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Is it Time For Notre Dame football to Join a Conference?

By Daniel Morrison

SOUTH BEND, IN - AUGUST 30: The mural at the Hesburgh Library, commonly known as "Touchdown Jesus" is seen on the campus of Notre Dame University before a game between the Norte Dame Fighting Irish and the Rice Owls at Notre Dame Stadium on August 30, 2014 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - AUGUST 30: The mural at the Hesburgh Library, commonly known as "Touchdown Jesus" is seen on the campus of Notre Dame University before a game between the Norte Dame Fighting Irish and the Rice Owls at Notre Dame Stadium on August 30, 2014 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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SOUTH BEND, IN – CIRCA 1988: Head Coach Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish gives instructions to his players during a practice circa 1988 at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Holtz coached the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1986-1996. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN – CIRCA 1988: Head Coach Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish gives instructions to his players during a practice circa 1988 at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Holtz coached the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1986-1996. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Is it Time For Notre Dame football to Join a Conference?

The Argument For Independence

Notre Dame football is not and never should be a full-time conference member in football. This is the tradition that has helped to build Notre Dame into the program they are today, and they will lose what makes them unique among college football without it. Beyond that, it will kill the traditions at Notre Dame outside of this idea of Independence, as they will be too obligated to a conference.

This means not being able to play Navy, USC, Stanford, and other rivals on an annual basis.

Furthermore, Notre Dame needs to be a national program in recruiting. This means going to California to play games and recruit. It means playing the Shamrock Series throughout the country, or trips to Florida, the Carolinas, and Texas.

By joining a conference, Notre Dame would lose that flexibility and become a much more regional program. At a school like Notre Dame, with its unique challenges in recruiting, this will make it much harder to find the right recruits for Notre Dame.

Leaving Independence for a conference would also mean the death of the NBC deal, which is one of the most unique arrangements in all of the sports. Always being able to find the Irish on a national network makes it easier to grow the fanbase, even if it’s not the recruiting tool for players that it used to be.

It should also be noted that the appeal here isn’t NBC’s money. The approximate $15 million that Notre Dame makes from the deal isn’t worth much compared to the SEC’s mega-contracts with ESPN. Even with that being less than their peers make from a media deal, they’re making plenty of money to succeed as a program in the modern era.

The newly proposed 12-team College Football Playoff was in large part designed by Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick to make life as an Independent possible for Notre Dame. Under that format, there would be six at-large spots available. Notre Dame could make the field with a loss now, maybe even two losses, and not have to go play in a conference championship game like they would in the four-team format. In this format, they can even host a Playoff game in South Bend.

Add to all that the new NIL rules, which Notre Dame is better suited to take advantage of than any team in the country, as they have access to a nationwide fanbase, NBC, and want to recruit nationally, and Notre Dame is better suited as an Independent than to be just another team in the ACC.

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