An Honest Look at ND football

[richard k.]

Rick Reilly has posted what seems to be a really honest evaluation of the current status of Notre Dame football. They won't join the BEast, where they have all the rest of their sports, and desire to remain an independent - so Reilly asks what gives them the right to sit at the table when the big decisions about college football are made. I'd post the link - but I don't know how to do that - however the article is easy enough to find at Reilly's ESPN location.

We've spent some time on the Forum discussing whether ND should be in or out - here's a different perspective.

[98bearcat]

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/8...insignificance

[RedRocker]

I've always questioned what they brought to the table. They are living off of very old accomplishments. They have been irrelevant for 20 + years now.

They should not be accomodated at the BCS/big boy table as an independent.

Edit: Just read the article. That's describes my house and youth also although I didn't really love ND football rather I liked O$U at the time along with the Bearcats who were never on TV. I agree with everything he says and proposes.

[cpawstoney]

Originally Posted by richard k.

Reilly asks what gives them the right to sit at the table when the big decisions about college football are made.

Money

Them that's got the money makes the rules.

[Binturong05]

Originally Posted by cpawstoney

Money

Them that's got the money makes the rules.

You're exactly right. Notre Dame is consistently in the top three revenue earning athletic departments year in and year out. They are right up there with Texas and whoever is dominating the SEC at the given time. For a team that frankly hasn't been anywhere nearly as dominant as the other teams in the top tier of revenue production that is quite a statement. NBC and the NCAA are just waiting for the day the Irish are competing for a BCS Championship because the floodgates of cash will open up and the cup will runneth over (not saying it will happen, just that this is what they're waiting for and why ND is put on a pedastool).

Riley makes some good points but in my humble opinion he ought to shut his mouth and let the free market operate or he ought to be championing tearing down the entire BCS and superconference monopoly as a whole. I don't see how he can point blame at Notre Dame and in good faith ignore the injustices done to teams in the WAC or the Mountain West by BCS conference teams. College football as a whole has been perverted and until that fundamental nature of the game is returned to some semblence of fairness I'd prefer Riley keep his thoughts on Notre Dame to himself.

[jkwuc89]

If Brian Kelly has another average season this year, there will be a LOT of calls to fire him and hire someone else. This is quickly becoming a case of "the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence". I said this when he left UC to many fellow fans and it's still true. Win 9 or more games every year at UC and go to occasional BCS bowls and they'll erect a statue of you outside Nippert. Do that at ND without winning a national title and you'll be fired within 5 years.

[blackattack]

Originally Posted by cpawstoney

Money

Them that's got the money makes the rules.

Yep, spot on. Notre Dame is a coaching graveyard. Always will be now that the balance of power has shifted to the sunshine states. I guess the thing that has surprised me the most though is that BK doesn't seem to "fit in" very well there. I knew he would struggle winning enough games, but I didn't anticipate him having trouble fitting in. He's rubbed alot of people the wrong way, and his at-times wacky play calling has left the old timers disgruntled.
Btw...another high potential kid just quit the ND team, offensive tackle Jordan Prestwood. Seems like another kid quits the team up there every week.

[JDBEARCAT]

Wow! What a great article & someone has the b-lls to say ND is 2nd tier.
Put them in the FCS status. That's where they belong.

[London 'Cat]

Most elite programs are largely limited by geographical ties. For example, Alabama enjoys a robust following within its borders, Florida within its, tO$U here in Ohio, etc. ND is unique in that it really has no geographical limits on its fan base. Its fans reside coast-to-coast and are deeply loyal and committed to its football program. ND's media market is, essentially, the entire United States, not just one State or one region of it. That is why NBC keeps funding the football program. I suspect that is why it has a seat at the table in major college football discussions as well. I agree with many comments herein that its relevance and appeal may be dwindling, but it is still reasonably high.

[Major ----de Coverley]

I also think, as a national brand, Notre Dame not only has a huge fan base but a mirror huge base of people like me who tune in to their games to root against them. Nothing
better than a Saturday afternoon Notre Dame loss.

[Brooklyn Bearcat]

I have banged the drum continuously in this forum about ND and my dislike for that program. I'm glad to see that Reilly concurs with my opinion. I feel like the era of being elite has passed Notre Dame by. Fact is, the University cannot rest on its laurels anymore. Not to offend anyone who goes with God, but a religious, rigorous institution in cold, rural Indiana is just not a destination for top athletes anymore. I'd take the sun and the bikinis in Gainesville over whatever South Bend has to offer any day.
There is a lot to respect about Notre Dame University. It's values, ethics, and academic rigor are to be admired. But, that does not necessarily make it a great football school anymore. I liken Notre Dame to the USMA up at West Point. There is a very deep and impassioned football tradition at West Point as well. That said, it's days of being a great football program are over. There just are not that many elite athletes who want to be soldiers and who can maintain the academic requirements. It's the same up at Notre Dame. You need to have the religious devotion to agree with the school's ideology and be an exceptional student. A majority of the best physical athletes would neither be a good fit for ND, nor be attracted to it.
By the same token, Notre Dame does get by on reputation, which has been instrumental in both its status as an independent and its lucrative TV deal with NBC. However, IF the Big East does manage to strike a television deal with NBC/Comcast, then perhaps Notre Dame will see more value in joining the conference as a football member as well. I am sure that there will have to be provisions that ND can maintain the structure of its current contract. But, at least the school will not have to abandon the network.
No doubt Notre Dame is a big drawing card for a conference and it would be a boon for the Big East to have it join across the board. But, the football program is not elite anymore. That's the simple fact. So, to think that you'd be getting a top program is no more true than it would be in reference to having Houston join. Notre Dame would be wise to join a conference because its days of surviving on reputation will soon come to an end. For a lot of reasons, in particular a pending BE deal with NBC and the fact that ND already competes in the BE in other sports, is reason why the BE would be a good fit.
But, if the new BE commissioner is really going to be a "fighter" as he's been called, then he would give ND the ultimatum that it must join in full, or leave the conference altogether.

[ucfan34]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bearcat

You need to have the religious devotion to agree with the school's ideology and be an exceptional student.

The part I quoted above is actually not true. I specifically remember a segment on College Gameday that focused on a player on the ND team that was of another religion. (If I recall correctly he was muslim).

Originally Posted by Major ----de Coverley

I also think, as a national brand, Notre Dame not only has a huge fan base but a mirror huge base of people like me who tune in to their games to root against them. Nothing better than a Saturday afternoon Notre Dame loss.

I'll admit I am one of those people.

[CaptainProbasco]

If Notre Dame goes 7-5, they'll still draw as many eyes to the tube as any game except the national championship game, regardless of the opponent. As long as that continues to be true, Notre Dame will have a seat at the table.

Ask yourself this: who is more likely to sell out a game vs UC at PBS: Notre Dame or Oklahoma? Notre Dame or Penn State? Notre Dame or USC? You know as well as I do that the only team that would come close to ND is OSU. Again, as long as this continues to be the case, Notre Dame will have a seat at the table, because everyone outside the South would kill to play them.

And besides, it's not like they've been totally irrelevant lately. They've earned two BCS bowls in the last seven years, for crying out loud (and yes, they did deserve both of them).

Texas A&M was able to turn the whole sport upside down because they decided they wanted to be in the SEC, and they've accomplished far less in the last 20 years than ND.

[cpawstoney]

College football fans either love the Fighting Irish or hate them, as there's very little middle ground when it comes to Notre Dame football.

When a 6-6 Notre Dame team defeated a 7-6 Hawaii squad in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl, which ended the Fighting Irish's NCAA-record, nine-game losing streak in bowl games, nearly three million U.S. households watched the game on Christmas Eve. When the Irish lost to Florida State 18-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl last season, TV ratings for that postseason game jumped 64 percent from the year before.

And Notre Dame is still an attractive ticket from coast to coast -- and even internationally. More than 70,000 fans watched the Irish defeat Maryland 45-21 at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., last season -- and most of them weren't there to watch the woebegone Terrapins. In 2010, more than 54,000 fans saw the Irish beat Army 27-3 in the first college football game played at new Yankee Stadium in New York.

When Notre Dame opens the season against Navy in Dublin, Ireland, it's expected to be the biggest single-day sporting event in that country's history. More than 35,000 tickets have been sold for the game in the U.S., and Sept. 1 is expected to be the busiest day in the history of Dublin's airport. ESPN will broadcast the game to more than 20 million households in Europe alone.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...resonate-world

[bearcatd]

I too loved them when I was a kid. Then I grew up and realized they weren't that special (other than the treatment they got). Any yes, this was way prior to BK leaving for there. It's a very good school but Stanford has been better than them the last 5 years, it it was probably a wash prior to that. Looks like Baylor may be the best green and gold football team with good academics out there now.