A Jersey Guy: ND caught up in Independence Daze
They are--as they will tell you without hesitation--Notre Dame, the last truly competitive independent entry in the ever-changing world of college football.
They were that way when Rockne was coaching the Gipper.
They were that way under Leahy and Parseghian.
They were that way through some of the leaner times with coaches like Faust and Davie and Weiss, when there was some tarnish on the Golden Dome's legacy.
They remained that way when Brian Kelly brought them back near the top with four consecutive 10 win seasons, which were always one or two wins short of getting the job done.
And, for the time being at least, they will remain that way under new coach Marcus Freeman, whose rise to the top level of the CFB coaching tree has been as unexpected as it has been rapid.
But these are different times--money, more than it ever has, dictates the moves--with different people making the decisions, including in South Bend, where the loyal old guard Subway Alumni are starting to fade away with more bottom line supporters.
Most indications are that if Notre Dame made the request, it would be welcomed as the 15th member of the Big Ten in ALL sports, a move which could increase Notre Dame's athletic related earnings from $30 million per year to nearly $100 million per year.
That is not chump change, and even at a place such as Notre Dame, which has jokingly been compared to Saudi Arabia in its assets, such a deal would merit serious consideration.
There are a few caveats.
Notre Dame must ASK the Big Ten, not the other way around.
The Big Ten has flirted with the Irish before and been rejected.
For most of us, it seems pretty obvious.
Take the money and run.
But Notre Dame--as they will tell you without hesitation--is different.
But it's beyond money.
It's the life style that Notre Dame has always had in football. They have NEVER had a boss in football, or been asked to share or been involved in joint decisions, all part of conference life.
Notre Dame has NEVER done that and giving up THAT freedom may be the key to the issue here.
""No one has ever told them what to do in football,'' says former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, who dealt with the Irish as non football members for several years before the Irish joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in most of their non-football sports. "They do what is best for Notre Dame, which is fine, but they don't have to debate the matter with outside forces. I think it makes a difference.'
'Tranghese doesn't know what the Irish will do in football, but he is certain of one thing.
""There is no question in my mind that if Notre Dame joins the Big Ten in football, they will lose their identity.
But college football is a different world right now than it has ever been.
Do you think the Big Ten will allow USC to schedule Notre Dame (as an independent) the way it does now, with games in October and November?
They are going to have trouble finding dates for a lot of their games.''
I put the question of ND's independence as a twitter query last week and it drew an astonishing 187,000 views, with opinions both for and against.
Notre Dame has suggested it is in no hurry to make the next step--no matter what it is.
The Irish have their profitable contract with NBC for the next few years, they have a 5-game per season deal with the ACC. Their schedule is pretty packed for the next several years.
There are some head-scratcher opponents such as Marshall, Northern Ilinois and Tennessee State, but Notre Dame always goes its own way, not really having to justify what it does in football.
The stakes are different now, however, as college football attempts to put together its profile for the next 25 years.
Just where Notre Dame fits into that profile remains a pivotal question.