Notre Dame AD says Irish prefer to be independent in new CFP - ESPN

ATLANTA — Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said the independent Irish are comfortable continuing to give up access to a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff — something currently granted to only the four highest-ranked conference champions — as long as the fate of conference championship games remains the same.

«We're comfortable that if conference championship games continue as they're currently configured, part of the deal we made is that we wouldn't get a bye, and that's understandable,» Bevacqua said Saturday, speaking to a small group of reporters at the national championship game media availability at the Georgia World Congress Center. «And quite frankly, I wouldn't trade that [first-round] Indiana game at Notre Dame Stadium for anything in the world, but you also have to be smart and strategic, and your odds of making a national championship game are increased if you get to play one less game.

»So I think a lot is going to depend on the fate of the conference championship games," he said. «Should they go away? And that's obviously not my decision. Should they be altered in some sort of material way where it's not the top two teams playing for a championship, but something else? Then I think we absolutely have to re-look at Notre Dame's ability to get a bye if we end up being one of the top four teams.»

Bevacqua's comments come as he and the FBS commissioners prepare to meet Sunday to begin their review of the inaugural 12-team field, which will produce a national champion on Monday with the winner of Ohio State vs. Notre Dame.

Bevacqua is part of the CFP's management committee, which is also comprised of the 10 FBS commissioners tasked with determining the format and rules of the playoff to