Notre Dame has no plans to permanently join a conference for football.
During the 2020 season, the Fighting Irish will play in the ACC because the coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of conferences to cancel non-conference games. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
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In case you thought this would drive Notre Dame to permanently join the ACC, it’s not going to happen.
Fighting Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick told Paul Finebaum, “I don’t think it will alter our perspective, but one wonders as conferences move to conference-only scheduling what their futures will be like.”
Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick on how joining the ACC this year may impact his school’s football future: “I don’t think it will alter our perspective, but one wonders as conferences move to conference-only scheduling what their futures will be like.”
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) August 6, 2020
Notre Dame will stay an independent team for as long as they possibly can. That’s just the reality of the situation.
Being an independent program is a large part of Notre Dame’s DNA. It’s what really sets them apart from everyone else.
They’re a national power, and they refuse to join a conference. In a way, their resistance is pretty badass.
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However, I’ve argued and I think a lot of people agree, once we go to 10 game conference schedules, fans won’t want to ever go back.
That could become a problem for Notre Dame, which Swarbrick seems very aware of. However, you can bet Notre Dame will still try to remain independent even in that situation.
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Until the very last moment, I don’t see Notre Dame joining a conference. They simply don’t have any incentive to do it.