To our readers, there was a long thread several days ago regarding 1986-89 Notre Dame outside linebacker/tight end Rod West, who played for Lou Holtz's 1988-89 teams that won a school record 23 straight games. He appeared after the loss to Stanford on the post-game Notre Dame Radio Show with Jack Nolan and former star running back Reggie Brooks. West has had a prominent professional career in his home state of Louisiana and is a member of Notre Dame's Board of Trustees.
There was some inference that Notre Dame has accepted that it can never be again what it once was in football and has accepted that 8-5 or 9-4 seasons are who it will be, with contention now and then. Mr. West took the time to write the following for our board. Here it is, in full:
To the Irish faithful on this thread, I was happy to be asked to join Jack Nolan and Reggie Brooks on the post game show after a really tough Stanford loss. I've read the thread above with considerable interest. You guys are very knowledgeable and, unlike so much of what I see in discussion threads, quite respectful.
I served on LSU's Board of trustees for 12 years (2000-2012) and have served on Notre Dame's BOT since 2009, with a prior stint on the board in the late 1990s when I was president of the ND Alumni Board. It was my prior experience at LSU and now with ND that was of interest of Jack on the show. Both he and Reggie thought my perspective would be of interest.
To be clear, as a proud Domer '90, former student/athlete, Notre Dame dad (she finishes in May), National champion '88, and university trustee, I make no apologies for Notre Dame's aspirations to do it all...maintain its unique identity as a top tier world class academic institution informed and guided by its Catholic character and mission while pursuing excellence in everything we do. That said I wanted to shed some light on the notion that things turned "dark" when I spoke about the competitive landscape (pun intended).
We expect to compete for national championships in football. Our facilities and support system for student-athletes are among the best in the land. The conversation I had with Jack and Reggie spoke to the differences I observed from Notre Dame....and other institutions who sit atop the college football world of late--it mirrored conversations many of you have had in past decades since we last won the championship (its sad for me personally to say decades). The cold hard truth is that the landscape is tilted against Notre Dame because she, like Stanford, Vanderbilt, Dukes, the Ivys, etc....have an expectation that the student-athlete be able to compete in the classroom BEFORE, and as a condition of, being able to compete on the field.
At Notre Dame, that's just tough when it comes to recruiting (and keeping) top athletic talent relative to our athletic competition. Why..its math..: because the number of students (much less student- athletes) who can get into and compete at Notre Dame is small. We compete against all the aforementioned schools for the top athletic talent in that pool.
How can i state this succinctly?.........Our national championship competition in football (fill in the blank your list of schools or conferences) has a bit more leeway in the range of academic backgrounds in football and basketball it can accommodate than Notre Dame. That's just a fact. It makes it tougher year over year to keep pace with programs who can cast a wider net and have a broader bandwidth academically within which to admit athletes. That's not an excuse or a lack of commitment...that's fact. But that's certainly no news flash right? I heard the same arguments (no less legitimate) when I was playing for coach Holtz in the 1980s.
So what do you do about it? It sounds easy doesn't it....just lower your academic standards and let presumptively more competitive athletes into the school---for what purpose? So that we can win more football games and watch as those students struggle and fail academically? That's not who we are...or who we aspire to be. The point I was making to Jack and Reggie (He and I were teammates my senior year) using the 2012 Alabama game purely as a reference--was that Notre Dame's aspirations are to win National Championships......in football.......on our terms.....that is playing student-athletes who can compete in the classroom and the field....But we have to accept that the pursuit of a national championship on our terms is NOT without consequence year over year. We accept that the hurdle is higher for us........
But......if the competitive landscape...as challenging as it is now changed.......to the point where it involved "hiring" and "compensating" players-as "employees"---that it would not be consistent with our values and mission as a university where athletics is an adjunct of our university mission and educational pursuits. that was the point. There are certainly opportunities around the margins (tweaks) where adjustments can be made to assist the football program (or basketball...or track for that matter) in our pursuit of excellence..
The point Father Jenkins was making (the Board of Trustees and administration live in the real world folks and is not at all detached from reality) is that we draw the line where our student-athletes are no longer students....but employees. That's not who we are....or who we aspire to be. Thanks for the opportunity to share....and Go Irish.
There was some inference that Notre Dame has accepted that it can never be again what it once was in football and has accepted that 8-5 or 9-4 seasons are who it will be, with contention now and then. Mr. West took the time to write the following for our board. Here it is, in full:
To the Irish faithful on this thread, I was happy to be asked to join Jack Nolan and Reggie Brooks on the post game show after a really tough Stanford loss. I've read the thread above with considerable interest. You guys are very knowledgeable and, unlike so much of what I see in discussion threads, quite respectful.
I served on LSU's Board of trustees for 12 years (2000-2012) and have served on Notre Dame's BOT since 2009, with a prior stint on the board in the late 1990s when I was president of the ND Alumni Board. It was my prior experience at LSU and now with ND that was of interest of Jack on the show. Both he and Reggie thought my perspective would be of interest.
To be clear, as a proud Domer '90, former student/athlete, Notre Dame dad (she finishes in May), National champion '88, and university trustee, I make no apologies for Notre Dame's aspirations to do it all...maintain its unique identity as a top tier world class academic institution informed and guided by its Catholic character and mission while pursuing excellence in everything we do. That said I wanted to shed some light on the notion that things turned "dark" when I spoke about the competitive landscape (pun intended).
We expect to compete for national championships in football. Our facilities and support system for student-athletes are among the best in the land. The conversation I had with Jack and Reggie spoke to the differences I observed from Notre Dame....and other institutions who sit atop the college football world of late--it mirrored conversations many of you have had in past decades since we last won the championship (its sad for me personally to say decades). The cold hard truth is that the landscape is tilted against Notre Dame because she, like Stanford, Vanderbilt, Dukes, the Ivys, etc....have an expectation that the student-athlete be able to compete in the classroom BEFORE, and as a condition of, being able to compete on the field.
At Notre Dame, that's just tough when it comes to recruiting (and keeping) top athletic talent relative to our athletic competition. Why..its math..: because the number of students (much less student- athletes) who can get into and compete at Notre Dame is small. We compete against all the aforementioned schools for the top athletic talent in that pool.
How can i state this succinctly?.........Our national championship competition in football (fill in the blank your list of schools or conferences) has a bit more leeway in the range of academic backgrounds in football and basketball it can accommodate than Notre Dame. That's just a fact. It makes it tougher year over year to keep pace with programs who can cast a wider net and have a broader bandwidth academically within which to admit athletes. That's not an excuse or a lack of commitment...that's fact. But that's certainly no news flash right? I heard the same arguments (no less legitimate) when I was playing for coach Holtz in the 1980s.
So what do you do about it? It sounds easy doesn't it....just lower your academic standards and let presumptively more competitive athletes into the school---for what purpose? So that we can win more football games and watch as those students struggle and fail academically? That's not who we are...or who we aspire to be. The point I was making to Jack and Reggie (He and I were teammates my senior year) using the 2012 Alabama game purely as a reference--was that Notre Dame's aspirations are to win National Championships......in football.......on our terms.....that is playing student-athletes who can compete in the classroom and the field....But we have to accept that the pursuit of a national championship on our terms is NOT without consequence year over year. We accept that the hurdle is higher for us........
But......if the competitive landscape...as challenging as it is now changed.......to the point where it involved "hiring" and "compensating" players-as "employees"---that it would not be consistent with our values and mission as a university where athletics is an adjunct of our university mission and educational pursuits. that was the point. There are certainly opportunities around the margins (tweaks) where adjustments can be made to assist the football program (or basketball...or track for that matter) in our pursuit of excellence..
The point Father Jenkins was making (the Board of Trustees and administration live in the real world folks and is not at all detached from reality) is that we draw the line where our student-athletes are no longer students....but employees. That's not who we are....or who we aspire to be. Thanks for the opportunity to share....and Go Irish.
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