Notre Dame Fighting Irish AD happier with independence than when he took the job

It sure doesn’t seem like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are ever going to be all that excited about joining a conference. That’s despite the fact that there are plenty of conferences that would love to see them join.

The desire from conferences all over the country to have Notre Dame join them as a full fledged member is one of the reasons that new AD Ken Bevaqua wasnt’ always so all in on stay independent. But since he’s been in his job for a little while now, he’s changed his mind a bit.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish AD is higher on independence than he used to be

Bevacqua sat and talked to a Notre Dame Fighting Irish produced podcast where he talked about how his thinking has changed of late.

“I feel better about our independence sitting here right now than I felt even when I first came into the role,” said Bevacqua, who spent eight months shadowing Jack Swarbrick before the official handoff. “Independence is part of the DNA of Notre Dame football. I believe that vehemently.”

He also claimed that the expanded College Football Playoff is helping Notre Dame despite some claims to the contrary. At the very least, the Golden Domers don’t need to find a way to become a member of a conference to get an easier shot at the field.

In fact, the way things are set up now, it might be better to not be tied to a conference. The schedule can be easy enough that it all but guarantees they get in most years. 

Bevacqua has deep ties to television networks. It’s possible he’s taken look at the deal the school has with CBS and also realized not having to split the pie with other schools can be more lucrative.

At the very least, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish AD being on board with not being inside a conference bodes well for the continued indepedence of the school.