Notre Dame does not appear close to joining an athletic conference, but the College Football Playoff (CFP) committee will not hold that against them.
According to ESPN, CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock stated Notre Dame, BYU, and Army will be eligible for the Playoff despite not belonging to a conference. Several coaches from Power 5 schools indicated they would like to see the Irish join a conference, but the committee has chosen not to act.
Sometimes seen as a pseudo-ACC team, Notre Dame's schedule includes one Big 12 and Big Ten opponent each, two from the Pac-12, and six from the ACC.
"The three independents are perfectly happy being independent," Hancock told ESPN. "They have the ability to craft their schedules to fit their needs. If their need and goal is to be in the playoff, then they're in the same boat as everybody else. You better play a good schedule if you want to be in the playoff."
While not every college football coach has an opinion on Notre Dame, many do believe the Playoff-era should usher in uniform rules for all 5 Power Conferences. One of the most authoritative voices of that opinion has been Alabama head football coach Nick Saban.
"If we're going to compete for the championship, and everybody's going to play in the playoff system and everybody's going to compete for that, then we need to get our rules in alignment so we're all on a level playing field," he said at the SEC Spring Meetings two months ago, according to ESPN.
But Hancock stated flat out that things are "not going to change."
"Frankly, in the committee room, it wasn't a factor," he told ESPN. "The committee has the luxury of looking at the full body of work from an entire season - 12 or 13 games - for each team, irrespective of what conference they're in. Having been in the committee room, I can tell you, it's just not a factor."
