Notre Dame's Athletic Standards Lowered To Accomodate Academics

As this Notre Dame fan is enjoying the bowl season, I think I speak for all domers when I say it just isn't the same without Notre Dame. That is the case for the second time in three years. In that time, the only bowl the Irish played in was the Hawaii Bowl. The image above is the only trophy Notre Dame has hoisted in 16 years.

Looking at things realistically, Notre Dame hasn't been a serious contender for a National Championship at all during that time.

Is it because Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, and Charlie Weis were all that bad at coaching? Many may say yes, but if you remember Lou Holtz's final years they weren't anything special either. Holtz wasn't really forced out. He resigned on his own terms. Perhaps he knew something deep down.

Holtz was allowed to bring in certain players that didn't meet academic standards for a good portion of his tenure. However, the new athletic director put a stop to that towards the end of the Holtz era.

On one hand, it is very admirable of Notre Dame to expect more of their players. That is the reason I have always rooted for Notre Dame. They hold their athletes to a higher standard. It is rare to hear about a Notre Dame player in the news for something bad. It is not acceptable to be a thug in South Bend.

On the other hand, does not being good at physics make you a thug? If so, then I'm a thug. Does not being a good writer make you a thug? If so, about half of the members on Bleacher Report are thugs.

The point is that certain people are just not good at academics but are great athletes. Are we really misrepresenting what Notre Dame stands for by allowing kids like this in?

I remember a quote from the film Rudy. Rudy's dad was trying to convince him to stay and work at the plant. He said, "Notre Dame is a place for smart kids and great athletes. It is not for us." The "great athletes" part seems to be less important than the "smart kids" part in 2009.

Is it commendable for Notre Dame to take a position like that? In a way it is. At the same time, athletics is supposed to have high standards too. The football team is supposed to be among the nation's best. It hasn't been for almost two decades now and yet administration hasn't lowered its academic standards for football players.

I'm not convinced that is a good thing. The purpose of a college is to educate students in an institution of higher learning to prepare them for a career that best suits them.

Along those premises, if a player is great at football but not very good academically, what career choice best suits him? Last I checked college football is a form of higher learning that prepares the kids for a career.

That doesn't necessarily translate to the NFL, although that is an option. There are other leagues like the CFL where players can make a good living. Also, doesn't football teach kids how to work as part of a team and play their role well? I don't know what career doesn't require those skills.

Notre Dame wants its athletes to be held to the same standards as anybody else. That makes me scratch my head. The way I see it, athletes have higher standards. To be an All American at Notre Dame, you also have to be a good student in the classroom.

While that may sound good to most people, let me ask: do you have to play a sport in order to graduate with honors at Notre Dame? We know the answer to that. Isn't that a double standard?

I am not saying I want Notre Dame to stray from what it represents. I am saying I want it to get back to what it represents. That is, the "smart kids" and "great athletes" part. Right now there are loads of "smart kids". Unfortunately there aren't as many "great athletes" as there used to be.

In no way do I want to start putting "morally questionable" kids on the football team. I just think it is time for the university to understand that being a "great athlete" but not a "smart kid" doesn't make a player a criminal.

Notre Dame has always maintained its high academic standards and that is great. At the same time, athletics (especially the football team) is supposed to have high standards too.

This article is also posted on http://fightingirishgameday.com/