Notre Dames Ultimate Goal?

[KJ23]

In Business you set short term and long terms goals. What is Notre Dames ultimate goal? Is it to win a National Title? Is it to be competitive? Is it Academic? Is winning a NC even realistic at ND with other goals they have in place? ND has the SUPER brand. However, the football product does not match the brand. If ND is truthful with themselves during the goal process, the Ultimate goal should be the following:

*Elite Academics
*Competitive Football (8-10 wins)
*Marketing to keep the Brand Alive
*National Title hopes should be pegged down a level from a fans perspective.

I think above is the ultimate goal. However, over time does that keep the stadium full?

thoughts?

 

[Java65]

I don't think it will keep the stadium full. My son is a perfect example. He was/is a big ND fan, grew up with it and now ND is still his favorite team but he doesn't follow it like he used to.

 

[IrishHerb]

I think it will, as long as the team is entertaining and wins the games it is supposed to win.

If it keeps up with the Kelly tendencies of struggling against inferior teams and occassionally losing to them (Tulsa, NW, Duke, Syracuse, ...) then keeping the stadium full may be a problem.

 

[IrishBlessings]

I don't think it will keep the stadium full. My son is a perfect example. He was/is a big ND fan, grew up with it and now ND is still his favorite team but he doesn't follow it like he used to.

Agree. The ND mystique will slowly fade away IMO. I've been trying to pass on the torch to my children, but it is not catching on like it did w/ me when I was there age.

Things will not change at ND until the pipeline of $ begins to slow down or start to dry up.

A change in the lucrative TV deal will be the first wakeup call. Not sure how NBC is liking their TV deal now. Gotta believe the football TV ratings for NBC are not doing so well this season.

 

[zonairish]

Agree. The ND mystique will slowly fade away IMO. I've been trying to pass on the torch to my children, but it is not catching on like it did w/ me when I was there age.

Things will not change at ND until the pipeline of $ begins to slow down or start to dry up.

A change in the lucrative TV deal will be the first wakeup call. Not sure how NBC is liking their TV deal now. Gotta believe the football TV ratings for NBC are not doing so well this season.

Excellent point!. My children who are adults like Notre dame but show nowhere the interest that I do. It has to do with winning culture. As my son says they do not stand out like they did under Holtz. Even when Holtz had a down year they stood out. My son never saw a Holtz coached team he was too young but he told me about them. Also my criticism of recent about Kelly shows a lack of intensity of the team and maybe I am wrong but the Talent level is better that Weis teams. The difference with Weis teams they appeared to play harder where Kelly's teams do not go the extra mile to win games.

 

[Howard Hall 74]

In 1952 Hesburgh came and launched Leahy. He established one over arching principal, ND is first and foremost an academic institution. Football is somewhere below. How far is the question. The landscape of college athletics has changed dramatically from then, and today it is morphing into another universe. There is so much money tied to it that this question needs to not only be addressed but a solution needs to be found to allow the ultimate principal of the school and football to co-exist and both prosper. Which means the football program needs to be reformatted to allow what resources, in particular players, to be admitted and properly obtain a diploma. As important as it is that the academic side of this be maintained, football is the ingredient that binds the school together with its students and international fan base. The administration knows this, but it is time to change the relationship of the school and football. Football is the golden dome, it is the essence of the community, its the fight in Fighting Irish. The rest is noise and nonsense. Without football ND does not exist today as is or at all. So change how the football program operates in an academic environment. Make it functional in today's world or the backlash will be more than the school ever thought possible. We go Ivy League or we completely change the existing relationship to allow both football and academics to work and prosper together. Ask the Board of Directors, but remember boys and girls, if they go academic (see ya NBC) just be prepared to see a lot of money disappear from the contributions and get ready to beg the government for more money and receive the constraints they bring to a Catholic school.

 

[zonairish]

In 1952 Hesburgh came and launched Leahy. He established one over arching principal, ND is first and foremost an academic institution. Football is somewhere below. How far is the question. The landscape of college athletics has changed dramatically from then, and today it is morphing into another universe. There is so much money tied to it that this question needs to not only be addressed but a solution needs to be found to allow the ultimate principal of the school and football to co-exist and both prosper. Which means the football program needs to be reformatted to allow what resources, in particular players, to be admitted and properly obtain a diploma. As important as it is that the academic side of this be maintained, football is the ingredient that binds the school together with its students and international fan base. The administration knows this, but it is time to change the relationship of the school and football. Football is the golden dome, it is the essence of the community, its the fight in Fighting Irish. The rest is noise and nonsense. Without football ND does not exist today as is or at all. So change how the football program operates in an academic environment. Make it functional in today's world or the backlash will be more than the school ever thought possible. We go Ivy League or we completely change the existing relationship to allow both football and academics to work and prosper together. Ask the Board of Directors, but remember boys and girls, if they go academic (see ya NBC) just be prepared to see a lot of money disappear from the contributions and get ready to beg the government for more money and receive the constraints they bring to a Catholic school.

If they go purest academics Notre Dame football will be an ivy league maybe type of program. no one will care about them. I will stop caring about them. The luster of the golden dome will fade. However,hey can have it all and even allowing a few borderline quality recruits come in every year. It is up to the Admin. Even if Notre Dame goes purest which they are for the most part we will be mediocre at best and the luster will be gone. Essentially as you say no more NBC and very few games will be on ESPN. Also the other ways the Irish make money through endorsements, and fandom purchases will be down. Personally, allowing the irish to be competitive in football by making a reasonable amount borderline academic players will not effect the academics of the school. Heck you can make them better students. Also paying for better coaches across the board won't hurt the school either. Having both those things applied revenue and interest will go up

 

[Telx1]

I think the goal is to annually make the playoffs with players who demonstrate their commitment to academic excellence, and who prove themselves to be good citizens and quality members of the ND community. I'm fine with something along this line as the stated goal, but it's the strategic steps necessary to achieve this that are lacking.

 

[dgndfan]

It is a tough situation. The " student / athlete " is a vanishing breed.

 

[perseverare]

mention the 'Carlisle Indians' to someone in their 20's or 30's

ND's football legacy will be that kind of football history, once the sub alums are passed.
There are probably a lot of elite prospects in the 16-18 classes that never heard of Rockne or the Gipper.

In some ways ND has attained it's ultimate goal.

 

[Howard Hall 74]

If they go purest academics Notre Dame football will be an ivy league maybe type of program. no one will care about them. I will stop caring about them. The luster of the golden dome will fade. However,hey can have it all and even allowing a few borderline quality recruits come in every year. It is up to the Admin. Even if Notre Dame goes purest which they are for the most part we will be mediocre at best and the luster will be gone. Essentially as you say no more NBC and very few games will be on ESPN. Also the other ways the Irish make money through endorsements, and fandom purchases will be down. Personally, allowing the irish to be competitive in football by making a reasonable amount borderline academic players will not effect the academics of the school. Heck you can make them better students. Also paying for better coaches across the board won't hurt the school either. Having both those things applied revenue and interest will go up

I agree with all of this, but I don't think the real problem is academics per say. It's not the HS grades or test scores, but the core courses needed to enter. That is where some special case adjustments need to be constructed. A special program that fills in those HS courses that are lacking with the FY studies. It may take 5 or more years to complete the program, but that pathway to enter is now available.

 

[HuddleBurger]

It seems to me that the modus operandi of the Era of Mediocrity represents the most comfortable path to the most profitable bottom line for ND. High-minded academic ideals and lofty mission statements are noble causes, but let's be clear that they are fueled by the almighty dollar. ND isn't much different than any massively profitable enterprise in our country in that respect.

So, I ask myself this: if ND were to win, let's say, the next 3 national titles in football, what would change at the school? Would they rake in any extra money? Would the academics improve? Would enrollment double? Would their Catholic mission be enhanced somehow? (I don't know the answers, BTW.)

In my mind, the only thing that might change the administration's desire for championship football would be a direct impact to the bottom line.

Likewise, I think they'll make enough changes to steer this program back to 8-9 wins per year, because continuous losing seasons could be bad for the bottom line, if fans stay away, the national TV contract is reduced, the big money donors stop contributing, etc.

I just think that the days of trying to hang with the very top programs in the country are over, especially given today's college football landscape and culture. It probably wouldn't jibe with their mission statement and wouldn't improve the bottom line significantly. A double whammy. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[twalsh]

It seems to me that the modus operandi of the Era of Mediocrity represents the most comfortable path to the most profitable bottom line for ND. High-minded academic ideals and lofty mission statements are noble causes, but let's be clear that they are fueled by the almighty dollar. ND isn't much different than any massively profitable enterprise in our country in that respect.

So, I ask myself this: if ND were to win, let's say, the next 3 national titles in football, what would change at the school? Would they rake in any extra money? Would the academics improve? Would enrollment double? Would their Catholic mission be enhanced somehow? (I don't know the answers, BTW.)

In my mind, the only thing that might change the administration's desire for championship football would be a direct impact to the bottom line.

Likewise, I think they'll make enough changes to steer this program back to 8-9 wins per year, because continuous losing seasons could be bad for the bottom line, if fans stay away, the national TV contract is reduced, the big money donors stop contributing, etc.

I just think that the days of trying to hang with the very top programs in the country are over, especially given today's college football landscape and culture. It probably wouldn't jibe with their mission statement and wouldn't improve the bottom line significantly. A double whammy. I hope I'm wrong.

So, I ask myself this: if ND were to win, let's say, the next 3 national titles in football, what would change at the school? BASED ON HISTORY, PRETTY MUCH NOTHING. Would they rake in any extra money? A LITTLE MORE, BUT NOTHING NOTABLE Would the academics improve? NO Would enrollment double? NO, NO CHANGE AT ALL Would their Catholic mission be enhanced somehow? NO

And BTW, history has also shown that there is very minimal correlation between football success and financial donations to the university. The Faust era and the Willingham era were both good tests of that concept.

 

[AdvanSix]

didn't hear anything about academics in '12. Stanford never uses it as an excuse nor do many others. The problem is coaching. Period. Name ONE single Notre Dame head coach who has ever gone on to success at another job. (Holtz doesn't count because he wasn't a failure).

 

[Java65]

Agree. The ND mystique will slowly fade away IMO. I've been trying to pass on the torch to my children, but it is not catching on like it did w/ me when I was there age.

Things will not change at ND until the pipeline of $ begins to slow down or start to dry up.

A change in the lucrative TV deal will be the first wakeup call. Not sure how NBC is liking their TV deal now. Gotta believe the football TV ratings for NBC are not doing so well this season.

Wait until they start playing in a stadium where you have empty seats.

Before the season started I asked my son if he'd like to go to a game again this year. He wasn't really interested, its his last year of college and he said he had a lot going on and didn't really feel like making the trip from NC to SB. We have done it several times but he had other things going on. In 20 more years we'll be Army. They will talk about how great we once were but we won't be a team anybody really fears or see's as much of a threat.

 

[Java65]

didn't hear anything about academics in '12. Stanford never uses it as an excuse nor do many others. The problem is coaching. Period. Name ONE single Notre Dame head coach who has ever gone on to success at another job. (Holtz doesn't count because he wasn't a failure).

No and Bama showed us just how far away we are from being an elite program, as did O$U last year. ND can be a 10 wins-a-season team but they'll never beat the likes of Bama or O$U in this environment.

 

[Izo]

The subway alumni is slowly? vanishing ,the national brand . At the turn of the century and in the Rockne era ,the Catholic immigrants from Ireland ,Italy , Poland ,Germany looked to ND as their school . But now in the 21st century the immigration patterns are different . In the 20s, 30s, 40s (under Leahy) and part of the 50s Notre Dame was college football .In the 60s , 70s , Ara and D.Devine brought us back to prominence winning national titles . Faust hire in the early 80s was a disaster and Holtz revived the program.Die hard fans have the history of Notre Dame football ingrained in them .

I just wonder what the administration's vision is?.eventually join ACC and be satisfied with 8-4and 9-3 seasons ,a top20 ranking and not worry about being an Alabama, Ohio State ?

I hope that when they write about ND football ,it wouldn't always be about the past .

 

[DillonDomer]

Have you ever heard of the Chicago Cubs - what have they won lately - ND is a big brand for football. The Cubs have had great attendance for the past 30 years - and they have made the playoffs a few times - but certainly haven't won their version of a national championship. Or, is this not a fair comparison because the Cubs are a pro team - well correct and ND is a University.

Having said this ND is a school that has athletics. As a grad, I can tell you I follow all of their sports to some degree. I think most grads do and are proud of them for the relative strength of the programs across the board. I would be that the vast majority of the people here who only care about football are not grads. Yes, it is great when they have a top notch team (and yes they need to fix things around there including the coach) but that doesn't mean that I would drop them if they can't get to a BCS game in X years.

 

[Java65]

Have you ever heard of the Chicago Cubs - what have they won lately - ND is a big brand for football. The Cubs have had great attendance for the past 30 years - and they have made the playoffs a few times - but certainly haven't won their version of a national championship. Or, is this not a fair comparison because the Cubs are a pro team - well correct and ND is a University.

Having said this ND is a school that has athletics. As a grad, I can tell you I follow all of their sports to some degree. I think most grads do and are proud of them for the relative strength of the programs across the board. I would be that the vast majority of the people here who only care about football are not grads. Yes, it is great when they have a top notch team (and yes they need to fix things around there including the coach) but that doesn't mean that I would drop them if they can't get to a BCS game in X years.

The problem is the pool of ND grads is small and if ND thinks they'll get an NBC contract with only the alum as their viewing audience they are mistaken. I have no hard fact but based on how small a school ND is I would bet that 75% of the revenue generated by the football program (TV ratings, merchandise, ticket sales) comes from subway-alum.

Also, if ND wants to be an academic school that's fine, just don't lie about it. They have their employee out there telling fans their goal is to make the playoff's every year. They know that's not true, or they know they aren't making a serious attempt to do so.

 

[perseverare]

if a generation is 14 years and ND graduates 3500 a year, then that would be a following lighter than
'My Mother the Car'

 

[DillonDomer]

And the Cubs seat about 40k/game with probably 75% season tickets so the actual number of fans that attend a game is really pretty small over a season. We are a year gone from a season where we lost 3 games to the teams in the top 5. Again, not saying things don't need to change, but the world will continue to spin on its axis and the sun will shine upon the dome.

 

[twalsh]

The subway alumni is slowly? vanishing ,the national brand . At the turn of the century and in the Rockne era ,the Catholic immigrants from Ireland ,Italy , Poland ,Germany looked to ND as their school . But now in the 21st century the immigration patterns are different . In the 20s, 30s, 40s (under Leahy) and part of the 50s Notre Dame was college football .In the 60s , 70s , Ara and D.Devine brought us back to prominence winning national titles . Faust hire in the early 80s was a disaster and Holtz revived the program.Die hard fans have the history of Notre Dame football ingrained in them .

I just wonder what the administration's vision is?.eventually join ACC and be satisfied with 8-4and 9-3 seasons ,a top20 ranking and not worry about being an Alabama, Ohio State ?

I hope that when they write about ND football ,it wouldn't always be about the past .

I think the biggest reason why the subway alum population is slowly going away is that exponentially more people go to college today than they did 100 years ago. So they establish their own loyalties with their own schools, or where their kids go to school. Back in the day the great majority of subway alums did not have a competing connection to another school. Today that same person does.

 

[rgc7]

The subway alumni is slowly? vanishing ,the national brand . At the turn of the century and in the Rockne era ,the Catholic immigrants from Ireland ,Italy , Poland ,Germany looked to ND as their school . But now in the 21st century the immigration patterns are different . In the 20s, 30s, 40s (under Leahy) and part of the 50s Notre Dame was college football .In the 60s , 70s , Ara and D.Devine brought us back to prominence winning national titles . Faust hire in the early 80s was a disaster and Holtz revived the program.Die hard fans have the history of Notre Dame football ingrained in them .

I just wonder what the administration's vision is?.eventually join ACC and be satisfied with 8-4and 9-3 seasons ,a top20 ranking and not worry about being an Alabama, Ohio State ?

I hope that when they write about ND football ,it wouldn't always be about the past .

Izo,
no matter ND ultimate goal, Looking in from the outside, I think that ND has lost much of its Catholic identity. I have debated this issue before with ND students and alums on this board, and I don't want to debate it here, but , speaking of Catholicism in general , the Catholic Immigrants that you mention were
our parents and grandparents. They were Devoutly religious: mass every Sunday, strict fasting, Confession,
Large Catholic families, little if any, birth control. The Parish Priest was part of the neighborhood.
Catholic Education was the choice , not the option. The Church was the center of activity : i learned to play baseball, basket ball ,and box at the CYO run by our parish priest. The sports'sections were fill of the ND
legends, Rockne, the Gip, the Four Horsemen. Those immigrants and their families loved ND because it was Catholic.
With the victory of secularism over religion, generally speaking, Catholicism has declined. I recently spent sometime in Germany, and Every since I lived there in the early 1960,s for a few years, Married their into my wife's strickly Catholic family ,on every visit, I have noticed the decline of the Catholic religion there.
In the 1960's , every littly village had a Catholic Church that was filled every Sunday. Today those
churches are empty, a priest may come once a month fir Sunday Mass.
My nieces and nephews, no longer go to mass and religion seems to play a very small role in their lives.
Sorry to-ramble on, so in short, as ND and other Catholic Instutions become less Catholic, they
reflect the secular society, and the Catholic Mystique is gone. I, therefore, think that their Ultimate Goal,
whatever it may be , is far removed from its original mission.

 

[IrishBlessings]

I think the biggest reason why the subway alum population is slowly going away is that exponentially more people go to college today than they did 100 years ago. So they establish their own loyalties with their own schools, or where their kids go to school. Back in the day the great majority of subway alums did not have a competing connection to another school. Today that same person does.

The subway alum along w/ Hesburg made ND. Hesburg turned it into an elite school - The subway alum's are the reason almost all away games are sell outs and ND gets the high TV ratings which in turn helped fuel the big $$ TV deals.

When the Sub way alums die off - they wont be replaced w/ new ones with the way the football team now plays ball.

Over time - ND admin will have to make some hard decisions w/ their football program.

The ND Brand will slowly decay. The first chink in the armor will be a TV deal that is not as lucrative as the ND admin think it should be.

 

[IrishBlessings]

Izo,
no matter ND ultimate goal, Looking in from the outside, I think that ND has lost much of its Catholic identity. I have debated this issue before with ND students and alums on this board, and I don't want to debate it here, but , speaking of Catholicism in general , the Catholic Immigrants that you mention were
our parents and grandparents. They were Devoutly religious: mass every Sunday, strict fasting, Confession,
Large Catholic families, little if any, birth control. The Parish Priest was part of the neighborhood.
Catholic Education was the choice , not the option. The Church was the center of activity : i learned to play baseball, basket ball ,and box at the CYO run by our parish priest. The sports'sections were fill of the ND
legends, Rockne, the Gip, the Four Horsemen. Those immigrants and their families loved ND because it was Catholic.
With the victory of secularism over religion, generally speaking, Catholicism has declined. I recently spent sometime in Germany, and Every since I lived there in the early 1960,s for a few years, Married their into my wife's strickly Catholic family ,on every visit, I have noticed the decline of the Catholic religion there.
In the 1960's , every littly village had a Catholic Church that was filled every Sunday. Today those
churches are empty, a priest may come once a month fir Sunday Mass.
My nieces and nephews, no longer go to mass and religion seems to play a very small role in their lives.
Sorry to-ramble on, so in short, as ND and other Catholic Instutions become less Catholic, they
reflect the secular society, and the Catholic Mystique is gone. I, therefore, think that their Ultimate Goal,
whatever it may be , is far removed from its original mission.

RGC7 - spot on - I'm from a family of 8 kids - half Irish / half Portuguese - Oldest brother attended ND site unseen from Calif. A ND Grad, who was on the ND football team. He is Still friends w/ Ara P. Almost all of his kids went to ND. Youngest just graduated.

Of my 7 brothers and sisters - there are only 4 of us who still attend Mass. Trying to raise my 15 year old twins catholic. But, for the most part in our church the congregation is old - not a lot of young people going to catholic mass's. The catholic religion IMO is also dying off. At least here in Northern Calif - it seems that way.

A lot of people have gone over to the happy / friendly Christian churches - where its all "feel good" all the time. Where they really cater to younger families, etc.

the whole ND mystique and the catholic connection will slowly die off as well - w/out the young people having the connections necessary to keep the ND mystique alive and burning.

Now - a first rate / high quality football coach who knows how to win games can help breed new fans of ND. It's a dam shame the ND admin is so short sighted and loyal to BK. BK does not even represent the school they way it should be represented.

 

[dagimpper1]

I've been a fan for over 45 years. And I mean hard core fan. I don't watch the games live anymore. Don't buy ND gear anymore and would not go to a game if I were paid to go. ND will have to show me they are serious about winning to get me excited. I used to get so hyped before the season. I used to say opening day was better then Christmas. I used to get so excited before every game. Not anymore. I'M at the point where I would want ND TO lose every game if it would wake the admin up.

 

[perseverare]

I've been a fan for over 45 years. And I mean hard core fan. I don't watch the games live anymore. Don't buy ND gear anymore and would not go to a game if I were paid to go. ND will have to show me they are serious about winning to get me excited. I used to get so hyped before the season. I used to say opening day was better then Christmas. I used to get so excited before every game. Not anymore. I'M at the point where I would want ND TO lose every game if it would wake the admin up.

any guy that is up at 3:00 a.m. logged in - keepin me company after a tough lose is indeed a true ND fan!
btw: dags, that was a nice chat!

 

[rgc7]

RGC7 - spot on - I'm from a family of 8 kids - half Irish / half Portuguese - Oldest brother attended ND site unseen from Calif. A ND Grad, who was on the ND football team. He is Still friends w/ Ara P. Almost all of his kids went to ND. Youngest just graduated.

Of my 7 brothers and sisters - there are only 4 of us who still attend Mass. Trying to raise my 15 year old twins catholic. But, for the most part in our church the congregation is old - not a lot of young people going to catholic mass's. The catholic religion IMO is also dying off. At least here in Northern Calif - it seems that way.

A lot of people have gone over to the happy / friendly Christian churches - where its all "feel good" all the time. Where they really cater to younger families, etc.

the whole ND mystique and the catholic connection will slowly die off as well - w/out the young people having the connections necessary to keep the ND mystique alive and burning.

Now - a first rate / high quality football coach who knows how to win games can help breed new fans of ND. It's a dam shame the ND admin is so short sighted and loyal to BK. BK does not even represent the school they way it should be represented.

Irish Blessings,
It is really sad ! I was born and raised in NYC , Little Italy in 1932, there were Four Italian Catholic Churches and one Portuguese Catholic Church within a couple of blooks of each other. They were never clossed, and the Priests were active in the neighboor, visiting the sick, the elderly, and famlies in general. They were there to help the poor, and counsel families on any problems that people may have had.
The Nuns at my Catholic School were Dedicated and devoted to God. They were very kind, but tough
as nails when we stepped out of line. I still have the scars to show, LOL !
When I quit school and joined the Marines in 1949, a few months out of Boot Camp, I found myself
in Korea. Nothing was more comforting , than the Chaplin giving us Mass , Communion , and General
Absolution before we went into combat.
As hard as I tried, my kids consider thmselves Catholics, but rarely go to Church, ditto for my grandchildren.
When I graduated From my Jesuit College, in 1960, our mission was to fight against the Secularism that was destroying our society. I still try, but we have definately failed in that mission.
Unfortunately, Society and and our Catholic Instutions have and are reflecting our Society more and more.
One more example, a few years ago, I went back East to visit family. My old Catholic Grammar school
is there, but the building is empty, no more Nuns and no more students. No more kids playing on the streets
either.
God Bless, keep fighting the Good Battle !

 

[ivan brunetti]

Agree. The ND mystique will slowly fade away IMO. I've been trying to pass on the torch to my children, but it is not catching on like it did w/ me when I was there age.

Things will not change at ND until the pipeline of $ begins to slow down or start to dry up.

A change in the lucrative TV deal will be the first wakeup call. Not sure how NBC is liking their TV deal now. Gotta believe the football TV ratings for NBC are not doing so well this season.

The NBC TV deal is not really all that lucrative. NBC is paying less to ND than ESPN is paying to Purdue.

 

[Izo]

What's the administration 's vision ? They haven't really been clear except to say they want a winning program. 8-4 type seasons ? And maybe break into the top 10 every so often ?

Do believe that if our fortunes fall the next few years,may have to join the ACC .

Gotta find a way to bring back fan enthusiasm . This year has been very difficult to take.

No matter I'm a die hard Irish fan and root one game at a time .

 

[dagimpper1]

any guy that is up at 3:00 a.m. logged in - keepin me company after a tough lose is indeed a true ND fan!
btw: dags, that was a nice chat!

Anytime perse ,I enjoyed it too. I'm awake late too often. Too many ailments to sleep some nights.

 

[perseverare]

lol! like tonight; yep, same here getting old sucks! but gonna try to give that sleep thing another try.
you try too.

thx & have a good night/ God Bless.

 

[Nocalirish]

It is all Kelly's fault. Fire him and ND will be in the playoffs in three years. The longer they wait the longer it will take to bring ND back to relevance. ( only slightly tonge in cheek )

 

[Tru2Irish]

Today,money talks. If the biggest boosters and donors stop the flow ND's way,things might change. The stringent academia of ND has to bend but not break. If a few students with potential to grow in class aren't allowed access to ND.THEN FOOTBALL will FALL by the wayside. If this happens,just join the Ivy League already. ND heads on a track to destroy what ND football fans have known and loved. They are content with 8-9 wins that get us into lesser bowl games. Catholic heads ,however, do not like to adapt unless it meets their ends.

 

[HuddleBurger]

So, I ask myself this: if ND were to win, let's say, the next 3 national titles in football, what would change at the school? BASED ON HISTORY, PRETTY MUCH NOTHING. Would they rake in any extra money? A LITTLE MORE, BUT NOTHING NOTABLE Would the academics improve? NO Would enrollment double? NO, NO CHANGE AT ALL Would their Catholic mission be enhanced somehow? NO

And BTW, history has also shown that there is very minimal correlation between football success and financial donations to the university. The Faust era and the Willingham era were both good tests of that concept.

I think we have our answer here. There's not going to be some "home run" hire, where ND engages in the sleazy business of paying exorbitant sums of money to bring in a secular merc coach. They overpaid Weis, but he was an alum, so more "family."

If they don't gain anything in the bigger picture, why do so? To keep us football fans happy? Championship football has already served its purpose for the university. I do think they'll try to maintain 8-9 win seasons as a token nod to the glorious football past however.

 

[Harpo Marxist]

Never say never....Notre Dame has the brand, the facilities, the $$, the tradition, the national fanbase, etc. In other words, the infrastructure is in place and always has been to restore a competitive program for championships. Do academic changes need to be made? Obviously they do....to more closely resemble Duke or Stanfords academic concessions....especially if the graduation rates remain high. That would be validation of changes.

The other factor is hiring the right coach. I know that you never know who that guy is...but as the wrong guy experience continues to pile up...it should be part of the blue print in hiring that certain things need to be avoided...no pro coaches who have not been successful at a major college program also...Saban proves that...as does Pete Carroll. No up and comer unless that guy has worked for a very successful mentor who has handpicked this guy into his system. I would say that if Nick Saban or Urban Meyer likes a guy....I might want to put an emphasis on that guy. However, that guy must already have head coaching experience and success. We need to avoid a coordinator without head coaching experience. Notre Dame cannot be a proving ground.

I think Notre Dame's reputation for supporting its athletic dept and its football coach is superior. It does not "throw its coaches under the bus". If anything....we keep coaches beyond their expiration date. But relieving some of the constraints at Notre Dame is absolutely required and necessary.

 

[perseverare]

ND has a national fanbase? well, the 'national fan base' is currently dissatified with the way the effort of administration. And our numbers are dwinddling daily!

Truth be told the 'national base' is now a myth. To the current generation, ND is a 'was' thing.

 

[Harpo Marxist]

ND has a national fanbase? well, the 'national fan base' is currently dissatified with the way the effort of administration. And our numbers are dwinddling daily!

Truth be told the 'national base' is now a myth. To the current generation, ND is a 'was' thing.

that national fan base still exists....I've been all over the country during football season....and Notre Dame games are on when local or regional alternatives are available. Is the brand damaged? Of course...but it still exists and needs serious repairs.

 

[perseverare]

that the national fan bade is in need of repairs? Unless you are Ponce de Leon, it might take a miracle!

 

[KJ23]

I'm a South Bend townie. My grades would not allow me to get into ND. So I graduated from Ball State. Many of us townies are getting tired of forking up 150 bucks per ticket to see a bad product. The stadium holds over 80k and townies make up a lot of those numbers. I truly believe benches will start to show soon. The U tickets are going for $50 for a pair around here. Pathetic...