ND is serious about football independence. That is where the juice is and the money to stay independent. ND basketball was independent for 100 years, until the damn conferences made that impossible, mores the pity. (ND really only cares about football; the other sports can be dumped into a conference) IF ND basketball could be independent, it would be. That is the preferred status for all sports, but only football has the revenues and structure to stay independent. It is the football program that needs to be protected by independence and kept free from the clutches and control of a collective. That the Big Ten tried to boycott and smother the ND football program is hardwired into every ND fan's DNA. ND administrators/alumni/fans/donors simply do not trust any conference to protect ND's best interests. ND people believe that conferences only want ND football so they can siphon off its excess value and will then try to smother it again. Conferences are the root of all evil in college sports, especially the bloated, made-for-tv collectives of today. ** Edited by TerryD at 1/11/2026, 2:14:47 PM