Category: NCAA

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish athletic director, [autotag]Pete Bevacqua[/autotag], said that the school would prefer to remain independent in football, even if that means no byes in the College Football Playoff.

There may be changes and tweaks to the format as the years roll on, but as it currently stands, independent teams are ineligible for a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Right now, the four highest-ranked conference champions get a bye. Bevacqua did stipulate that the Irish are fine giving up the bye assuming that there are no changes to what happens with the conference championship games.

“We’re comfortable that if conference championship games continue as they’re currently configured, part of the deal we made is that we wouldn’t get a bye, and that’s understandable,” Bevacqua said Saturday. “And quite frankly, I wouldn’t trade that [first-round] Indiana game at Notre Dame Stadium for anything in the world, but you also have to be smart and strategic, and your odds of making a national championship game are increased if you get to play one less game.”

He continued: “So I think a lot is going to depend on the fate of the conference championship games. Should they go away? And that’s obviously not my decision. Should they be altered in some sort of material way where it’s not the top two teams playing for a championship, but something else? Then I think we absolutely have to re-look at Notre Dame’s ability to get a bye if we end up being one of the top four teams.”

Bevacqua and the FBS commissioners will soon meet to review the newly expanded playoff format and make possible changes for next season. Any changes require unanimity.

One possible change that could benefit the Irish is if the top four seeds go to the top four ranked teams. In that case, Notre Dame could earn a bye while remaining independent. The Irish would merely need to be one of the top four ranked teams at the end of the regular season.

“I think everybody wants what’s best for the overall system,” Bevacqua said. “It was interesting, when you think about those four teams that got a bye, they didn’t advance. Now I don’t think that has anything to do with the fact that they got a bye, I think that was mostly competition and happenstance. But I think there’ll be a good, honest conversation that will start tomorrow. Are there any changes that we ought to make from this year to next year and make something that’s worked really well work even better? Will there be changes? I’m just one person. I’m not sure.”

Changes for 2026 — which is when a new six-year contract with ESPN begins — and subsequent years will need to be made by the end of this calendar year. Given the lead time needed for certain changes, it’s likely that no major changes, such as the size of the bracket, will be made for next season. Those major changes are more likely to happen in 2026 or after.

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