From The Bleachers: The Irish Declaration Of Independence

A discussion of why Notre Dame is - and should always be - independent.

Americans love Independence. 

That has been ingrained into our collective soul since a bunch of rowdy Bostoners threw teabags into the harbor and thumbed their rebellious noses at an empire. 

Freedom and self-determination and a zealous pursuit of happiness are the ideals every American holds dear. At least until they apply to someone else. The most famous athlete in America will quote MLK and say “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” before adding the under his breath, “unless it affects sales of #23 Laker jerseys in China.” 

Similarly, fans of conference teams seem extremely upset that Notre Dame wants – gasp – to remain independent.

If you have heard of the interweb thingy, you have heard the arguments, the most prominent of which is “Notre Dame should not be eligible for the playoffs without a conference championship.” Right now, somewhere in the upper peninsula of Michigan, a man is waiting for his dial-up modem to connect … buffering … buffering … connecting … so he can rant (again) about the fact that Notre Dame made the playoffs last year without winning a championship. He also plans to argue that the Wolverines were better than ND last year despite the loss, and that the Irish are ending the series because they are afraid of what will happen when Khaki man really gets things rolling. Let’s table those last two points for a few days until it is officially Michigan Hate Week. 

Where was I? Oh yeah, something, something, playoff without winning a conference title. What Carl in the U.P. is forgetting is that the only team he hates more than Notre Dame happened to be a playoff participant in 2016 without actually winning the Big 10 title. The following season, Alabama also got into the playoff without the benefit of a conference title. I was about to explain this to Carl when he lost his connection due to heavy winds.

Some true believers will ignore those two instances because, well it’s Bama and The Ohio State University. Those powerhouses have apparently stored up plenty of capital and goodwill so the normal rules do not apply. Besides, they say, those are extremely rare occurrences, like sighting a snow leopard or finding an honest politician, or hearing an insightful comment from Paul Finebaum. 

These folks will move the goalposts and say Notre Dame at least needs to schedule a 13th game to level the playing field. The SEC knows just how to do this. They play only eight conference games, which leaves them four games to dedicate to the unwashed masses outside their hallowed stadiums. This season, the SEC maintains this level playing field by having every conference team play an FCS opponent, except Florida. “Good on you, Gators” you say. But then I point out that Florida is playing two FCS teams, and you sulk. 

Perhaps more importantly, I also point out that no one says “good on you” anymore, if they ever did. If you are playing FCS Bingo and have Notre Dame on your card, you either need a new card or to accept that you are not going to win the Bear Bryant signed plaid sportscoat in the coverall round, because the Irish have not played an FCS school since … ever. They are one of only three schools who never have – along with UCLA and the hated Trojans of Southern Cal.

Every now and again a very caring and nurturing non-ND fan – or Tim Brando – will express the concern that Notre Dame is leaving serious conference television money on the table by insisting on maintaining the NBC deal. Even the odd Irish booster will lament the declining financial benefit of that deal, which runs through the 2025 season. 

Though the terms of the extension were not disclosed, it’s a good bet it is somewhere slightly north of the previous figure of $15 million per season. For comparison sake, a full-fledged member of the ACC receives just under $30 million per year. Since Notre Dame is a member in every sport except football and hockey, they receive an additional $7-8 million share from the conference. That combined total of a low to mid $20 million payout puts Notre Dame well below the $50 million each Big 10 school earned last year, as well as the $43.7 million each SEC institution earned. 

Yet I have done the math and Independence is still a winning proposition for Notre Dame financially. Before you blurt out “heh, common core” let me assure you that I am on top of this. If you take the value of a true national schedule, multiply it by a culture of invested alumni, add in an administration with a severe developmental bent, carry the one, you get: a University endowment that exceeds $13 billion (That’s illion with a “b." The extraordinarily generous alumni base is dispersed throughout the country and expects the team to maintain the same national presence hatched all those years ago when Rockne’s boys were blackballed by many of the midwestern institutions that now complain so loudly that they have not joined the conference that rejected them.

The program’s independence and strong national presence are not just about the dollars though; they create a strategic advantage for the football program as well. When you refuse to compromise your demanding academic standards, hold students to a parietal code only slightly less restrictive than the Monastery of the Poor Clares, and have an intimate little campus in Northern Indiana where players from other climes are horrified to discover that “lake effect” is not in any way similar to “beach life” or “vitamin sea,” you have to identify and exploit the advantages you do have. 

For Notre Dame that means the flexibility to play teams from coast to coast and from north to south. It means scheduling the best of the PAC 12 in USC and Stanford, traditional Big 10 contenders like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Michigan State, SEC powers such as Georgia and Alabama, the high-flying offenses and occasional defenses of the Big 12 in Texas and Oklahoma, and traditional matchups with Navy (annually) and Army and Air Force (occasionally). 

Underlying that national footprint is five games each year versus ACC foes including Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Miami. And for all the handwringing about whether or not Notre Dame could make more money if they gave up their exclusive television deal, the key part of that phrase is “exclusive.” Every Saturday that Notre Dame has a home game, NBC broadcasts one game: theirs. Fans can grumble or blow it off, but the message still resonates with the young men who come from all over the country – and beyond our borders (welcome Mr. Ehrensberger!) to play for the Irish.

Lastly, there is the petty grudge factor. While I am more Polish and Scottish than anything, I hold certain types of grudges like a native of Belfast. I am also a Catholic, and I am well aware that Notre Dame did not set out to be independent. They sought out a conference home, but Michigan's Fielding Yost and his lot of Big 10 sycophants rejected Notre Dame out of pure anti-Catholic bigotry. Instead of dying, Notre Dame endured and then thrived, and the quality that allowed for that was independence.