Ohio State Football: ND Giving Us the Finger Through 2015

If you listened closely Thursday afternoon, you could hear Big Ten University Presidents collectively say, “They just gave us the finger.”

It was right about that time that Notre Dame announced that it was extending its deal with NBC through 2015. This deal effectively shelves any conversation about the Big Ten expending by adding ND. The league may grow to 12 teams at some point, but it appears that South Bend is officially out of the running as a potential expansion location.

For Notre Dame, on paper the contract extension makes a lot of sense. You get an undivided pot of cash, undisclosed improvements to your facilities, and the two most partisan announcers on television, Tom Hammond and that other guy. (Sorry Verne, you were a distant second.) The football program gets priceless, nationwide exposure that provides an advantage no conference ever could match. Right? So why is ND’s program performed so poorly since signing their first contract with NBC.

To put this in perspective, let’s go to the tale of the tape:

As you can see, they are experiencing quite a return on their investment. Their win percentage is down significantly. In the pre-NBC era they had the highest winning percentage of any team. Since signing the NBC contract, they are only #21. They have lost nine consecutive bowl games with their last two wins coming against Texas A&M in the Cotton bowl in 1993 and 1994, respectively.

We will never know (at least not in the foreseeable future) if there is a relationship between Kevin White’s departure as Athletic Director and the renewing of the NBC contract, but it is an interesting coincidence. Did Mr. White think ND should pursue a conference affiliation in football? Did he see little benefit to remaining independent beyond the cash? If he did, the numbers seem to back him up.

It only takes a quick look at this year’s roster to believe this trend will continue.