ATLANTA — Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said the Independent Irish are willing to continue giving up the opportunity for a College Football Playoff first-round bye — an opportunity currently available to only the four highest-ranked conference champions — as long as the conference The fate of the championship remains unchanged.

"We feel comfortable that if the conference championship game continues as it is currently configured, part of the agreement we have is we're not going to have a bye, which is understandable," Bevacqua told a small group of reporters Saturday in the Georgia World Conference. During media coverage of the national championship game at the center. “Quite frankly, I wouldn’t trade Indiana’s first-round game at Notre Dame Stadium for anything in the world, but you also have to be smart and strategic if you can play one less game.

"So I think a lot depends on the fate of the conference championship game," he said. "Should they leave? That's obviously not my decision. Should they change in some substantial way and no longer be the top two teams competing for the title but other teams? Then I think we absolutely have to reconsider If we end up being one of the top four teams, Notre Dame can afford a bye."

Bevacqua's comments come as he and the FBS commissioner prepare to meet Sunday to begin reviewing the inaugural 12-team roster, with the winner of Monday's Ohio State-Notre Dame game slated to determine the national champion.

Bevacqua is a member of the CFP Governing Council, which also consists of the 10 FBS commissioners, and is responsible for determining the format and rules of the postseason and ultimately submitting them to the CFP Board of Directors' 11 presidents and chancellor for approval. The commissioners and Bevacqua will hold a 90-minute business meeting to begin discussing possible changes to the 2025 season, which will require unanimous consent, leaving many CFP sources skeptical that things will be much different next season.

Bevacqua said he thought it was "possible" for the group to agree on a change in seeding order, but one option floated by sources with knowledge of the discussions was to have the committee's top four teams get the top four seeds -- which would It will be an open game. Notre Dame is on the doorstep of earning a first-round bye without having to play in the conference championship game.

"I think everyone wants what's best for the system as a whole," he said. "What's interesting is when you think about those four teams that had a bye, they didn't advance. Now I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that they had a bye, I think it's mostly competition, but I think tomorrow will start a good run ”

CFP Executive Director Rich Clark, who also spoke to a small group of reporters at the media day event, said some of the changes in 2025 will take "longer than a few months to implement," so there won't be anything like the magnitude of major structural changes. It is expected to be completed in 2025.

Clark said commissioners will discuss aspects from "cradle to grave," including the possibility of seeding and reseeding.

Clark said whatever changes come in 2026 and beyond - a new six-year contract with ESPN - would need to be finalized by the end of the calendar year. This could include increasing the size of the field, possibly to 14 or 16 teams.

"We're working hard to beat that timeline," Clark said. "We obviously don't want to wait until it reaches its limit. So we want to act wisely on these things, but we also don't want to make the wrong decision."