Notre Dame prefers to stay an independent

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Notre Dame wants to remain independent in football, but that might not matter if the Big Ten and Pac-10 decide to expand and create sweeping changes to major college sports.

“Our preference is clear,” Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Tuesday. “I believe we’re at a point right now where changes could be relatively small or they could be seismic.”

Swarbrick said it will be up to him and university president Rev. John Jenkins to “evaluate the landscape” if realignment happens.

“You can each come up with a scenario that would force our hand,” he told a small group of reporters at a Manhattan restaurant.

The Big Ten announced in December it will explore options for expansion in the next 12 to 18 months. Last month, the Pac-10 also made it known that it would be considering adding schools.

Notre Dame has had a non-football Big East membership since 1995.

The Irish rejected an offer to become the Big Ten’s 12th member in 1999 and since then Notre Dame has gone about reaffirming and re-embracing it independent status in football.

Swarbrick has picked up where predecessor Kevin White left off, scheduling offsite and neutral site games around the country, a move that harkens back to Notre Dame’s barnstorming golden age.

Last season, the Irish played Washington State in San Antonio. Next season, they’ll play Army at Yankee Stadium and on Monday it was announced they would play Maryland at FedEx Field, the home of the Redskins, in 2011.

Of the 120 major college football teams, only Notre Dame, Army and Navy are not in a one of 11 conferences.

The Big Ten has given no hints about what schools it might want to add or how many, but speculation has been rampant. Texas and Missouri from the Big 12 and Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Syracuse from the Big East are names that have been thrown around by media and fans.

But if Notre Dame ever had a change of heart, the Big Ten would no doubt welcome the Irish.

Since the Pac-10 announced it was interested in expanding — most likely adding two teams to reach the minimum 12 needed to hold a football championship game — the speculation ramped up again. Colorado from the Big 12 and Utah, BYU and San Diego State from the Mountain West are some of the teams that have been mentioned as possible Pac-10 targets.

“I’ve been around this business for 29 years,” Swarbrick said, “and this is as unstable as I’ve ever seen it.”