Three Reasons Why Notre Dame's Troubles Run Far Deeper Than Charlie Weis

1) The SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10 and Big 12

Yes, Notre Dame Football is rich in history and tradition; there’s no question about that.

Countless books have been written and Hollywood movies have been made about the tradition that is Notre Dame Football.

However, that was then and this is now.

Let’s be completely honest with ourselves. These days there’s no way that the best running back in the country is going to choose Notre Dame over Florida, LSU, USC, Ohio State, and Penn State … it’s just not going to happen.

Notre Dame is no longer in that top-tier of elite college football programs.  

You could fire Charlie Weis and bring in Bill Belichick with Steve Spagnuolo as his defensive coordinator, and Notre Dame is still going to have an extremely difficult time luring top high school players away from schools like Florida, LSU, Ohio State, etc.

The SEC in particular has become the premier college football division in the country over the past decade. The game in the SEC is faster and more closely resembles an NFL-style game, which is one of the main reasons why NFL scouts have been and will continue drooling over SEC players.  

There’s nothing Charlie Weis or anyone at Notre Dame can do about that.

2) Academics

Sure, the athletic directors at the University of Florida or Penn State University will undoubtedly tell you that athletes face the same admission requirements as everyone else.

But once again, let’s be honest with ourselves. The coaches at Florida, Penn State, LSU, etc. are going to have a much easier time getting that top-ranked high school linebacker—who also happens to be a D student—into their programs than Charlie Weis will at Notre Dame.  

It’s one of those dirty little secrets that are … well … not really a secret at all.

In terms of academics, Notre Dame is an excellent school, which at the end of the day is more important than how far a 19-year-old can throw a football.  

However, stringent academic requirements and big-time college football don’t always mesh well together.

3) South Bend, Indiana

With only 8,000 undergraduate students, Notre Dame is a small school, and it’s located in an even smaller town.

Let’s think about this for a moment. The top running back in the country goes on a recruiting trip to Notre Dame. 

The football game that he attends is, of course, an experience like none he’s ever had before.

However, South Bend is very small and very cold. The student population is also small and Notre Dame is not what you’d consider to be a big party school.  

The next week, that same top running back visits LSU. The game is also a great experience. Maybe it’s not quite like attending a football game at Notre Dame, but it’s still awesome in his eyes. Additionally, he sees 18,000 girls walking around in shorts and tank-tops in November, he’s brought to a series of parties that are larger and more wild than anything he’s ever imagined, and he sees first hand how the 30,000-strong student population worship their athletes as if they were Greek Gods.

Older readers of this article might be thinking that they’d rather attend a strong academic school with a legendary football program like Notre Dame.

OK, that’s great.

But we are talking about 18-year-old athletes who have nothing on their mind other than girls, parties, and making millions of dollars in the NFL.

Which recruiting visit do you think is going to have a larger impact on that 18-year-old running back's decision?  

Exactly.

And once again, there’s nothing that Charlie Weis or anyone else at Notre Dame can do about that.

There’s no denying that Charlie Weis has not done the best job while at Notre Dame.  However, Notre Dame Football has some serious issues that run far deeper than just the coach.