Marcus Freeman on Notre Dame remaining independent: 'As long as we can, we will'

Throughout all of the changes in college football over recent seasons, one thing has stood strong. Notre Dame has remained Independent. That’s something that Irish head coach Marcus Freeman intends on holding onto.

Freeman explained his and Notre Dame’s position on The Joel Klatt Show. It’s the basis of the program and vital to the team’s history. So, for as long as possible, they’ll look to retain independence.

“It’s what this football program was built from,” Marcus Freeman said. “As long as we can, we will [retain independence]. I have a lot of confidence in our administration and Pete Bevacqua, or AD, that he’ll always keep us in a position to be successful. So, as long as we can keep that Independence, we will.”

Notre Dame has never been in a conference, outside of spending the 2020 season in the ACC. Much of their program’s success was built on being an Independent and being forced to play a national schedule, developing rivalries around the country, recruiting around the country, and playing for fans before TV around the country. That history is something the program, clearly, doesn’t want to give up on.

Notably, Freeman didn’t say there would be no way Notre Dame would ever join a conference. However, as long as changes don’t put the Irish at a distinct disadvantage, there is also no reason for the Irish to give up their independence, as things currently stand.

“But, if there ever comes a time that we are at a disadvantage because we aren’t in a conference, I’m sure he’ll make the decision,” Freeman said. “Along with our president, to say, ‘Alright, we’re gonna join one of these conferences, and position ourselves to not be negatively impacted by being Independent.'”

While Notre Dame hasn’t won a national championship since Lou Holtz roamed the sidelines, it’s still the goal in South Bend. To do that, they need to make it to the College Football Playoff. If the game were to shift in some way that might prevent the Irish from getting there, that’s when Freeman believes the school would look into giving up its independence.

“I think if you talk about being at a disadvantage to make the postseason. Because you’re not in the Playoff. Or, if there comes a time when teams won’t schedule you because the Big Ten or the SEC are saying we’re gonna play nine games and we’ll play a crossover game and who cares about Notre Dame? Well, then I think there’s going to be a point where we’re forced to join a conference,” Freeman said. “But until that point happens, which it doesn’t look likely, we’re going to stay Independent as long as we can.”

Today, there are only two FBS programs out of 136 total teams. Along with Notre Dame, UConn made the decision to go Independent, though, in their case it was to focus on basketball being in the Big East, taking all sports out of the AAC. At one point, being Independent was much more common, though as the sport changes, it’s easy for Marcus Freeman to expect more change to come.

“I can see it trending that way. I don’t know when that time will come. When you start adding in TV money, you start adding in scheduling, there’s a lot of money involved with college football. There might come a time where there might be an outside entity that takes college football away from the NCAA. I don’t know, right? The future is uncertain,” Freeman said. “But I could see a college football system where everybody’s Independent and somebody else is — very similar to the NFL — somebody else is scheduling the games, when you play each other. Then, all of a sudden, it’s not based off TV deals with your conference anymore. It’ll be based off regional location and things like that.”

The future is unclear for all of college athletics. Notre Dame and its independence are included in that. For now, though, Marcus Freeman has made himself clear, the Irish want to hold onto that piece of their culture and history as long as possible.