Notre Dame Officially Declines Conference Membership

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There was never really A threat that FBS-independent Notre Dame might eventually become part of a football conference can now be laid to rest permanently.

On Thursday, the College Football Playoff gets underway. officially adopted a resolution to move to a straight-seeding model , granting first-round byes to the top four teams according to the committee’s ranking. In the former 12-team structure introduced last year, those same byes went to the four highest-seeded conference winners. Currently, earning a bye no longer requires winning a conference title.

This alteration will predominantly benefit institutions within the Big Ten or SEC. These premier conferences can now gain additional opportunities for securing multiple first-round exemptions instead of relinquishing two quarterfinal spots to entities like the ACC, Big 12, or Group of 5.

However, another consequence of this shift affects Notre Dame, a institution unblemished by conference ties.

In the previous seeding system, Notre Dame did not have any way of securing a first-round bye. This situation might have been cool for ESPN , which led to airing a Fighting Irish home game for the first time in many years thanks to their first-round seed last season; it wouldn’t have been ideal for Notre Dame fans if their team had ended up ranked within the top four.

One of the few realistic motivations behind Notre Dame potentially joining a conference in football was the conference championship stipulation. This is particularly relevant because they collaborate with NBC on a profitable broadcasting deal to televise their home matches.

As the College Football Playoff eyes inevitable expansion to 14 or 16 teams for 2026 and beyond, first-round byes will reportedly remain a feature in either format. With conference affiliation no longer a prerequisite for a bye, so long as NBC (or other media entities) continue to value the Notre Dame brand enough to strike standalone media rights deals with the school, you can kiss the possibility of the Domers joining a conference goodbye.

The post Officially confirmed: Notre Dame has decided against joining any conference. appeared first on Awful Announcing .