ACC commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t closing the door on having Notre Dame join the league permanently.

Phillips spoke Wednesday about the Irish, per Brandon Marcello of 247Sports, and said he liked the relationship with the Fighting Irish, whose football program competed with the rest of the ACC for the 2020 season, but seems to be leaving the ball in Notre Dame’s court with regards to permanent membership going forward.

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“Notre Dame got a chance to see what the ACC was all about last year,” Phillips said. “I’ll leave it at that. I think it was a mutually beneficial relationship.”

The Fighting Irish were part of the ACC for the 2020 season due to COVID-19 and went 10-0 overall before playing the Clemson Tigers in the ACC Championship Game.

Notre Dame lost, 34-10 before losing in one of the CFP semifinals to Alabama, 31-14.

ND has always been an independent for football, which means the school doesn’t belong to a conference. That said, the school does play five ACC teams each year, as part of an agreement.