Tag: Independence

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips talks Notre Dame independence

No need to be concerned for now, independence fans.Bra

With ACC Media Days underway, this also is the time for the man at the head of the conference to speak out. Commissioner Jim Phillips took the podium in Charlotte and faced his annual round of questioning from assembled media.

At some point during the day, Phillips was asked about Notre Dame’s independence. He is on record as saying he wants the Irish to join the conference for football, and he had this response according to Brandon Marcello of 247Sports:

With the SEC and Big Ten on the verge of becoming super conferences, the question of whether the Irish will stay independent becomes more relevant than before. It will be interesting to see how long the program can keep this going before the deck becomes stacked against it enough that joining a conference is the only option.

While many Irish fans don’t want to think about being in a conference, nothing is off the table anymore. Money talks, and the Irish might eventually have to bite the bullet to stay relevant in college football.

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Big Ten opponents Notre Dame should play annually if it ever joins

Just picture at least some of these games happening annually.

The Big Ten has unveiled its “Flex Protect Plus” scheduling model, which will take effect when USC and UCLA join the conference in 2024. Eleven particular matchups will be protected and thus played every year, and every school will play every school at least twice over a four-year period. There will be both annual and rotating matchups over each team’s nine-game league schedule.

Which brings us to Notre Dame. We all know about the Irish being denied entry into the Big Ten in the 20th century’s early years, but times areMidw changing. With college football’s landscape radically changing soon, questions about the feasibility of the Irish’s longtime independence are being raised. Plus, with their next athletic director currently heading NBC Sports Group and the Big Ten about to start a long-term TV deal with NBC, the Irish almost seem destined for full-time Big Ten membership.

Now, before you Irish traditionalists hang me from the top of the Golden Dome, really think about this. Many of the Irish’s most frequent opponents in their history are based in the Midwest. This would revive annual or semi-annual rivalries that largely have been discarded to fulfill obligations to the East Coast-centeric ACC. Nothing against that conference, but Wake Forest, North Carolina and Georgia Tech just seem to be awkwardly forced upon the fan base by the arrangement and don’t exactly rile anyone up.

In the event of a Big Ten membership, certain parameters will have to be set for the Irish. They definitely would need to keep Navy as one of its nonconference opponents because any season not completely compromised by COVID that doesn’t have the Midshipmen just seems wrong. Other than that, there are some opponents that need to be scheduled every year or at least merit consideration for that. Here are the ones most worth considering:

Phil Steele preview cover causes confusion by including Notre Dame

Can we get some consistency here?

With the calendar having flipped to June, annual college football previews are starting to make their way to shelves. Among those are the Phil Steele College Football Preview. As is the case with many such magazines, regional covers are sent out to be displayed in certain areas around the country. That’s where this gets confusing.

When you go to Steele’s website, you’ll see Notre Dame, specifically [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag], included among players from Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska. You’ll notice that the website explicitly says this cover is for distribution in the Midwest. But if you go to Steele’s Twitter account, you’ll notice quite a different label:

Huh? There’s no question that this cover is Big Ten-heavy, but did Steele conveniently forget about the Irish’s independence? Anyone familiar with the program’s history knows it was denied entry into the Big Ten numerous times in the early part of the 20th century, paving the way for the independence that has remained almost completely uninterrupted since.

Me thinks Steele needs someone to edit his tweets before he sends them out.

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Is it finally time for Notre Dame football to join a conference?

Is it finally time for Notre Dame to bite the bullet?

I figured with it being the new year and all that it was as good as time as any to as the question.  Notre Dame is fresh off a victory over an SEC foe in the Gator Bowl and who knows what next season is going to bring.  With all of that in mind, let’s ask the question everyone seems to remain curious about around college football.

Is it finally time for Notre Dame to join a conference in football?

No.

It wasn’t before the expanded playoffs and although I hate the idea of more teams having a shot at the title in the postseason (start of the season is a different story), I do like that it should help keep Notre Dame independent.

Can’t wait to read the first in-depth thought piece on this though from some college sports writer this year.

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Brian Kelly shares thoughts about Notre Dame conference argument

The answer was about as good as you could have hoped for.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] got a chance to speak on a variety of topics during SEC Media Days. It was inevitable that the LSU coach’s former employer, Notre Dame, would come up and whether it would join a conference. As it turns out, the Irish haven’t been on his mind much (big shock). However, he did offer these words about the program’s future:

This answer appears to be half-canned, half-improvised. Most canned responses wouldn’t or at least shouldn’t be talking about one’s golf game. Then again, wouldn’t you hit the course if you knew you only had a short time before all of your time and energy was focused on coaching? We’ve all been there.

At least Kelly is giving the impression that he thinks the Irish will be all right. It certainly wouldn’t have been a good look if he talked badly about them and thus incur the wrath of the entire fan base. Props to him for choosing his words wisely.

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Notre Dame atop 247Sports’ 2023 recruiting class rankings

What do you make of this?

With the verbal commitment from four-star receiver recruit [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag], Notre Dame strengthened its 2023 class further. In fact, 247Sports thinks very highly of what the Irish have done as far as talent coming in after this coming season. The site’s latest 2023 recruit rankings place Notre Dame at the very top. Its 17 four-star recruits are more than any other program, and five-star quarterback [autotag]CJ Carr[/autotag] makes this group even stronger.

It’s very interesting to see this happen when the Irish’s independence could be on borrowed time thanks to the potential mega-conferences coming to college football. If this group is able to put it all together to give the still-independent program its first national title since 1988, that changes the conversation drastically. From there, the Irish would be able to recruit even more big-name talent and remain relevant for years. Boy, wouldn’t this be the perfect way to silence some of these critics once and for all?

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Greg McElroy: ‘What if Notre Dame joined the SEC?’

Would you like this?

The pending major realignment of college football has everyone talking about Notre Dame’s future. Will the program stay independent, or will it join the Big Ten? However, Greg McElroy has decided to throw another wrench into the conversation. Chances are you won’t like what he’s proposing, but here it is anyway:

I guess the possibility of playing Alabama and/or Georgia every year would force the Irish to up their game as far as recruiting top talent. Besides that, there is nothing to suggest their culture would fit with the rest of the SEC’s. Sure, the fans have just as much of a superiority complex and desire to win as the other top dogs in that conference, but do you really want to see Tide fans at Notre Dame Stadium regularly? On top of everything else, the recruiting processes and standards don’t mesh well, so why make yourself an outlier?

McElroy’s pipe dream is just that, so he should put this possibility to rest.

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Pete Sampson: Big Ten news, expenses threaten Notre Dame independence

Where do you see Notre Dame in the distant future?

Seemingly everyone has a take on what the Big Ten welcoming USC and UCLA means for college football in general. One pressing issue is the long-term future of Notre Dame’s coveted independence. With the Big Ten and SEC on their way to becoming the sport’s two super-conferences, now might be the time for the Irish to consider how they will be able to stay competitive both on and off the field in the distant future. At least that’s what Pete Sampson, the Irish’s beat writer for The Athletic, says.

In a piece available only to subscribers, Sampson mentions Notre Dame’s effort to keep expenses from piling up and how it hasn’t been so easy in recent years. It appears the best path forward is the Irish finally joining the Big Ten, the conference that famously snubbed it multiple times when many of today’s great-grandparents were being born. With the ACC being left behind the changing landscape of college football, it makes less sense for the Irish to have a long-term relationship there.

Sampson concludes his piece with the following:

“For everything that changed Thursday, the reasons for Notre Dame to join a conference really have not. The school needs access to the national championship. It needs a home for its Olympic sports. It needs a broadcast partner. USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten doesn’t change all of those realities today. But it might threaten all three a year from now if big-time college football gets its own version of the AFC (Big Ten) and NFC (SEC), leaving the rest of the sport in an awkward in-between.

The question for (Jack) Swarbrick now is how far he can see ahead in the fog of realignment war. Because as much as Notre Dame values its independence, the cost-benefit analysis of that expense may be changing.

No, Notre Dame doesn’t need to run from the ACC today. But it needs to start plotting its next course, whether it takes it or not.”

Sometimes, traditions must go by the wayside to keep up with the times, even if it’s Notre Dame’s independence.

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BYU AD: ‘Good discussions’ with Notre Dame about resuming series

Will these two independents get to play again soon?

In 2010, Notre Dame and BYU agreed to a six-game series that would run through 2020. Since then, the schools only have met in 2012 and 2013, both Irish victories. The series had to be de-emphasized after the Irish became tied to five ACC opponents a year, a deal which currently runs through 2037. Considering how long it’s been since these two independents have met, many have wondered if the deal still was in place.

However, Cougars athletic director Tom Holmoe recently addressed the situation, saying there have been “good discussions: for a game ‘that would benefit both of our schools.”

In early 2020, there was speculation that the programs eventually could play at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. When COVID-19 put the 2020 season in flux, some thought it finally would be the year the series could resume. In the end, USF was the only program outside the ACC the Irish played during the regular season.

Both programs have 11 opponents scheduled for 2022. The Irish have at least 10 through 2026. Perhaps we’ll finally see this rivalry return sooner rather than later. Eventually, the agreed-to series will continue, but we don’t know how long it will take.

Roy Philpott: Notre Dame’s goal ‘is to not be an ACC football member’

Another media figure believes Notre Dame’s independence is safe.

The more time passes, the less likely it appears the proposed College Football Playoff revamp will push Notre Dame toward a conference. After initial speculation that ACC membership was coming, more recent talk indicates that the Irish will keep their independence. Among the latest to join that chorus is Roy Philpott of ESPN. Appearing on the podcast “Gramlich and Mac Lain”, Philpott expressed confidence that the Irish do not wish to join the ACC for football:

At first glance, it’s still crazy to think the Irish willingly would give up the opportunity to ever have a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. However, further study of the situation shows that they might not have been so tone-deaf in their approach to this after all. It’s become more obvious that 2020 was an anomaly and not a precursor. Normalcy is making its way back, and that includes an independent Notre Dame.