College football: Being an independent presents many challenges

PROVO — The three Division I football programs that remain independent have kept that status for one main reason — to appease a national and international fan base.

"We really have a national and international following, and don't have a fan base from one particular region that we have to satisfy," said John Heisler, senior associate athletic director at Notre Dame. "There has not been any interest from our fans or alumni in regionalizing or changing anything in what we're doing."

Notre Dame, Navy and Army are the only major college football programs not affiliated with a conference.

"Most of our alumni and fans cling to and cherish our independent position, and whenever we tell them that we have no interest in joining a conference in football the only response we get is applause," Heisler said.

Most of the 48 football programs that were once independent but eventually hooked up with a conference did so because they did not have a comparable national fan base from which to draw.

For those programs, joining a regional conference alleviated scheduling challenges, and created rivalries that increased fan interest, increased attendance, enhanced broadcasting revenue and provided stability to the non-revenue sports.

Miami, which won national football championships in 1983, 1987 and 1989, joined the Big East in 1990 because it still didn't feel secure as an independent. In fact, Miami board of trustees chairman Ray Goode said at the time that the school's dependence on football revenue "makes us extremely vulnerable in down years, and logic tells us our success can't continue forever."

Former Hurricanes athletic director Sam Jankovich echoed Goode's perspective for why Miami discarded its independent status.

"Our football has way too much financial pressure on it. We have been relying far too much on [revenues that come with] a January 1 bowl bid," he said when Miami accepted the Big East's invitation 20 years ago.

Penn State joined the Big 10 in 1993 for similar reasons. Nittany Lion athletic officials said non-revenue sports were struggling and weighing on the overall health of the athletic program. While football was paying the bills, the entire department was at risk if football revenue declined.

Then university president Bryce Jordan also felt it was important for Penn State to align itself with universities with comparable academic goals.

"It makes good sense to affiliate athletically as well as academically with institutions of similar academic mission and structure," Jordan said at the time.