The question of Notre Dame’s independence — meaning the Fighting Irish aren’t attached to a conference — was brought into the foreground ahead of the Orange Bowl and College Football Playoff semifinal matchup between Marcus Freeman’s team and James Franklin’s Penn State Nittany Lions.
In a joint news conference ahead of the game, Franklin was clear that he believes Notre Dame should join a conference.
“This is no knock on Coach or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference,” Franklin said, according to ASAP Sports. “I think everybody should play a conference championship game or no one should play a conference championship game. I think everybody should play the same number of conference games.”
While that’s an opinion likely shared by many — especially the greedy executives of the Big Ten or SEC, who would salivate at the chance to bring Notre Dame into the fray — the Irish’s independence is something Freeman sees as a selling point.
“We view it, I view it as a pro,” Freeman said. “We’ll continue to look at it that way until and unless something changes. We get to play coast to coast. You play multiple different times from multiple different conferences. You started off the season in College Station, you ended the season in LA, and we’re in New York twice.”
“We get to really view our program as a global in terms of a national program, in terms of how we play, and the audience we play in front of.”
The independence certainly makes Notre Dame unique. In fact, in 2025, Notre Dame will be one of only two independent schools, with the other being UConn.
Freeman is right that it doesn’t lock the Irish into specific matchups or games and it allows them to keep their brand expanded. That may be why other coaches don’t like the idea of it all, but unless something changes, Freeman was clear that it’s an advantage he’s going to continue trying to sell.
“We view being independent as a positive thing, and we sell it to our recruits and our players as a positive thing,” Freeman explained.
