Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick sees a “breakup” of Division I college sports coming in the next decade or so. Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde shared Swarbrick’s comments in a new article that has the Irish AD’s take on a number of topics.

Swarbrick told Forde he sees a split between 2 kinds of athletic programs: those that operate under a traditional educational structure and those that are tied to the university in name only.

“There’s always been sort of a spectrum—and I want to stress that everything along the spectrum is valid; it’s not a criticism,” Swarbrick told SI. “On one end of the spectrum, you license the school name and run an independent business that’s engaged in sports. The other end of the spectrum, you’re integrated into the university in terms of decision making and requirements, and some follow that.

“I think both can produce great athletic competition. But it’s really hard to get there given the contractual obligations that already exist.”

He predicted a potential split could come by the mid-2030s.

“Absent a national standard, which I don’t see coming, I think it’s inevitable,” Swarbrick said of a split. “Mid-30s would be the logical time.”

Forde’s article points to the Big Ten and SEC as conferences that are leaving the others behind in terms of revenue generated by media rights deals.

Swarbrick told Forde that there are many schools trying to leave their current conference.

“We’re going to have these two conferences that have so distanced themselves from anyone else financially,” Swarbrick said. “That’s where I see it starting to break down. There are so many schools trying to get out of their current conference, and they can’t get there.”

Swarbrick declined to share which schools are looking to move.

More from Swarbrick on College Football Playoff expansion and other topics can be found in Forde’s article here.