Should Notre Dame be in a conference? WSOC TV [Video]

For decades — as the five- and six- and seven-win seasons became the norm — Notre Dame was told that it would never be a national contender again unless it joined a conference, preferably, it seemed, the Big Ten.

Critics claimed there wasn’t enough money as an independent — Big Ten teams get more guaranteed revenue even with the Irish having their own NBC deal. Likewise, there was not enough schedule stability or marketing power for recruits, who seemed to flock to league brands, especially the SEC.

Independence was tired thinking, a relic out of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, when Notre Dame still used to win. Until that changed, they never would return to glory, or so the theory went. The Irish could pretend they were special, but reality was in the record (just three 10-win seasons from 1994-2014).

Much of this was said by people who either didn’t …