On the cusp of playing for a national championship, it appears Notre Dame is more than happy to remain an independent in football and not join a conference going forward.

Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua reaffirmed the school’s commitment to not join a conference and the additional financial incentives it provides the football program.

“No secret, the expansion of the CFP from four to 12 teams has helped enormously, because as an independent, as with other schools, we get better opportunities, better percentages of getting in the playoff, and the more you knock on that national championship door, the better,” he told ESPN.

“And we like the freedom, quite frankly, it gives us,” he added.

In addition to the economic advantage of making the College Football Playoff as an independent, Bevacqua also noted how Notre Dame enjoys a more national footprint than other schools.

“The fact we were able to play Navy at MetLife and had the Shamrock Series against Army at Yankee Stadium, that we can continue that great rivalry with USC, we really get to move around the map and keep that very national presence,” he said.

Notre Dame advanced to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game after defeating Penn State in the Orange Bowl semifinal round game.

And in the process, it will cash a huge check, one that it won’t have to share with any other schools, another advantage of that independence.

By advancing to the national title game, Notre Dame will earn $20 million, every cent of which the school gets to keep all for itself.

Schools that are in a conference, which is to say all the others, have to share their playoff take with other members of their league.

College football’s commentators can talk all they want about how the school “has to” join a conference to “keep up” with the times, but Notre Dame believes there are about 20 million arguments to the contrary.

That’s in addition to the projected $12 million that Notre Dame should get from future College Football Playoff distributions, an amount equal to Big 12 members and only about $1 million less than ACC schools will get.

Those pro-conference arguments stem from what seemed like a logistical problem that stood between Notre Dame and the national championship in the 12-team playoff era.

By staying independent, the Irish by rule cannot earn a first-round bye, which is awarded to conference champions, so they would have to win four postseason games every year in order to win the national title.

But after watching Notre Dame bully its way through Indiana in the first round, SEC champion Georgia in the quarterfinal, and Big Ten runner-up Penn State in the semis, it appears the football program is on solid footing to make such a run.

More … Notre Dame vs. Ohio State national title game odds