For years I have happily led the clarion call to get Notre Dame football in a conference. But I wouldn’t be a good reporter if I didn’t re-examine the evidence. And even though I still believe Notre Dame’s best place in the long term is in a conference, I’ve come to the conclusion that Notre Dame can’t join a conference. Not without a lot of pain on their part.

We’ve all played the hypothetical game of “which conference should Notre Dame join?” My personal opinion is that either the Big Ten or the Big 12 are the best fits, the latter because they’ll be more willing to give the Irish the sweetheart deal it gave texas regarding the longhorn Network. And, maybe, one day the Irish will join a conference.

But it won’t happen this year. I’m not even sure it happens if the BCS chooses to allow only conference champions into its playoff format. You might think that it’s just as easy as joining a conference and having a ready-made schedule, or sharing revenue to protect your coffers.

But it’s trickier for Notre Dame. Here are four reasons why:

Money. These days, turning a profit in college athletics is next to impossible. Notre Dame is one of a handful of schools that does. According to the U.S. Department of Education Notre Dame’s football program was the eighth-most profitable NCAA sports program for the 2010-11 school year. The Irish football program took in $68 million and spent $25 million, for an approximate profit of $43 million. Now, the schools ahead of the Irish are all members of BCS conferences, so you could make a case that joining a BCS league might increase Notre Dame’s revenue, thereby increasing its profit. But if you can make $43 million per year without any help from anyone, why would you change the paradigm? It’s bad business. Ask NetFlix.

Scheduling. We’ve seen how easy it is for teams currently in conferences to move around. All they have to do is keep scheduling the same four non-conference games they always have. It’s not that way for Notre Dame. The Irish are practically scheduled out through 2016. That’s 12 games a year. Plus, they have games on the docket through 2030. Yes, that’s right. The YEAR 2030. By my count, that’s anywhere from 80 to 90 games under contract. Not even Irish athletic director Jack Swarbick is talented enough to extract himself from that many deals. Doing so would be cost prohibitive. Notre Dame may have all kinds of scratch (see my first point), but they’re not willing to reduce their profit margin.

The Notre Dame Network. Like texas, Notre Dame has enough of a following to have its own TV network. The Irish don’t have a network … yet. Swarbick announced last year that the Irish will have their own network, but it will roll out slowly. And, instead of cable, the Irish are focused on creating a digital network that can reach into homes across America via broadband connections. When you think about it, this is genius. While conferences are focused on creating netlets for cable and satellite in the Big Ten Network vein, the Irish will be busy creating a network that can reach any fan with a laptop or even a smartphone. Remember – the Irish are one of the few programs that have its own nationwide radio network for football. Their fans are everywhere. And they’ll buy in. And the Irish, like texas, won’t buy into sharing that in a conference format.

Freedom. Being independent buys a certain amount of leverage for the Irish. Their AD is part of the BCS committee and will make sure the Irish aren’t left out of the new playoff system. It allows the Irish to schedule whenever, wherever they want, including their game in Dublin this year against Navy. And it allows them to continue their relationship with NBC. Don’t count out more Irish programming on either Versus or the NBC College Sports network in the future. There’s already talk of two Irish football games moving to Versus as soon as this year. The Irish may not be as nationally relevant as they were a quarter-century ago under Lou Holtz, but they’re still one of college football’s standard bearers. Even though tradition is taking a back seat in the game, in South Bend that still means something. And when you can make that much money and still drive the bus, why choose to be a passenger?

It pains me to say it, but Notre Dame can’t join a conference.

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