A Match Made in Purgatory: Notre Dame and the Big Ten

Now that the debate involving Notre Dame football joining the Big Ten has died down a bit, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit some of the discussions and give a viewpoint from a Fighting Irish fans perspective.

After canvassing the opinions on each side of the issue I hope to have brought a solid understanding of how most Notre Dame fans feel and I hope to answer some of the questions surrounding this hot topic.

Here is an examination of nine major issues regarding Notre Dame football joining the Big Ten.

Money

A lot of the debate surrounding this topic often comes back to the idea that Notre Dame will walk down whichever road brings in more money and profit. While I won't deny that money is a very important issue, I'm not so sure it plays the paramount role that so many believe.

First, it is not completely clear which route (independence or conference affiliation) would bring in more money.

Notre Dame has an exclusive television contract with NBC, but it is claimed that the Irish would make more money from the newly created Big Ten Network. Some say that Notre Dame would bring in more bowl revenue as a conference member, while others defend this independence and claim that the right to keep all bowl money is more profitable.

But I think a lot of this talk is missing a crucial point. No matter if Notre Dame decides to stay independent or become a member of the Big Ten, either way, the school is going to make a lot of money.

If it is figured that Notre Dame will make an average of $12 million a year as an independent versus $15 million per year as a conference member, does that relatively small amount of money in the grand scheme of university finances ultimately force the Irish into the Big Ten?

Which route will bring in more money could be the tipping point in the future, but the role of the dollar sign is not as important as some other factors.

Scheduling

The issue of Notre Dame's schedule is a tricky one as there are both positives and negatives to each side of the argument.

A major positive is that Notre Dame would be adding more match-ups against power teams like Ohio State and Penn State. In many cases, this would undoubtedly strengthen the Irish schedule and give the team more clout when it comes to the BCS national discussion.

A negative with this approach is that it will become problematic for Notre Dame to continue scheduling its rivalry games outside of the Big Ten. Some may argue that the three of four non-conference games available would be ample, but over time it would make it increasingly harder for the Irish to schedule USC, Boston College, Stanford, Navy, and Pitt with the shackles of conference games in play.

Also, Notre Dame would be tempted to follow in the footsteps of so many other member schools and schedule terribly weak opponents out of conference.

And don't act like Notre Dame's schedule isn't tough enough to have an undefeated Irish team in the national championship game. If Texas got in this year, then Notre Dame would not usually have a problem given the teams it consistently schedules.

So while the addition of a big name school or two may be appealing, the problems associated with keeping rivalry games, the fear of scheduling weak non-rivalry OOC games and the fact that many "boring" games against the likes of Indiana, Northwestern and Minnesota will be played every year, appear to be convincing arguments against joining the Big Ten.

National Appeal

The topic of national appeal goes hand in hand with the scheduling debate as Notre Dame does not want to be tied down to only a regional impact. The Irish have always taken pride and survived as a program with mass national appeal and joining the Big Ten would be a tremendous blow to this livelihood.

Especially in the area of recruiting, a national schedule and appeal carry more weight. Right now Notre Dame can sell recruits on playing all over the country, in places like the Coliseum, Cowboys Stadium, and Yankee Stadium. It is a huge disadvantage to remove this and sell a recruit on a schedule that is mostly the same as every other Big Ten program.

What's more, tying itself down to playing nine games or more in one regionalized location will slowly erode the national fan base that so eagerly follows the Fighting Irish from New York and Orlando, to Dallas and Los Angeles.

Joining the Big Ten might not shrink Notre Dame's national appeal in the short term, but over time, as the decades pass, it will certainly ruin the school's popularity nationally from coast to coast.

Conference Titles & the BCS

Another talking point from many who wish to see Notre Dame in the Big Ten is that the program needs to have a goal besides winning a national championship. It is stated that with two losses early in the season, the Irish have little, if anything, to play for the way a team like Ohio State does in the same situation.

Whether or not having two early losses affects the effort of Irish players is debatable and almost a matter of pure opinion. If this does happen for Notre Dame, it usually would occur after a third or fourth loss, in which case, winning a Big Ten title would most likely be out of the question, even if the Irish were a member.

True, if the Big Ten were to expand to twelve teams and institute a conference championship game, a three of four loss Notre Dame team could still be potentially alive for "something to play for" in the form of a conference title and a trip to a BCS bowl.

But is this not just needlessly rewarding mediocrity? Should Notre Dame fans be excited that a 9-4 Notre Dame team was able to win a conference title in a watered down Big Ten and reach a BCS bowl? Will we always remember that season because the team showed they had "something to play for" and won a conference title? Should we be proud of that?

This doesn't mean that Irish fans think we're too good for conference titles or that Brian Kelly is automatically going to have the program competing for national championships, but rather, it is something we don't feel we need to find legitimacy.

In truth, the vast majority of conference champions always have one or two losses and find themselves in BCS bowl games. The same is true for Notre Dame, where in 2005 and 2006, Notre Dame played in two BCS bowls with two losses.

Until the day comes when a two-loss Notre Dame team misses out on a BCS bowl or an undefeated Notre Dame team misses out on a national championship, then joining the Big Ten won't matter a lick when it comes to winning in today's college football landscape.

What people have to remember is that Irish fans don't believe a 9-4 Notre Dame even deserves a whiff of a BCS game and it’s no consolation to be able to go to one just because they happened to win their conference.

And anyway, how would all of those Notre Dame haters feel about a 9-4 Irish club in a BCS game?

Special Treatment

A key topic often overlooked in this discussion is how Notre Dame gets the bad reputation for having received special treatment via its rule regarding BCS seeding and automatic bowl births.

But what isn't talked about is how the entire college football landscape is tilted heavily in favor of teams like Michigan, Texas, and LSU because they receive special treatment in the form of their conference affiliation.

If Notre Dame reaches that determined number in the BCS poll, how is that receiving special treatment when the program is independent and has no other way to participate in the system? Again, no three or four loss Notre Dame team (i.e. not qualified) has ever come close to a BCS bowl game.

Yet, 8-3 Syracuse ('98), 8-3 Stanford ('99), 8-3 Purdue ('00), 9-3 LSU ('01), 9-4 FSU ('02), 11-3 Kansas State ('03), 8-3 Pitt ('04), 8-4 FSU ('05), 9-3 Illinois ('07), and 9-4 Virginia Tech ('08) all went to BCS bowls specifically because of special treatment.

If anything, Notre Dame should be applauded for not participating in such a flawed system that awards BCS bids to cartel members for being on the inside, and not on the outside looking in, as they should be.

There is no special treatment for Notre Dame and in fact it is quite the opposite in terms of these conferences generating profits for all of its members. The current system favors these BCS conferences and awards certain undeserving teams with championships and more money, something Notre Dame has no piece of whatsoever.

Officiating

Another area of debate concerning Notre Dame joining the Big Ten would be the impact of such a move on the officiating of Irish games.

It is no secret that whenever a Big Ten crew officiates a Notre Dame game, multiple questionable calls and flaky yellow flags litter the proceedings. Look no further than this past year’s horrid excuse for officiating against Michigan for any proof of this current dilemma.

Again, teams like Michigan, Purdue, and Michigan State bring their referees to a game against Notre Dame. Who is getting special treatment again?

The question is whether joining the Big Ten will erase this bias against the Irish or if it would only compound the problem even further with five or six more games each year with the same officials.

It's a tough call, but it definitely makes one shy away from jumping headlong into this situation.

School (Dis)Similarities

When you look at the member schools of the Big Ten one thing becomes very clear: The University of Notre Dame is nothing like any of those schools.
Notre Dame is small, liberal arts, religious, and rigidly committed to academics while all of the Big Ten schools are massive, research based, non-religious, and nowhere near committed to academics in athletics like Notre Dame.

If it weren't for the geography of Notre Dame's campus, being smack dab in the middle of Big Ten country in northern Indiana, the fact is the Irish wouldn't even be in the discussion for gaining conference membership.

Notre Dame just does not have many similarities or much in common with any of the Big Ten schools to really merit joining the conference. The bigger and more powerful schools would use their influence to pass a multitude of issues that would not be in the best interests of the University of Notre Dame.

Once more, Notre Dame has very little to gain by trying to conform to the Big Ten and to "be like everybody else" in the world of recruiting, scheduling, academics and beyond. It is just a bad fit almost all the way around.

Relevancy

The topic of whether Notre Dame football is relevant or not is a door which swings in both directions. If we're talking about the amount of fans, media attention, money, opinion and tradition, then Notre Dame is as relevant as any program in the country.

It may be fair to say Notre Dame is not relevant anymore because the Irish haven't won at a consistently high level for 13 years, but the Irish program is hardly on its death bed and it is unwise to think that Notre Dame will never get back on the winning track.

To say that Notre Dame risks permanent irrelevancy if it does not join a conference is misinformed at best. What does Notre Dame gain in relevancy by joining the Big Ten?

If Notre Dame removes the things which make it unique (national schedule and fan base), what advantages will the Irish have in recruiting? Some may be lured by the promise of a conference title, but the same thing can be offered at Ohio State or Penn State. And guess what, there won't be all of the challenges outside of football at these other schools either.

Notre Dame will always be in the running for recruits who are looking for a great education to go along with football. But for those who are not as concerned with books, guess where they will be attending? It won't be Notre Dame, and joining the Big Ten only makes recruiting these difference makers that much more difficult.

What this relevancy argument really boils down to is winning football games and it has nothing to do with Notre Dame needing to join a conference.

The repercussions for Notre Dame joining the Big Ten are mostly negative and will not help the program win football games better than it can as an independent. A Notre Dame team that wins the Big Ten championship is as relevant as an independent Notre Dame team that makes it to a BCS bowl.

The mere application of a Big Ten schedule and possible conference championship does not make it easier or more difficult road to the BCS discussion. All it does is satisfy those who do not like Notre Dame's independence.

A 10-2 Michigan team will have a great shot at a Big Ten title and will play in a BCS bowl. A 10-2 Notre Dame team is just as relevant since they have proven they can and will go to BCS bowl games with that record.

What would bring about irrelevancy for Notre Dame is many more years of losing thus shrinking the programs fan base and profits. And although many a Notre Dame hater wants the world to believe that this irrelevancy is just around the corner (and only conference affiliation offers hope), the truth is that Notre Dame is a long, long way away from not being able to flourish and compete at the highest level as an independent program.

Who Needs Who?

Besides the possibility of making a little more money, playing Ohio State or Penn State once in a while and having the (really) symbolic title of Big Ten champion, what motivation should Notre Dame have for joining a conference?

It's been repeated over and over and it remains a valid point still: The Big Ten needs Notre Dame more than the other way around.

It's kind of funny because many people comment on the Big Ten's dismal bowl record in big games and that they are behind the times and not as fast or as talented as many other conferences. Could it be that the Big Ten finds itself becoming irrelevant?

What many people won't admit is that a lot of this discussion is cloaked in a mountain of jealousy. And that's why it is no surprise that the majority of those who wish to see Notre Dame join the Big Ten are people who openly detest the Irish.

They don't understand the uniqueness of Notre Dame and what makes it such a special place. And when you explain that these special things would disappear and ultimately hurt the programs ability to win football games if part of the Big Ten, they shrug it off as pompous baloney and more evidence of why Notre Dame needs to be like everyone else.
T
here's too much jealousy involved because so many people (particularly younger ones) do not understand why the attention given to Notre Dame doesn't always match their yearly record.

To them, a lot of the attention is undeserving and being independent is a lightning rod, so therefore joining a conference removes that ability to bask in the media spotlight.

For a lot of Irish fans wonder if the people crying out that Notre Dame should join the Big Ten have the school's best intentions at heart? Do they really care if the switch helps Notre Dame win or are they more concerned with giving the Irish less attention or perhaps hoping to see the program continue to fail?

Isn't it intriguing that so many people outside of Notre Dame want them to join a conference, yet upwards of 95 percent of Irish students, alumni, fans and administrators wish the football team to remain independent?

As a Notre Dame fan, I have nothing against the Big Ten (except those irritating referees) and if it was proving that Notre Dame could honestly do better in a conference, then I would support that decision.

But for now, it would be a mistake for Notre Dame to join the Big Ten.