Amid considerable conference realignment, Notre Dame stayed independent.
The prestigious program wasn’t one of the Big Ten’s newest additions, and Notre Dame seemed to solidify its independent status when recently extending its media rights deal with NBC through 2029.
On Wednesday, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick spoke at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in Las Vegas. Per FOX Sports’ Bryan Fischer, he confirmed the school has no intention of joining a conference.
“We don’t do it because it’s financially advantageous or competitively advantageous,” Swarbrick said. “We do it because of the value to the university.”
Jack Sawrbrick on if Notre Dame will remain independent, he doesn’t hesitate and say yes.
“We don’t do it because it’s financially advantageous or competitively advantageous, we do it because of the value to the university.”
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 7, 2023
Reaping the benefits of a major TV deal could have been a main motivator to finally cave and join a Power Five conference such as the Big Ten. However, Notre Dame appears to have enough brand value to stand on its own.
Swarbrick called it “very flattering” to see Notre Dame’s market value during media rights negotiations. Although he has no plans to join the Big Ten, the conference partnering with NBC boosted his confidence to stay with the network.
“That was an important part of our decision, the fact that NBC acquired more college football rights,” he said. “We were on a bit of an island.”
He also revealed that the Fighting Irish will make “their own version of Hard Knocks” with a season-long documentary following the team. Peacock will feature a special section for the school on the streaming service.
Notre Dame remains the most prominent independent program, and that designation looks unlikely to change anytime soon.