ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith expressed his unhappiness about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish getting a guaranteed playoff berth if it finishes in the final CFP rankings inside the top 12. This is as per the MOU the school signed with CFP officials and the Power 4 conferences last spring.
The decision was made, given that the Fighting Irish, who are not part of any conference, don’t get the option of qualifying in the College Football Playoff by winning the conference championship. Meanwhile, the Power 4 programs, including teams from ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC and the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion, enjoy this benefit.
Smith is no fan of the special provision given to Notre Dame. He wants the program to enter a conference and compete like everyone else.
“This separate category where Notre Dame is definitely going to be in if they finish in the top 12, bump Notre Dame,” Smith said. “Get your a** in a conference and compete like everybody else. You sit up there, the SEC’s got a contract, the ACC’s got a contract, the Big Ten’s got a contract as a conference. Notre Dame’s got a contract with NBC all by its damn self, and then expects the privileges. This is not right.”
In his rant, Smith acknowledged that he loves the program, loves their head coach, Marcus Freeman, and also feels for the program upon not making the playoffs in 2025, even though they deserved it. However, Smith is not a fan of Notre Dame getting special privileges just because it is not part of any conference.
Why Notre Dame is Not Part Of Any Conference?
Notre Dame has remained an independent program for more than a century. Their independent status is also because they managed to individually strike a deal with NBC to broadcast home games in the early 1990s. Notre Dame’s NBC deal gives it nationwide visibility and significant financial benefit without needing a conference network.
Notre Dame’s independent status allows the program to control its schedule every year as they play a wide range of opponents across different conferences. The school also has a scheduling agreement with the ACC, playing several ACC teams each season.
Their TV deal is one of the bigger reasons why they don’t need to join a conference and accept a piece of a TV deal when they get that all on their own.
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