Notre Dame Fighting Irish Should Not Join Any Conference

Over the past two weeks, there has been much discussion about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

It started when Gary Pinkel, head coach of the Missouri Tigers, said that Notre Dame should be given one year to join a conference. Following Pinkel’s lead, several other coaches have chimed in with similar suggestions for the Irish. But think about the issue from Notre Dame’s perspective. Why would the Irish join a conference?

At this point, they can schedule basically as they please (although there are some ACC opponents on the schedule each season), keeping some of their biggest rivalries in effect. Plus, Notre Dame reaps the benefits of having an exclusive television contract with NBC. The Irish get all of that money and don’t have to split the revenue with members of any conference.

Independents used to be major players in college football. For many years, Notre Dame and the Penn State Nittany Lions were college football’s major independent teams. No one demanded that these teams join a conference, although Penn State finally did join the Big Ten. And there’s no reason Notre Dame should be forced to join a conference now.

The comments by Pinkel and other coaches prove that, despite the lack of a national title in nearly 30 years, Notre Dame is still a major player on the college football scene. The Irish have a huge football tradition, from Touchdown Jesus to the golden helmets, and that should not be overshadowed by the Irish being in a particular conference.

Notre Dame should, and will, stand its ground and remain an independent, regardless of what opposing coaches have to say about the matter.

Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.