Notre Dame independence preference still standing amid latest realignment madness, per reports
Six days into the even more inevitable march to super conferences, Notre Dame football seems to be sticking to the status quo. The expectation is it might do so for as long as it can.
That’s according to several reports in the last few days stating the Irish are looking to remain independent and not join a conference at the moment. Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde wrote Monday it remains their desired path forward. CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd echoed the sentiment Tuesday on CBS Sports HQ.
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“Notre Dame’s preference has always been to stay independent,” Dodd said. “The Big Ten is offering $80 to $100 million in riches in their media rights agreement. Right now, it looks like Notre Dame is going to stand pat. They’ve left money on the table before and have a deal that expires in 2025 that is significantly lower than that number.
“But Notre Dame values that independence to be able to schedule like they do. It’s one of a kind, 100 percent marketing power they own, and the academic piece of it where they see themselves above everyone else in that regard. It looks like right now Notre Dame is going to stay.
“If Notre Dame doesn’t do anything, I don’t know if the SEC or Big Ten expands any further right now.”
That all aligns with ESPN’s Pete Thamel reporting July 1 that Notre Dame would likely remain independent.
“It’s not expected that this move will prompt Notre Dame to react and attempt to join a league,” Thamel wrote.
The phrases “right now” and “expected” are the key. Let the last week serve as a hearty reminder nothing should be considered final or will likely last forever in this fast-changing landscape. USC and UCLA ditched the Pac-12 for the Big Ten on June 30 in a move that felt like it could set off a series of tremors.
Indeed, it appears there are aftershocks. Dodd also reported the Big 12 is “deep into negotiations” to poach Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado from the Pac-12 (though Utah has denied the report). The Big 12 adding Washington and Oregon or a “full-on merger between both conferences” remains on the table, Dodd said.
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Notre Dame, though, won’t be part of the Big Ten expansion’s ripple effects. At least not for now. And as long as independence is the preference, there’s no rush for the Irish to pounce on a conference opportunity until it becomes clear staying independent is no longer feasible. It remains tenable now. Notre Dame couldn’t have realistically concluded it wasn’t feasible in such little time.
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The Irish will continue to let dominos fall while staying the course. As one of the last realignment financial needle-movers left, they have the leverage to preserve their independence until it’s no longer viable. Any conference would likely take them at any time.
Even the Big Ten and its potential nine-figure payouts. Especially the ACC, which houses the Irish’s other sports and adopted them for one season in 2020. The last week, though, has made clear the ACC is not likely to be Notre Dame’s choice if it eventually signs up for conference membership.
“If Notre Dame was to join a league, it’s unlikely to be the ACC,” Thamel wrote. “That’s especially with the way things are trending financially. If the Irish are still in the ACC in all their other sports, as they are currently, they are required to join the ACC in football if they join a league.
“But the Big Ten wouldn’t take Notre Dame as a football-only member, so it would have to pull out of the ACC and pay any relative fees and deal with any grant-of-rights issues for the non-football sports.
“Notre Dame isn’t going to make a knee-jerk move, as it has thrived amid more than a century of independence.”
