diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 8459966bf0965ff354def05579b48e1ea9455c29..3e477f95a24380f3ae2552163e8dff0b3986fe96 100755
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 project(libdap-stream C)
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.0)
 
-if(NOT (${SUBMODULES_NO_BUILD} MATCHES ON))
-    set(SUBMODULES_NO_BUILD ON)
+if(NOT SUBMODULES_NO_BUILD)
     if ( NOT ( TARGET dap_core ) )
 	add_subdirectory(libdap)
     endif()