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Getting a new coach hardly seems to be Notre Dame's biggest football problem. IMHO, its independent status in today's world of college football is. Being an independent in a today's world dominated by conference membership gives Notre Dame a strong dose of irrelevancy. The Irish by keeping their independent status are trying to remake the 20th century in the 21st. It won't work.
The Irish season is worth viewing in failure not only on the field, but off. I'm thinking scheduling here. ND opened up against Nevada. Nevada should never have been the opponent during the first two or three games of the season.
Why? Because those start of the season games are the only real opportunities that the Irish have to schedule top notch competition, those schools in the BCS. For after that early season stretch, those best match-ups are pretty much unavailable to the Irish.
On the whole, I would say very few Big Ten, Big XII, Pac Ten, SEC, or ACC schools would schedule the Irish in the biggest chunk of games, the time period where they play conference opponents. Indeed of that group of schools, only the B10 has and number of teams, even allowing for the odd man out to schedule ND on a given week. And, in fact, not even the B10 schedules that way despite the odd number, with U-M, MSU, and Purdue all playing the Irish before conf play begins.
The only exception to the rule I can think of is USC which is rooted in tradition with the ND series and will play in mid-season in South Bend (but at season's end in LA in alternating years).
Forget the nature of Notre Dame's program and just look at indepedent status itself: I don't see how ND can remain relevant and independent in college football today.
At some point, fans will tire of the unattractive matchups of the majority of the season. The BCS is not likely to keep its current structure. A play-off of some sort will evolve. And with only one independent inn the mix of over sixty schools, I doubt that ND will get any type of edge and will probably suffer in any formula worked out.
ND, IMHO, was so shortsighted in not deciding to join the Big Ten and the opportunity will not be there forever. The Irish were not thinking towards the future in rejecting the Big Ten. And even when it comes to t.v., the revenue from the Big Ten network, from what I have read, is basically paying out to each of the 11 schools the same dividends that the Irish get alone with NBC. The day of the NBC edge is gone and how much longer will the Irish be attractive to the network anyway...there's a whole generation growing up who know nothing about the glory of Notre Dame because they would see it as ancient history.
ND needs to think more about the whole independent/conference scenario than it does offer who will be the next coach to run a failing program.
I'd be more than happy if they made like their baseball and basketball teams and joined the Big East. That way RU can embarass them every year without being bullied into playing at a neutral site
I'd be more than happy if they made like their baseball and basketball teams and joined the Big East. That way RU can embarass them every year without being bullied into playing at a neutral site
twista, i don't see full big membership in the big east as you suggest here as a bad thing. and that issue of fairness makes sense; ND shouldn't get any edge among Big East institutions.
That said, it would hard to find a fit as good for Notre Dame as the Big Ten. Geographically it is a no brainer, smack in the heart of B10 country. Rivalry wise it is also a no brainer. No conference comes close to the Big Ten in rivalries with ND. U-M, MSU, and Purdue are always on the schedule. Both Northwestern and Ohio State have played the Irish many times. IU is a natural being in-state. ND-Illini would be a huge game for Chicagoland. And schools like Iowa, PSU, and Wis also have played the Irish a number of times.
Besides, the history of the B10 and ND have been intertwined for ages.
Big Ten membership would stoke ND fandom where it is most prevalent, in the areas around it. Chicago is huge for Notre Dame and I suspect that in the upcoming years Northwestern under Pat Fitzgerald will be a force in the conference and the region and that ND hurts itself by not being in the same conference as the Wildcats in regard to the Chicago market. In fact, being grouped with NU and U of I would be nothing but a plus for ND in Chicagoland.
But it's more important to join a confernce than which one. I just don't see indep status working out for ND (or anyone) in this era. We're not in the 1900's anymore.
As long as NBC is at their door, they have zero incentive to join one.
i agree. but how many more seasons of irrelevancy is NBC going to put up with. it's also save to say the ND fan base, the true believers, is older and that ND is hardly generating younger fans that could justify a contract like NBC.
there is a great deal of delusion among ND fans that the program still carries the cache it once did. Chicago is, of course, the most hot bed of all cities when it comes to Notre Dame support due to location and one of the sports writers in the Tribune had column about which coaches (such as Ferrent at Iowa or Harbaugh at Stanford) that the Irish should get as the new head coach. That's such backwards thinking: who says that coaches from either program would look at a move to ND as a step up (unlike in years past when it was).
I can't help but think that ND is living on borrowed time with its independent status. And one more thing on NBC: as I said above, I believe that current football contracts for conference schools have pay-offs to individual schools similiar to what ND gets from NBC. The Big Ten network broadcasts a number of B10 games every Saturday and the schools split the revenue. What I'm suggesting is that the big payoff that made ND appear in such good shape when the NBC contract was first written isn't so lucratie today.
They payout for NBC must be good, cause honestly their ratings stink. ABC and CBS trump em easily, I don't see the big deal.
Notre Dame screws up Big East bowl qualification. They are easily best in the Big 10, I agree.
What I do know is that I doubt anyone in the south really cares let alone fears ND any more.
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