Notre Dame and Big Ten Expansion: A Tempting, but Tricky Proposal

Irrelevance is a word that hovers around both the Big Ten and Notre Dame these days. Each is searching for a return to former glory. Each is fighting the belief that they represent a time gone by.

Their mutual salvation may be each other.

As soon as the Big Ten Conference announced that they would seriously investigate expanding the league to 12 teams in order to hold an annual championship game, and extend its season to be more competitive in bowl games, a single universal name was mentioned to be that 12th team.

Notre Dame.

A geographical fit, the Irish would be a much welcomed addition to the fold. Already a traditional rival to several Big Ten schools, and bringing an academic cache that will only improve the Conference's resume, the addition of Notre Dame would be desirable indeed.

In fact, an offer has been extended once before.

In 1999, the Big Ten contacted Notre Dame regarding joining the conference, and President Father Malloy responded publicly saying that "Notre Dame holds highly three core values. We are Catholic. We are private. We are independent."

Thus, Notre Dame remained independent and sank into oblivion while struggling through the last decade, winning only one bowl game and churning through four coaches.

In the same span, the Big Ten's only consistent performer has been Ohio State, who has produced a National Title and a Heisman winner in that span. Still, even OSU has a shoddy bowl record of late, and has suffered big losses against most of its BCS opponents outside the Big Ten.

If you ask Jim Delaney, the Big Ten Commissioner of 19 years, part of the problem that the Big Ten faces is that its season ends much earlier than its BCS counterparts.

Part of that reason is self-inflicted.

For whatever reason, the Big Ten plays its league games without a bye (set to change for next year). Every other conference has at least one off week, and often plays games a full two weeks after the Big Ten has concluded.

Furthermore, the Conference feels that dividing the conference and allowing an annual conference championship game (in addition to millions of dollars in TV, advertising, and ticket revenue) will further even the playing field with it's SEC, Big XII, and ACC rivals.

To accomplish this, they still need that 12th team.

Missouri has declined advances, and Pittsburgh and West Virginia each would face large monetary penalties should they leave (thanks to the mass exodus of VT, BC, and Miami) and are already in areas where the Big Ten is strong.

And does anyone really think that Iowa State or Rutgers would fit? Or pose a challenge to the established Big Ten elite? Would anyone get excited for that big Illinois/Rutgers game in November when each is 3-8?

The only way this works is with Notre Dame.

Even then there are difficulties.

The alignment gets sticky when you consider rivalries. Especially the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry.

You'd have to imagine a split either east and west, or north and south.

An East West divisional split:

East: Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State

West: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Purdue, Northwestern, Iowa, Illinois

While this alignment maintains the tradition that the year end Michigan/Ohio State tilt will be significant and decisive, it places most of the strong football teams in the same division.

A North South divisional split:

North: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State

South: Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State

More competitively balanced, but could lead to some quirkiness. Ohio State and Michigan could play in back-to-back weeks on a semi-regular basis by ending their regular seasons against one another, but by also each having won their respective division.

By adding Notre Dame, you have six of 12 teams that should prove competitive, year in and year out. In either case, there will be losers by alignment, but the Big Ten would stand to gain in attention and relevance.

Would Notre Dame gain?

Surely, the prospect of winning a "championship" is alluring to a recruit. Kids coming out of high school want to be a part of something special. A conference championship is special.

At Notre Dame, there is only the National Championship to contend for.

In this regard, and this regard alone, would joining a conference be good for the Irish.

Notre Dame has long standing rivalries that it means to continue. USC, Navy, Boston College, Pittsburgh, and Stanford would more than likely remain in rotation on the Irish schedule.

Other Big Ten schools schedule non-conference pasties and a FCS (1AA) school.

It is possible that Notre Dame could run itself into terrible scheduling...

Imagine...

Michigan

@Michigan State

Navy

Purdue

@Boston College

Penn State

@Ohio State

@Wisconsin

Iowa

Stanford

Northwestern

@USC

For Notre Dame, it would be very possible.

Sure, it could get a year of all the lightweights as well, but there is no assurance that Notre Dame would get much of a benefit at all.

The Irish maintain a healthy bowl-affiliation network, and travel as well as any school in the nation. If the Irish are eligible, the highest reasonable offer will come (sometimes higher).

Notre Dame's contract with NBC is years away from a renewal, and the Irish have games scheduled as far out as 2016.

Plus, Notre Dame recruits much more nationally than most of it's geographical counterparts. By playing in California annually, and scheduling games in Texas often, Notre Dame has an ability to still bring in players from outside their geographical reach.

For all accounts, it seems that the Big Ten would without a doubt get the better end of the deal.

Sure, columnists and commentators will say that Notre Dame needs to join a conference, that they cannot survive as an independent, but there is little evidence to support the theory.

A mere decade ago, the Big Ten was thriving. Notre Dame was just exiting one of the most successful tenures in its history (Dr. Lou), and the Big XII was a mess. The SEC only mattered south of Tennessee.

Times are cyclical.

For the Big Ten, adding a bye or two may do more to balance the competitive edge that other conferences seem to have. They may not need to drastically change their traditions.

Notre Dame needs to find the right coach. Charlie Weis brought in the talent, but didn't seem to know what to do once it arrived. He did prove that you can get players into the system. Hopefully now the Irish have found the man that can coach them.