Regarding Notre Dame and Big Ten expansion

[SteveCraig]

CaarHawk: How many conference games do you see the Big Ten playing? Most agree that the maximum number would be 9. Do you really believe that all three other games will be cupcakes? What about years when you play 5 conference road games? Fan bases will demand more from the home schedule than four conference home games and then nothing but chumps.

If you don't believe me, how do you account for the Pac 10? They play 9 conference games already, and last year alone Southern Cal, Washington, Washington State, and Stanford all played Notre Dame out of conference.

No one suggests that Notre Dame does not want to continue playing Big Ten teams, or that ND does not benefit from these games. But this idea of "blackballing" ND is ill-conceived, and the idea that ND will shrivel up and die without the Big Ten is ridiculous.

 

[CAARHawk]

Not any more ridiculous than the idea that the Big Ten teams will have a harder time replacing ND than ND will have replacing them. That is all I am saying. I made no claims about ND shrivelling up and dying.

 

[SteveCraig]

Fair enough. I was responding to someone else who used the phrase, and I recognize you did not claim ND would shrivel up and die.

The last line was not the point of the post. Rather, it was to point out that there is a precedent for leagues with 9 conference games, and it has not affected that league's desire to schedule Notre Dame in the out-of-conference.

 

[CAARHawk]

Fair enough. I will go on record and say if the Big Ten does go to 16 teams and ND is not one, I don't see any reason to not schedule them.

 

[nationalchamps]

ND has done nothing but hurt the Big10 schools strength of schedule the past 20 years.

 

[rocky3rza]

Finally somebody who gets it!

To the OP if you think not playing big10 teams isn't going to hurt nd then you have another thing coming. Personally I think the big10 should give nd the cold shoulder and just let them shrivel and die.

Good Luck with that.

Michigan has no plans to stop playing ND - Big Ten Blog - ESPN

 

[NewMexHawk]

On this one I agree with Tigger for a change. The presidents just are not going to consider ND because of NDs academics and lack of research.

In football, I also wish the Big 10 would quit playing ND. I think it would hurt ND more than the Big 10 schools because it would hurt their presence in the midwest. Even though they could play A&M, Oregon, Texas and whoever else, they would NOT be playing the midwest schools who are their bread and butter (other than USC). The Big 10 schools are closely associated with ND whether they want to admit it or not. Not playing the Big 10 schools would leave a huge hole in their schedule, one that would not be easily filled...those are traditions that they play.

 

[tiggerhawk]

It won't be the Alumni that decide. It will be Father Jenkins that makes the call. The Alumni can threaten to withhold gifts, but ND is still ahead money by joining. The cons for not joining are more than outweighed by the reasons to join. Notre Dame tradition wouldn't be what it is without the benefit of the Big Ten.

No, Jenkins will not decide. Obviously his voice is very important. So is that of Father Hesburgh, maybe more so than that of Jenkins. So is the impact of Malloy, after he has stepped down. But t=ND does not have the typical pyramid organizational structure typical of American business or most universities. It is a much, much more collegial decision-making format, and one that greatly enhances the voice of the faculty over that of typical college & university managements.

Secondly, of much more direct, practical impact. ND is NOT a major research university. Even if the unlikely decision was made to transform the primary mission of ND from a teaching institution to a research university, it would be an extremely arduous uphill struggle for ND to acquire the funding for facilities, vastly expanded staff, programs and facilities to attract the several thousand grad students and research assistants required. To match the research capabilities of Pitt or Rutgers, for example, would require ND as a private university to raise additional billions of dollars, more than double or triple its present endowment--and do so in time to shape a Big Ten decision on expansion that is scheduled for consideration in the brief window of the next two years.

Third, this presumes that the BT, a consortium of ten state public major research universities & two private ones, is or could be disposed to favor private university ND as a future member of the consortium over public universities like Pitt and Rutgers, with access to appropriations by legislatures in large, affluent, populated states (and key powerful senators and congressmen to influence the direction, scope, magnitude of federa; funding). Anyone familiar with the internal politics of the BT understands that the tilt toward public institutions has been and continues to be a significant fact of life in the BT).