Independence priority for Irish

Big East Commissioner John Marinatto said in a statement that an unknown number of schools will be invited to join the conference, including football-only and all-sports members.Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick is the point man when it comes to these types of big-picture decisions, although Bian Kelly made it clear what he prefers.“I have an opinion,” Kelly said when asked if he would like to be included in conversations about Notre Dame’s football future. “Jack has always been great in communicating with me about what my thoughts are. We look at everything. We look at recruiting. Your offense. Is it unique within that particular conference? Your defense. All of those things go into the conversation. “But I think it’s been stated several times: We’re going to do everything we can to be independent. We believe that that’s our future. We just have to see what the future of college football looks like. I think that’s probably the bigger question.”