Conference
Independent
No conference, no league title, and a schedule built from scratch every year.
Members
Independent programs
Independent
Why independence still works
Notre Dame is the last major program for which football independence remains viable. A national television arrangement that has put its home games on network television since 1991, and a following that is not regional, make it possible where it would not be for anyone else.
The trade-off is that there is no conference championship to win and no league standing to fall back on. An independent is judged almost entirely on who it chose to play and what it did against them.
Independent
Building a schedule alone
Games are arranged individually with schools across the country, often years ahead, which produces a genuinely national slate — and a season that can look very different from one year to the next depending on which contracts come due.
FAQ
Independent questions
Which teams are independent in college football?
Notre Dame is the independent program covered on this site. A small number of others compete without conference affiliation.
Why is Notre Dame independent?
It has never joined a football conference. A long-standing national television arrangement and a nationwide following make independence viable in a way it is not for other programs.
Can an independent reach the College Football Playoff?
Yes. Independents are eligible for at-large selection, though without a conference title to point to they are judged more heavily on schedule strength and results.
How does an independent build a schedule?
By arranging games individually with schools across the country, usually years in advance, which produces a national slate that varies more from season to season than a conference schedule.