Well, they're thinking about it.
http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/notre-dame-considers-not-going-it-alone/?hpwOn what could be a slow basketball day at the Big East men’s basketball tournament, the biggest news on Tuesday may have come from Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick. With the Big Ten and the Pacific-10 considering expansion, he said, Notre Dame is being forced to consider giving up its football independence, among a range of options.
“I believe we’re at a point right now where the changes could be relatively small or they could be seismic,” he said. “The landscape could look completely different. What I have to do along with Father Jenkins is try and figure out where those pieces are falling and how the landscape is changing.”
The Rev. John I. Jenkins is Notre Dame’s president. Swarbrick added that Notre Dame still held its football independence dear, but that it is in the mix along with many alternatives.
Notre Dame is one of a few universities in major college football not affiliated with any conference. In other sports, like men’s and women’s basketball, Notre Dame is a member of the Big East. Notre Dame’s football program is also the only one to have its own television contract, with NBC.
“We start that process with a clear preference,” he said. “You each could invent a scenario that would force our hand. It’s not hard to do. We just have to pay attention and stay on top of the game and talk to people. That’s what I’m spending 50 percent of my time doing right now. I’m talking to people who you’re writing about and trying to make sure I understand what they’re thinking and what’s going on.”