Notre Dame AD defends Irish as independent after missing College Football Playoff

Being Independent has long since been a key piece of the identity of the Notre Dame program. That’s something that nobody in South Bend wants to see change, even if there is pressure coming from the outside.

In the past, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has defended being Independent. However, he did note in the past that, the goal is to win national championships there, and if that became impossible, then they’d look at making changes. So, naturally, there had been some thought that being snubbed by the College Football Playoff could be a push in that direction for the Irish.

For now, that still doesn’t seem to be the case. Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua was emphatic on Sunday that the College Football Playoff snub didn’t change anything. Notre Dame is still fiercely Independent.

“We love being independent in football. It’s part of our DNA,” Bevacqua told Yahoo Sports. “We have zero intention of changing that. It’s part of who Notre Dame is. Quite frankly, this further cements our independence. We are out there fighting for ourselves. That’s something we accept.”

Notably, Notre Dame had plenty of influence on the current structure of the Playoff. Former AD Jack Swarbrick was an architect of the 12-team Playoff format, which gives seven at-large bids. The Irish couldn’t land one this season, though.

For now, Notre Dame isn’t thinking about being Independent or changing the way the Playoff is structured. The team feels like an opportunity was stolen. So, they’re trying to comfort the players around that locker room.

“They are young kids. They devote so much time and effort to this,” Bevacqua said. “In a moment, it’s all taken away from them. We’ll process this and move forward.”

Notre Dame AD calls College Football Playoff rankings an ‘absolute joke’ after Irish CFP snub

Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua would also call out the rankings following Notre Dame’s snub. That included sharing that he feels they’re an “absolute joke,” while speaking in the immediate aftermath.

“My feelings and the feelings here are just shock and, really, an absolute sense of sadness for our student-athletes. Overwhelming shock and sadness. Like a collective feeling that we were all just punched in the stomach,” Bevacqua said.

“There is no explanation that could possibly be given to explain the outcome,” Bevacqua said. “As I said to Marcus [Freeman], one thing is for sure: Any rankings or show prior to this last one is an absolute joke and a waste of time. Why put these young student-athletes through these false emotions just to pull the rug out from underneath them having not played a game in two weeks and then a group of people in a room shatter their dreams without explanation? We feel like the Playoff was stolen from our student-athletes.”