Notre Dame is more than happy to keep being independent.
The school doesn’t belong to any conference in college football and athletic director Pete Bevacqua is happy about it.
“We are now in as good of a position as we’ve ever been in the modern era of college football to be independent,” Bevacqua said, via ESPN’s Heather Dinich. “You see all the conference realignment, you see everything that’s happened, I think our position as being independent in football quite frankly is certainly more unique than ever, but also more valuable than ever.”
Notre Dame doesn’t have to pay to play in a conference or pay to move conferences. The program can play teams from all sorts of conferences, including the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC.
Despite not playing in a conference, Notre Dame is still in a great position to make the College Football Playoff if it plays well. Per Dinich, Notre Dame is expected to get over $12 million in College Football Playoff distribution.
Notre Dame will have some tough games on its schedule for the 2024 season, including Louisville, Texas A&M, and USC.
The Fighting Irish finished the 2023 season with a 10-3 record.