If the first question about Notre Dame independence is how it survived, the second is simpler: why it continues to thrive
If the first question about Notre Dame independence is how it survived, the second is simpler: why it continues to thrive while the sport bends toward consolidation.
The answer is not nostalgia. It is alignment.
Notre Dame’s future does not depend on conference affiliation because the program’s core advantages—recruiting reach, national relevance, institutional autonomy, and cultural gravity—scale better than conference membership ever could.