Texas A&M is beefing up its non-conference schedule in a big way.
The school announced on Thursday that it had scheduled a home-and-home series with Notre Dame. The two teams will play in College Station on Aug. 31, 2024 and in South Bend on Sept. 27, 2025.
It's a long time to wait, but the payoff should be worth it for the two powerhouse programs.
"When you think of tradition-rich football programs, Texas A&M and Notre Dame are at the top of the list," Texas A&M athletics director Eric Hyman said, per a release announcing the series. "We are delighted to have them back on the schedule again for the first time since 2001."
The Aggies and Irish have met five times on the gridiron so far, including a home-and-home series in 2000 and 2001. The other three times came at the Cotton Bowl.
The addition of Texas A&M to the schedule continues Notre Dame's strong push into the Lone Star State in recent years. The school took on Arizona State at AT&T Stadium in Arlington last season and is slated to take on Army in San Antonio during the 2016 season. Notre Dame has also scheduled a game at Texas in Austin for '16.
As for Texas A&M, The Irish become the latest high-profile addition to the program's future schedules. After a lackluster non-conference slate this year, the Aggies will play a home-and-home series with UCLA, Oregon and Notre Dame in the next decade. They'll also take on Arizona State next year in Houston.
Perhaps the only negative about Thursday's announcement is that the games are so many years away. There's a possibility that the two programs will meet in a bowl game before the home-and-home is scheduled, but that will take just the right set of circumstances to come to fruition.
Who knows? By the time 2024 rolls around, current coaches Brian Kelly and Kevin Sumlin might have already played each other a few times ... in the NFL, that is.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
