall, Notre Dame’s new home cost north of $100 million to complete. It is a statement facility which puts them up at the top with some of the very best football programs in the country, such as Michigan and LSU.The team unveiled their new look with a four minute-long video showing drone footage of all its key attributes, and is well worth a watch in its entirety.View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/GoIrish?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwIt was also a huge signal of intent to the rest of college football that in the modern age, needing to join a conference is overrated – at least in their own views. Two-years in the making, the new 150,000-square-foot facility boasts a plethora of state-of-the-art features, including “an advanced training room; a stand-alone sports medicine facility; an equipment facility with body scanning and fabrication technology.”It also includes “a new and expanded locker room; meeting rooms, including a two-level, all-team auditorium and an augmented reality walkthrough room; media innovation spaces, including recording studios and photo studios; academic support spaces; and a new player nutrition area.” It is estimated to be 50 percent bigger than the Guglielmino Athletics Complex – more commonly known as “The Gug”, which opened back in 2005. The Gug is expected to be renovated later down the line, serving as a performance center for student-athletes across Notre Dame’s 26 varsity sports, according to the university’s Athletic Director, Pete Bevacqua back in 2024. As for Notre Dame football, should they reach the National Championship game next season, they stand to make north $129 million. Shields Hall is 150,000sq feetInstagram / ndfootballThe project cost north of $100m to buildInstagram / ndfootballIt features a modern weight roomInstagram / ndfootballThe locker room is up there with some of the best in the NFLInstagram / ndfootballThis is made up of their $50 million TV rights deal with NBC, $10 million from their Under Armour apparel deal, $20 million from their jersey patch sponsorship, $17 million from their ACC scheduling agreement, and up to $20 million from the College Football Playoff.This sum doesn’t even include any additional revenue that they stand to make from ticket sales, other partnership deals, and merchandise sales. Notre Dame renew rivalry with USCNotre Dame vs USC is one of the greatest rivalries in all of college football, stemming back to 1946. Typically the two teams meet in October or November in what has been called