Notre Dame enjoys being independent in football.
College football looks fairly different from a conference perspective than it did a few years ago. That's especially true if you look back 25 years or so, before the Big East got into the football business or the Big 8 merged with the Southwest Conference to create the Big 12.
Among the constants, though, is Notre Dame's independence.
Though the other Fighting Irish athletics programs have had multiple conference affiliations, the football team remains on an island.
That rubs the wrong way some non-Notre Dame fans, but ND director of athletics Jack Swarbrick indicated he and his constituents are quite happy the way things are.