Notre Dame’s NCAA Infractions, 1999

The majority of Notre Dame’s NCAA violations involved a South Bend bookkeeper, Kimberly Dunbar, who used an estimated $1.4 million she embezzled from her employer from 1991 to 1998 to create a lavish lifestyle for herself, including access to Notre Dame players. Dunbar became romantically involved with several football players and had a child with one of them. The players received benefits such as jewelry and trips.

Unfortunately, in 1995, Dunbar paid $25 to become a member of the Quarterback Club, a group for Irish football fans who met for a $12 lunch on the Friday before football games. Members heard coaches or players speak. Notre Dame had explained to members the NCAA rules committee that defined them as boosters, though no fund-raising was ever done.

As a member of the Quarterback Club, the NCAA regarded Dunbar as a representative of Notre Dame’s football interests, which fell under their rules severely restricting gift-giving to student-athletes.

When Notre Dame heard of the allegations, they launched an internal investigation, self-reported the possible violations, disbanded the Quarterback Club and ones like it in other sports, cooperated fully with the NCAA investigation and required players to pay back the $75 ticket to a Bulls game Dunbar had paid for.

A football coach on two different occasions had heard Dunbar and one of the players went to Las Vegas on a trip, but did not report it to ND’s Compliance Office because each thought it amounted to a romantic getaway. They had no idea Dunbar was part of the Quarterback Club.

After three years of investigations, allegations and stories in the media with recriminations, the University and the NCAA enforcement staff came to the same conclusion—the transgressions were secondary violations. The Infractions Committee was split on whether Dunbar was a booster, with an overseer’s vote breaking the tie, effectively deciding that Notre Dame had committed a major infraction.

Committee chair, Jack Friedenthal, said of the Irish coach’s knowledge of the trips, “If he had notified someone, then penalties might well have been averted.” Friedenthal commended the University for reporting and investigating the violations. He also told the NY Times, “We didn’t find any lack of responsibility. They were not charged with lack of institutional control.”

The NCAA Infractions Committee’s public report found “this case to be ‘major’ in nature because of the length of time during which these violations occurred, the extravagant nature of the gifts and benefits provided to Notre Dame football student athletes by the individual, the competitive advantage gained by Notre Dame and the fact that the violations were neither isolated nor inadvertent.” The penalty was a loss of one scholarship each year for two years and probation for the same time.

Notre Dame’s Reaction

Notre Dame did not appeal or offer excuses. Father Edward (Monk) Malloy, then President of Notre Dame, said in a prepared statement:  ”We are embarrassed by these incidents, troubled that they occurred, and we have taken action to deal with the issues involved. Notre Dame has a proud tradition in athletics, not only for doing well but also for doing right.”

To the student newspaper, The Observer, Malloy said: “A jury of our peers said that it was major and they gave us a penalty. We will accept this and move on.”

Malloy told the NY Times how he felt: ”My reaction is one of sadness and disappointment. It really began when we found out about this because we felt we had failed as educators. From that moment until today, we have done everything we could to find out all the information and have taken very aggressive steps to make sure it won’t happen again. So this is sad closure, and we are concentrating on the future.”

Malloy also indicated that the behavior of Notre Dame’s football players would be reflected in the coaches’ annual performance evaluations.

Flash Forward

While the agony of charges investigated, the difficulty of controlling fringe elements to big-time football programs and the disagreement on the Infractions Committee’s decision may sound familiar 10 years later, much has changed in college football programs—more money, more vocal fan bases, more pressure to win, boosters welding greater power, some players even less focused on achieving an education.

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics report—”A Call to Action“—said in 2001 (co-chaired by Fr. Hesburgh): “We find that the problems of big-time college sports have grown rather than diminished. The most glaring elements of the problems outlined in this report—academic transgressions, a financial arms race, and commercialization—are all evidence of the widening chasm between higher education’s ideals and big-time college sports.”

How many universities and fans regard the NCAA as “comprised of institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals committed to the best interests, education and athletics participation of student-athletes?” Or in Malloy’s words, “a jury of our peers,” when Infractions Committee decisions are made.

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics was formed 15 years ago in response to some highly-visible scandals in college sports. At this week’s conference responding to the announcement of five major NCAA infractions by the Michigan football program, Mary Sue Coleman, Michigan’s President, said, “We will make all necessary changes. What we will not do is make excuses.” Coleman is a trustee of the Knight Foundation and signatory to “A Call To Action.”

Leadership

Notre Dame, USC and Michigan each encompass different NCAA compliance issues, each are ultimately judged on how they responded to the allegations and the NCAA decisions. More troubling is an underlying current of opinion that programs should not be held responsible for such infractions. Malloy and Coleman may now be expressing minority opinions.

The first step in distancing yourself and evading responsibility always seems to be to create a negative, hostile image of those appointed to judge you. Perhaps the second step is to revert to an adversarial approach, appropriate for the courtroom in an O.J.-esque attitude that “our lawyers are better than yours.” All infraction decisions are regarded as too harsh and appealed.

The leadership forward of Steven Sample, USC’s President, is harder to read. USC’s stated compliance policies are not. Located on the USC football website under the Compliance section are: the Principles of Institutional Control from the NCAA Committee on Infractions; extensive advice to parents and students defining extra benefits such as use of a car and reduced room cost from any USC employee, booster or parent; contact and inducements by agents and the consequences for the student and the USC athletic program.

The Knight Commission calls on presidents to lead their universities through such problems to “reconnect college sports and higher education.” We’ll all wait to see whether each president will lead their universities and accept responsibility for their infractions, as Monk did: “We will accept this and move on.”

Similar Posts:

• 670 the Score Radio Interview Audio and Reflections
• College Football Coaching Changes 2010: True Believers or Carpetbaggers?
• 670 the Score Radio Interview Audio and Reflections

This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

But, come on, really. We’re as likely to throw that coach under the bus unless he delivers to us, too.

In early January, as many of us thought the college coaching cycle was winding down, we had our college football coaching storylines. Many long-tenured coaches left their universities. Bobby Bowden (34 years) had to choose between coming back as a head coach in name only or retiring. FSU fans and administration wanted more wins than Bowden has delivered lately. Mike Leach (10 years), Mark Mangino (8 years), and then Jim Leavitt (12 years) were all fired after well-publicized investigations of allegations leading to their dismissals. Al Groh (9 years), Tommy West (Memphis, 9 years) and Charlie Weatherbee (7 years) were also fired.

In 2010, black coaches made a historic stride forward. Two black coaches replaced Mangino and Groh. Six African-American coaches were hired this year, bringing the total number of African-American coaches to thirteen, a historic high.

The Weis era came to an end after five years at Notre Dame.

Then Pete Carroll suddenly left for the greener pastures of the NFL, rocking USC.

The Trojans took Tennessee’s coach, who ended up hiring Louisiana Tech’s up-and-coming head coach. Notre Dame had taken Cincinnati’s head coach, who replaced their second coach in six years from a very successful Central Michigan football program.

We assume a pecking order in college football. Coaches recognize it and refer to their “dream jobs.”

Only those of us who have not been paying attention or have been insulated at the top of the pecking order are surprised at the coaching upheavals in 2010. Here’s an excerpt from an Athletic Director’s announcement in 2008: “—confirmed for me that he has accepted the head coaching position at ******. I’m disappointed for our [...] fans and student-athletes that he has chosen to leave our program after only two seasons. I understand that it is a dream job for him, but the timing and the way it played out has been hurtful and disappointing. Although this is a significant setback, we will get through the challenge because the ****** University Athletics program is far greater than one person.”

Substitute a coach’s name and any two universities for any recent high-profile departure and you have a pretty good description of any particular university’s response to most of these surprise resignations. In 2008, Gene Chizik’s AD issued the above response when he left for Auburn. Chizik had replaced Dan McCarney, who spent twelve years as the Cyclones’ head coach, resigning under fan pressure for more wins. Kiffin, Fulmer, Tennessee and USC are only another example of this recent pattern.

Loyalty, You’re Talking Loyalty?

In just the SEC, only two coaches (Richt and Johnson) have been their university’s head coach for more than five years. Ask Tommy Tuberville or Phil Fulmer about loyalty. Ed Orgeron was fired after three years at Ole Miss. Outside of Kiffin leaving Tennessee after one year and Auburn’s Chizik leaving Iowa State after two years, Nutt left Arkansas for Mississippi. Petrino replaced Nutt after one year at the Atlanta Falcons. Saban spent two years with the Dolphins, after leaving LSU in a similar manner as Carroll. We prize football success more than loyalty, don’t we? We’ll pay these carpetbaggers if they produce wins for us.

Overall, in the FBS after this season’s coaching changes, only 34 out of 119 head coaches (28%) have completed their fifth year or more at their current university football program. Only 24 coaches out of 119 (20%) have six years or more in their current positions. In other words, 85 FBS football programs (80%) have changed head coaches in a little over five years. Unless we have more coaching dominoes fall this year, 98 football head coaches have been hired (and fired) by FBS universities for their football programs in that time span. Many universities have had two hires in five years.

Old School — True Believers

Some coaches will not be carpetbaggers. David Cutcliff, Duke’s head coach for the last two years, turned down Tennessee’s offer, where he had spent nineteen years, in addition to seven years as head coach at Mississippi. “You follow your heart in big decisions. I have a lot of ties and a lot of people that I’m very close to, and a lot of respect for the University of Tennessee, but my heart is here. We’ve worked very hard these two years to change the culture, to change the team physically. You feel like the job’s not done, and in this era, it bothers me, what we do as coaches, moving here and there [...] this is mid-January. Nothing about that felt right to me as a person.”

Cutcliff believes: “Finish the job you start. That’s one of the things my dad also said, ‘If you’re going to do something, do it right and finish the job.’ It wasn’t about what was at Tennessee or what was involved in another world. It was about what was at Duke. I wasn’t looking for a job. And when you like the job you’ve got, you evaluate that first.”

Cutcliff considered his recruits in making his decision: “Good gosh. How fair is that? We’ve got guys that have dropped any other recruiting from any other institution long ago. How fair is that? [...] I felt a little dirty thinking about it.” Kiffin and Orgeron may have added another NCAA violation onto a their history of violations in contacting prospective members of the Tennessee class during a dead period and offering them scholarships to USC—especially if any recruits follow them to USC. That one would fall on Southern Cal’s Compliance Officer’s plate.

Rick Stockstill recently turned down the East Carolina position for similar reasons. “I could not look in the eyes of these recruits and their families and tell them the things I believe in and what I want them to believe in and then leave Middle Tennessee with only two weeks left in the recruiting process. Also, I have so much respect and admiration for our current players that they were ultimately the reason I could not pursue this any further. We have invested a lot together during these four years which played a major role in this decision.”

A Recruit’s Perspective

Recruits and their families are left to navigate their way through these coaching changes and the values that are involved in their recruitment. They have varying reactions to changes in coaches with whom they have formed relationships. Sometimes, coaches believe that recruits come to a university because of them—sometimes they do. Four-star athlete Delvin Jones decommitted from Tennessee after the departure of Lane Kiffin, Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron. “All three of them have come to my school plenty of times. They were the main reason why I wanted to go to Tennessee.”

Glen Fulton, father of Tennessee commit Zach Fulton, said: “We bought into him (Kiffin) and I made the biggest mistake I ever made. I bought into the man instead of buying into the university. Always buy into the university instead buying into the man. The university is going to be there.”

Gary Willis, the father of Vols’ verbally-committed recruit Brandon Willis, countered Ed Orgeron’s offer of a scholarship to USC instead of Tennessee with this: “When Coach Orgeron made that offer, I told him, ‘I gave you my word, and Brandon gave you his word, and you gave us your word and then you leave. How do we know someone else won’t offer you $5 million, and you’ll be gone again (from USC)?’” Brandon has switched his commitment to North Carolina.

A couple of years ago, in a story well-known to many Irish fans, Omar Hunter, a highly sought after Defensive Tackle, had switched his verbal commitment from Notre Dame to Florida. Omar heard just prior to Signing Day: “I got a voice mail left to me last night by a coach that was recruiting me that coach Greg Mattison (who was recruiting Hunter for the Gators) was leaving Florida to go to Baltimore. They told my coach the same thing.”

Urban Meyer and Mattison assured Omar and his father that this was not going to happen. Hunter faxed in his signed Letter of Intent. The next day it was reported that Mattison was gone, though no official announcement had been made. Florida announced the hiring of his replacement. Mattison announced he had accepted the Ravens “second offer” as their Defensive Line coach afterwards. All this in less than four days!

Greg Mattison’s replacement was ex-Iowa State head coach, Dan McCarney! McCarney, who became defensive line coach for USF after leaving Iowa State, said at his announcement: “I’m thrilled about joining the Gator Nation. I have the utmost respect for Coach Meyer and the Florida football program. It is a dream come true for me and my wife and we are looking forward to the opportunity.”

Mattison has been promoted to the Ravens Defensive Coordinator. Urban Meyer has assured all his recruits he will be back this fall after a medical leave. McCarney coaches Hunter and the rest of the defensive line players.

Who Pays Fired Coaches?

In a zero sum game, we want our team to come out on top and are willing to push for it. It’s easy when you are not the final bill-payer.

Who’s making the money in the 98 head coaching college football hires over the past six seasons? Not the colleges—only 25 of the 119 FBS institutions reported an athletic department budget surplus during the 2007-08 academic year. Those 25 had a surplus of $3.87 million. The other 94 institutions had an average deficit of $9.87 million.

Attendance and fan support can determine a coach’s fate, and, ultimately drive up salaries.

At Louisville, Athletic Director Tom Jurich had seen Petrino look around for jobs for four years before abruptly departing. Prior to his hiring, Kragthorpe assured his AD, “I don’t want to be a guy that moves around, I want to be a guy that stays in one place.” Jurich said, “Steve, I’ve heard all these things before, that you want to be here forever. But he said ‘Tom, you’ve never heard it from me.’” Kragthorpe, the “hot name” in 2007, was fired this year by Jurich due to declining attendance and wins. Average attendance at Louisville home games has dropped 9,000 fans from the 2006 season.

In 2009, Jurich says, “I want to get a great leader of men and somebody that will take us to the heights we want to be at. I watched as the whole season progressed and I feel like we needed a change in culture, a change in scenery.” Steve Kragthorpe was paid for his three seasons at Louisville and the two years left on his contract.

Charlie Strong from Florida has been hired as the Cardinal’s new head coach to jumpstart the football program. Jurich admits that paying off Kragthorpe’s remaining contract years will “strap” the athletic department programs.

Rising coaches salaries and paying off contracts at public institutions means you, the taxpayer, actually do foot the bill—whether you follow those state teams or not.

Show Me the Money

The Jerry McGuire in this story is an agent named Jimmy Sexton, who represents most college football coaches in the South. Sexton benefitted when one of his clients, Lane Kiffin, left paying a buyout of $800,000 against his one year salary of $2 million at Tennessee and signed a new deal with USC. Sexton is also rumored to be the agent for new UT coach, Derek Dooley. Isn’t that like paying your real estate broker twice—once for selling your home and again for obtaining your new home?

The less loyalty universities and coaches have, the more money Sexton makes. Sexton takes a 3-5% of a coach’s contract every time. He enhances his reputation and bank account with each contract. Sexton’s client list includes many of the coaches who changed jobs in the last few years—Saban, both Kiffins, Fulmer, Cutcliff, Kevin Steele (now at Tennessee), Will Muschamp, Tuberville, Chizik, Butch Davis, Jimbo Fisher, Spurrier, Mike MacIntyre (new San Diego State coach), Doug Marrone (Syracuse), Larry Porter (Memphis), Weatherbie, and West.

If you can get a piece of 98 college coaching hirings (and firings) in six coaching hiring cycles, you are making a significant income. When 94 of those 119 institutions have average annual deficits of almost $10 million, that’s making money in a down market.

The Down Market

Except for the select universities like Tennessee, Notre Dame, Texas, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, etc. the down market is a university’s football program. With such largesse being syphoned away from normal university activities, college presidents ask who is more loyal to the university and represents university values—a full professor or the new football coach whose longevity may be five years at best? When assistant coaches make three times as much as full professors at institutions like Texas, Alabama, LSU and stay for a few years, the universities take notice.

The NCAA made recommendations to its universities on ways to cut costs last fall. Last week at their annual meeting one economist suggested going to Congress for an exemption from antitrust laws to limit coaching salaries. Other suggestions included cutting the number of football scholarships, cutting overnight stays prior to a game, and cutting back on the seasons in other sports.

Since 2007, head coaches compensation packages have broken the $4 million ceiling with twice as many head coaches today making $2 million and $3 million as two years ago. Over 100 FBS head coaches now make more than $1 million.
Meanwhile, attendance is falling for the bottom of the FBS teams, most of whom have replaced their coaches. At the top, game attendance cannot go higher. With rising costs, including coaching contracts, increasing ticket prices or tuition is the only way to break even.

Still, turnover creates opportunity, leading to more hires of up and coming assistant coaches and a faster way of hiring qualified African-American coaches. Imagine if all those head coaches were kept until the end of their contracts.

Turnover vs. Retention

Regardless, one way of keeping carpetbaggers like Kiffin and Chizik for longer than 1 or 2 years would be to restructure contracts with tapering buyout clauses to a three year minimum. If the head coach left after one year—$3 million buyout, after two years—$2 million, after three years—$1 million. In general, colleges would be limiting some coaching salary escalation with more retention.

Lane would have then paid Tennessee more than his salary to leave for his “dream job.”

On the other hand, Kevin Sumlin, Houston’s black head coach with two years there, would not be interviewing for positions at Kansas, Texas Tech, Cincinnati or East Carolina.

Either way, loyalty in such a fiscal environment can be ephemeral, relative and totally at odds with university values.

Similar Posts:

• Notre Dame’s NCAA Infractions: Ten Years Later
• 670 the Score Radio Interview Audio and Reflections
• Pre-Season Polls: What Happened to the Bulldogs?

This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

Once again we’ve reached the part of the season that is consumed by boasting. Who has the best conference—mine or yours? We’re all biased even though we try to be objective about non-conference scheduling. Complicating the process is that fewer top teams are playing each other, more teams are taking advantage of the 12th game to increase the number of home games and conference teams schedule FCS teams and non-BCS teams in varying amounts. They also have differing amounts of non-conference games from the Big East (five per team) to the Pac-10 (three per team).

Playing in front of your home crowd or a large amount of your fans at a nearby visiting game confers a distinct advantage. Teams with seven or eight home games as well as those teams who travel with significant amounts of their fanbase have a decided advantage. Another advantage schedulers use is “cupcake” scheduling.

A Pac-10 Non-conference Schedule Analysis

As an example, let’s look at the Pac-10, which has a 21-9 (67.44%, 10 teams) non-conference record this year, third best to the SEC (42-6, 72.8%, 12 teams) and the Big East (32-8, 69.14%, 8 teams). The worst conferences rated by their win-loss records are the FCS teams and Sunbelt conference year in and year out (I’ll term the FCS teams a conference). Not far behind are the MAC and C-USA, which usually win less than 40% of their non-conference games. Scheduling those four does wonders for your records.

The Pac-10 was 7-0 against those four conferences this year. Subtract those games and the Pac-10 record is reduced to 14-9 (60.87%). Against BCS teams only, the Pac-10 is 8-7, 53%. Perhaps using those figures is a more accurate representation of how strong the Pac-10 is. One caveat: those 15 games against BCS opponents represent 50% of their non-conference games, ranking first in all BCS conferences. (Source: Colley’s Bias Free College Football Rankings)

An SEC Schedule Analysis

The SEC, on the other hand, will have Alabama playing in the national title game, had two of the top three ranked teams nationally, and can boast the best non-conference record in college football. Are they the top conference? How has SEC scheduling contributed to their success?

SEC teams do not schedule many BCS opponents—they constitute 29% of their non-conference games. That ranked as fifth of the six BCS conferences, exceeding only the Big 12’s paltry 23%. The SEC prefers conference competition against the FCS (11 games), Sunbelt (10), C-USA (6), MAC (4) and ACC (7). The SEC record against the FCS, Sunbelt, C-USA and MAC is 30-1. Subtract those games, as we did with the Pac-10, and their record is 12-6 (67%). Against only BCS opponents, the SEC still had an admirable 10-4 record (71.4%)—5-2 against the ACC and 5-2 in games against the other four BCS conferences.

Home Cooking

One fact overlooked by the statistics is that SEC teams do not play many games outside their region. The ACC provides natural rivals to some SEC teams with teams also located in the Deep South. Similarly, the Pac-10 plays Mountain West and Western Athletic conferences and the Big 10 schedules the MAC.

In fact, of those 14 non-conference BCS games in 2009, SEC teams played only three games outside of the Deep South—LSU vs. Washington, Georgia vs. Oklahoma St., and a neutral site game between Arkansas and Texas A&M in Dallas (about a 260 mile drive for Arkansas). The SEC’s record was 2-1.

Out of 48 non-conference games only three games (6.25%) in 2009 were played outside of the Deep South!

SEC Against BCS Opponents Outside the South

Over the last five years, how many games do SEC teams play against BCS opponents outside of the Deep South? Not many. Over a span from 2005-09, SEC teams played 17 regular season games outside of their region—or about 7% of all non-conference games over the past five years. Their record in those games is not very good: 6-11 (35%).

That means that each of the 12 teams in the SEC only has to stray far from home to play a BCS opponent an average of 1.4 times in five years!

SEC Non-Regional Games Over Five Years

From 2005-08, these non-conference, regular season, non-regional games were against BCS opponents. That habit changed in 2009 when non-BCS Rice, Miami (Ohio) and Army were added to away games with Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Washington. Four of those six games were wins. Vanderbilt lost at West Point and Georgia lost in Stillwater.

Over the five years from 2005-09, the SEC’s regular season record against only BCS teams in games played outside the Deep South is 4-10 (28%). Which SEC teams rarely leave the Deep South? Over the last five years:

• South Carolina, Alabama and Florida have not played any away games outside of the Deep South
• Mississippi, Mississippi State and Auburn have only played one game
• LSU, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky have played only two games each
• Only Arkansas and Vanderbilt have played three games outside the Deep South in the last five years

What if the SEC played more away games outside of their comfort zones? What would their non-conference record be?

Home Game Comparison

Only one SEC team (Vanderbilt) played a six home–six away schedule. Georgia played six home games and one neutral site (Jacksonville) schedule. Eight SEC teams played seven home games with three of those (Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas) playing an additional neutral site game (Atlanta, Jacksonville and Dallas, respectively). Two SEC teams had eight home games (Tennessee and Auburn).

As for the Pac-10, six of their 10 teams played a six home–six away schedule. Four Pac-10 teams played seven home games. None played eight home games nor any friendly, nearby neutral site games.

Against the Top 25—A Comparison of the SEC and Pac-10

While the SEC had two of the top five teams in the nation in the final national rankings and three in the Top 25, the Pac-10 had five teams in the Top 25. Half of the Pac-10 teams are in the final Top 25.

The SEC had four teams with records better than 7-5 (33%). The Pac-10 had six teams with records better than 7-5 (60%).

The SEC played five games to teams outside of their conference who finished in the Top 25 (#9 Georgia Tech–twice, #11 Virginia Tech, #16 West Virginia, and #19 Oklahoma State). Two were home games, two were away games and one a neutral site game. Their record was 3-2 in those games. Those five games represent 10.4% of their non-conference schedules. One out of every ten SEC non-conference game was against a Top 25 team.

The Pac-10 played six games against teams in the final Top 25 (#3 Cincinnati, #6 Boise State, #8 Ohio State, #10 Iowa, #12 LSU, and #23 Utah). Four of those six teams will play in BCS games. Three games were away and three at home. Their record was 2-4 in those games. Those six games represent 20% of their non-conference schedules. One out of every five Pac-10 non-conference game was against a Top 25 team!

Cupcake Scheduling Argument

One argument made by SEC conference scheduling advocates is that conference teams need to schedule a light non-conference schedule because the SEC conference schedule is so difficult. In 2009, only three teams in the SEC had a conference record better than .500 (Alabama, Florida and LSU).

The Pac-10 schedulers clearly have a different philosophy. Six Pac-10 teams had a conference record better than .500, twice as many as the SEC. With 20% (6 games) of their non-conference games (30 games total) against the final Top 25 teams, with five of their 10 conference teams in the Top 25, and with the each Pac-10 team playing each other annually, each Pac-10 played a Top 25 team at an average of 5.6 out of their 12 games this year.

Imagine playing a Top 25 team almost every other game! Especially when most conference teams play a 6-6 home-away schedule and are willing to travel to Columbus, Iowa City, Knoxville, Minneapolis and South Bend to play before hostile crowds that can reach over 100,000.

Future Scheduling

Will this scheduling philosophy continue for SEC teams? It appears so. Florida, South Carolina and Kentucky will not be playing any away games outside the region. Alabama will only venture out to Penn State (2011). Currently, only five SEC teams (Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi and Vanderbilt) have scheduled two games each scheduled over those five years outside the Deep South.

Only Tennessee stands apart so far. The Volunteers have scheduled away games at Oregon, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Connecticut and Ohio State in addition to North Carolina State over the next 10 years.

The Pac-10 will continue to play a national non-conference schedule with half their games against BCS teams. In the next few years, the Pac-10 teams play Texas, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, BYU, Boston College, Kansas State and Notre Dame. That may limit the “home cooking” for their fans, but, with only three non-conference games, three-quarters (nine) of their games are against Pac-10 foes.

The SEC formula is designed to produce revenue from home games, television and bowl games due to increased participation by conference teams. The SEC has contracted for eight bowl games (67% of conference teams). All but one of their bowls are from December 31st or later.

The Pac-10 formula produces more exciting games and matches up more top teams. All of their bowls but one are prior to December 31st.

Does a stronger regular season produce better results when top teams match up in bowl games? More than one year is required to answer this question. But in 2009, the SEC went 6-2 in bowl competition. The Pac-10 was 5-0. Don’t expect a matchup between these two powerful conferences in the bowls, since no bowl has contracts with both conferences. We could only see a matchup between the SEC and Pac-10 for the National Championship.

Conclusion

One football adage has to be taken into consideration, “To be the best, you have to beat the best.” Which scheduling philosophy lends itself to producing more successful teams? You have seen the numerous factors that argue towards one conference or another being the best conference and the difficulty in comparing conferences. I’ll let you decide.

Just don’t forget the Big East, second overall, with a 32-8 non-conference record (69.14%), 9-7 against BCS teams and with three teams in the Top 25. A Cincinnati win over Florida would boost their conference ranking tremendously.

Similar Posts:

• Fifteen Answers on Notre Dame’s Rivalries
• Fifteen Questions on Notre Dame’s Rivalries
• College Football’s 12th Game

This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

The End of a College Football Program

We got an insight into how a football player feels when he suddenly loses his program from Chris Jarmon, a freshman offensive lineman last year at Division 3 Colorado College, in his blog from March 29, 2009. An athletic department meeting had been called. President Richard Celeste spoke to the football, softball and water polo teams:

“You could almost hear everyone’s hearts simultaneously hit the floor. I couldn’t even move, feeling a shock that rocked me to my core like nothing in my life ever has. I literally felt sick to my stomach as Celeste began a tirade about the economy and costs and endowment and program cuts and broken dreams. All in all, he said, CC would be cutting softball, football and women’s water polo to keep the other programs working in a manner that CC could be proud of. As soon as I heard the news, I knew I had to transfer. Football means almost everything to me, and I couldn’t live with myself not knowing I’d exhausted all playing opportunities. To be honest, I don’t know how I’m going to live without football once my senior season is over. So to not play my remaining three seasons would be the biggest regret of my life.

Thus, the main sentiment continues to be the surreal nature of this whole situation. We had no rumors, no warning. Our coaches didn’t even know football was being dropped until yesterday morning. We have recruits committed to come here and play for a team that no longer exists. The most surreal and jarring aspect of this whole thing is that, in a matter of seconds, I lost my family here as I knew it. Of my friends who I’d gotten to know so well, I’ll maybe see a few once the school year’s over. Maybe one or two will even transfer to the same school as me, but I doubt it. I might talk with my coaches occasionally via email or phone, but I’ll be just another ex-player. Now instead of dreaming about what we’ll do at CC next year, I’m scrambling to get teacher recommendations, transcripts and FAFSA forms. All the while I can barely stand to think about trying to find the same kind of family elsewhere. It makes me feel scared and weak. It’s sapped my energy completely. I’ve lost my appetite and I eat sparingly. I sleep more than I used to. This is undoubtedly a period of grieving for me, and to have to look for another place to go to school makes it even worse.

I’m coming to terms with the fact that the of brothers I’ve gained here at CC, I’ll most likely never see most of them again after I leave here. It continues to break my heart and soul. In those few seconds everything in my college life got turned upside down. Dollar signs aside, the athletic department did not drop a football program yesterday. They ruined a family. I pray that someday I will get over this, but I doubt it will be any time soon.” (Source: The D3 Experience)

Football Costs, FBS Recruiting Budgets

Jarmon had previously blogged concerns that many D3 football players have on January 31, 2009:

“Reading about teams cutting their programs is a scary thing to me as a D3 player, especially one whose team just capped off an 0-9 season amidst campus financial troubles. You think that this is something that won’t happen to you, and then two schools cut their programs in a single month. The financial ramifications of Divsion III football are extreme: the program requires exceptional amounts of money for proper equipment, and (in CC’s case, since we have to fly to every away game) some serious flying expenses.

I’ve kept the faith that as one of the most visible programs on campus and one of the oldest programs ever (we played the first football game west of the Mississippi), we won’t see this happen at CC. But if the rest of 2009 is as crazy as January was, who knows what will happen next?”

Colorado College played its first football game in 1882, five years prior to Notre Dame’s first game. The Board of Trustees tasked CC’s Athletic Department to cut $8-12 million dollars from their budgets. The “serious flying expenses” Jarmon refers to were detailed by Celeste: “It is important to note that our athletic program is the only Division III program in the Mountain Time Zone. In the 2008-09 academic year we will have purchased over 1,700 plane tickets and over 1,425 hotel nights in order for our teams to complete their schedules.” (Source: Colorado College)

Colorado College expected to save $450,000 in expenses by dissolving these three programs. In contrast, for recruiting expenses only, the top twenty FBS schools spent over $1 million dollars, representing 1-3% of their athletic department budgets. Tennessee spent over $2 million on recruiting with Notre Dame second at about $1.76 million. (Source: Fanblogs)

The Purest Form of College Football

Chris Jarmon subtitles his blog, “The Purest Form of College Football.” Division III athletes do not receive athletic scholarships. Their colleges are small, often private schools. Of the 233 D3 football programs in 28 conferences, only 27 teams have an average attendance of more than 3,000 fans per game. (Source: NCAA Accumulated Attendance Report.pdf)

Occasionally, a D3 football player gets an NFL tryout. The NCAA does not even distinguish D3 football players from their schools’ other students in graduation statistics. All are considered students. Playing for the love of football, without any chance at the NFL, with few opportunities to appear on TV or before more than a couple of thousand fans at most, and working to achieve your degree may well be the purest form of college football.

Jarmon, who is majoring in English with a Journalism minor, transferred to Grinnell College (Iowa) after spending a summer as an intern working for NFL Films. He continued his blog through a tough fall camp, learning a new offense and adjusting to new teammates and a new part of the country. He experienced his first win as a college football player and Grinnell’s tradition of “Beardtober.”

How has he fared with all the changes and transitions? He recently blogged:

“Throughout it all, football was a lifeline. The family here at Grinnell is as strong as any I’ve ever been a part of. This year was (and still is) the toughest I’ve gone through in my life, but thanks to those around me I can call it my most formative year yet as a student, as a football player, and as a man. It helped to heal the wounds that ran deep into my soul. I’ll never forget losing my family at CC, but having a family here helps me to embrace the pain and keep moving forward with love in my heart.

So now, as I listen to the freezing rain popping on my window during a cold November night in Iowa, many months later after another season of football and another year of life, was it all worth it?

Absolutely.”

How Novel—A Playoff

To paraphrase the Wizard of Oz, Division III has one thing FBS football does not have—an NCAA playoff to determine their champion.

2009 NCAA Division III Championship Bracket

The semifinals of the D3 playoffs pit four unbeaten teams that all rank in the top five nationally. Top-ranked and 10-time National Champion, Mount Union (OH) faces third-ranked Wesley (DE). Mt. Union’s second-ranked Scoring Offense (48 points per game) must overcome #3 Wesley’s fourth-ranked Scoring Defense (10 ppg). Mount Union’s top-ranked Scoring Defense (7 ppg) should be the difference against Wesley’s twenty-seventh ranked Scoring Offense (35 ppg).

Wisconsin-Whitewater, another past National Champion who finished second to Mount Union last year, may be headed for another final rematch with them. Before that, second-ranked Whitewater must overcome fifth-ranked Linfield (OR), who is also a previous National Champion. Whitewater will try to establish its rushing offense that averages over 200 yards per game against a Linfield defense that gives up over 160 ypg.

If Wisconsin-Whitewater and Mount Union meet in the Stagg Bowl finals, D3’s top two defenses will face two of its top offenses.

Should you tire of the endless BCS wrangling, calls for playoffs, questionable bowl matchups and discussions of revenues or even if you want to take a break from Notre Dame head coach rumors, check out the D3 playoffs and Chris Jarmon’s blog.

You should also expect more cutbacks and perhaps more small college football programs calling it quits.

So far this year, Hofstra (FCS) has ended their 69 year old program as well as Northeastern (DI) pulling the plug after 74 years.

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• God, Country, Notre Dame (in Glory Everlasting)
• Notre Dame’s Coaching Search, Avoiding the Availability Bias
• College Football’s 12th Game

This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

Louis camped at Notre Dame this summer, made an official visit to Notre Dame for the Michigan State game, and an unofficial visit for the Southern Cal game.

Nix’s surprise commitment, especially to a team without a head coach, was obtained by assistant coach Tony Alford. ESPN recruiting reports, “He (Alford) told me about the situation with the coaches, and he said if he wasn’t going to be there, he thought I should still go there, and that Notre Dame was the best school for me. For someone to tell me that, who possibly wouldn’t be coaching me, that’s something worth listening to.”

Rivals describes the newest Irish commit: “Nix is very physical and a dominant force when he has low pad level at the point of attack. He has surprisingly good agility and athleticism for a big man. Knows how to extend his arms and control the opponent by steering where he wants. Conclusion: If Nix comes into camp in shape, he will most likely play early on because he has excellent overall size and strength. Expect him to be a three-year starter with NFL potential.”

Tom Lemming, recruiting analyst of MaxPreps and formerly of ESPN, said of the 6′2″, 320lb. defensive tackle: “He’s coming to Notre Dame because of the academics and the university and what it could do for his future.”

To secure such a commitment without a head coach is not only surprising but almost unprecedented. This is a testament to Weis and his staff’s abilty to form relationships with recruits and to convey their belief in the importance of attending the University. Even without their head coach, the Irish staff continue to recruit.

Lemming ends with, “They get a great player without a coach. No one could do that but Notre Dame.”

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• SEC Acquires NCAA: Hostile Takeover of Notre Dame Fails
• Notre Dame Under Charlie Weis—and Beyond
• Facing an Angry Mob: The Future of Charlie Weis at Notre Dame

This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

Few will argue that those trends have been reversed under Weis and his assistant coaches.

The success of Notre Dame football approaches a religious intensity rivaled only by emotions at Alabama and Texas. No buffer zone of conference championships exists as it does for Bob Stoops, Jim Tressel, Mark Richt, or Brian Kelly. We expect a BCS game frequently and a National Championship once every five years. High expectations, constant scrutiny and criticism are part of the job Weis has embraced. As Charlie says, “Welcome to my world.”

To his credit, Charlie Weis always accepts the blame for any loss and defers any credit for a win to his players and coaching staff. “No excuses” and Weis’s emphasis on outcomes—wins and losses—were a breath of fresh air in 2005. We had heard repeatedly from the prior coach, “We had a good game plan. The players just did not execute it.” Ty rarely made changes at halftime and, realistically, did not have the heart and energy to commit to Notre Dame football.

In a prior article, I detailed the difference in offensive line recruiting under Willingham and Weis and how it impacted 2007 and, to a lesser extent, 2008. Weis’ long days and tireless work habits on behalf of his alma mater have been examples to his staff and players.

Expectations

Clashmore Mike quantified Irish expectations prior to the season. Our readers’ average expectation—nine wins. As an alumnus, Weis sets the bar higher—”9-3 is not good enough.” We were enthralled as four-ring Charlie turned a mediocre quarterback into a Heisman candidate and a second-string receiver into a two-time All-American. Yet during Weis’ tenure, the defense has always been the millstone around Irish necks.

With a mature offensive line and the maturity of skilled position players, our offensive production this year has exceeded most expectations, though knowledgeable Irish backers contest its limitations. Again this year we have a Heisman quarterback, an All-American receiver, and an offense averaging almost 30 points per game.

The Challenges of History

Another Clashmore Mike article discussed the problems with hype and history. Coaches and players come to Notre Dame to be in the spotlight and commit to the glare whether we win or lose. Are eight wins not good enough to keep your jobs?

When Bob Davie was the head coach, he joined a bunch of students for a ceremonial trip to Rockne’s grave for an Irish whiskey and to leave a shot for Rock. The students were shocked into silence when Davie addressed Rock with, “Rock, why did you have to set the bar so high?” Not just Rockne (88%), Bob, but Harper (86%), Leahy (85%), Paraseghian (83%), Layden (76.9%), Holtz (76.5%), and Devine (76.4%) have exceeded the 75% (9-3) bar—seven coaches.

Historically, only Michigan’s five coaches—Schembechler (85%), Carr (77.9%), Yost (77.8%), Crisler (77.8%), and Moeller (77.5%)—come anywhere near ND’s coaching success records.

That success—its history and hype—is what each Notre Dame head coach must face head on. To fail against those expectations is to stand on the shore trying to stop a tsunami.

BCS Bowls, Weis’ Records, 2005 Coaching Hires

In the last four years, only Tressel (4), Carroll (4), and Stoops (3) have taken their teams to more BCS games than Weis (2), who is tied with Paterno, Mack Brown, Meyer, and Beamer for fourth. Brown and Meyer will play in another BCS bowl this year.

Since Weis measures himself in wins and losses, let’s see how he stacks up against other coaching hires in 2005.

Of 23 coaching hires, seven coaches have been fired and one deceased. Five others have losing records. Only 10 of the 23 have winning records. Four—Meyer, Miles, Whittingham and Mendenhall—have excellent records (greater than a 70% winning percentage). Six others—Gundy, Wannstedt, Holtz, Weis, Cubit, and Spurrier—have comparable winning records.

Subtracting wins over FCS teams, Weis is the winningest coach of those BCS coaches (35-26, 57%), Gundy (31-25, 55%), Wannstedt (30-24, 55%), and Spurrier (30-27, 52%). Only Weis of all of these 2005 coaching hires is discussed as being on the hot seat and with a job imminently in jeopardy.

Arguably, Whittingham, Mendenhall and Holtz, though very good coaches, may not have had the same success at BCS schools. Utah’s BCS win over Alabama is notable, yet BYU’s loss to Arizona and Boise State’s loss to TCU may be more reflective of records against tougher competition. Comparing Whittingham’s and Mendenhall’s records to Meyer’s and Miles’s success would be a difficult argument to make.

All of which means that, of the 23 new coaches in 2005, Weis has the third highest winning percentage among BCS coaches, eliminating FCS games. Not good enough at Notre Dame?

In Search of the Next Rockne

Could Meyer, Miles or Saban have done better at Notre Dame? Before you answer, think of the substance in the arguments that Notre Dame must attract prospects to Indiana and pass admission standards. Ask yourself how many players at Florida, LSU and Alabama could be admitted to Notre Dame?

Among Weis’ proudest accomplishments is his team’s academic successes. Grade point averages and graduation rates are at an all-time high. In two of his five years, Notre Dame has won the trophy for highest graduation rate among all FBS schools. He and his staff commit to four year scholarships to his players. If one is unable to compete due to an injury, they are switched to another scholarship, so that they can complete their degree at Notre Dame. If academics dip, that player does not play due to “personal reasons” in order to work on his grades. Weis and his staff have generated a great deal of loyalty from their players.

Which coaching hire has done better since 2002?

Comparing Weis’s record with all coaches hired from 2002-07 (88 total), only Nick Saban, Jeff Tedford, Brett Bielema, Chris Petersen, Brian Kelly and the four previously mentioned (Meyer, Miles, Whittingham and Mendenhall) have had better winning percentage than Weis. Tedford, Bielema and Mendenhall have not taken their teams to BCS bowls. Petersen, Whittingham, Saban and Kelly have coached their teams in one BCS bowl each. That leaves only two of 88 coaches hired since 2002 who have a better winning percentage and more BCS bowl appearance record than Weis—Meyer and Miles. To say Notre Dame has higher expectations is an understatement.

Notre Dame Coach Expectations

Using Charlie Weis’s record as not good enough, let’s see what Irish fans expect of any coach:

• Continued academic success without lowering admission standards
• Recruiting nationally and getting top 10 talent each year
• Three BCS games in five years
• A National Championship once in five years
• Five bowl games in five years
• A 70% winning percentage against BCS competition and Top 10 rankings regularly
• Winning records against Top 25 teams and other teams with winning records
• At least, 9-3 yearly
• Minimize losses to traditional rivals, home losses
• Continued commitment to the ideals of Notre Dame

Did I miss anything? I could throw in an improved defense and running game. Anything less would fall short of expectations by Irish fans.

A new coaching staff needs to replace the recruiting talent reflected by Rob Ianello’s four years in Rivals Top 25 recruiters, Corwin Brown twice in the Top 25 recruiters and Brian Polian once in the Top 25 recruiters. Mike Haywood was chosen as Assistant Coach of the Year with Bill Lewis in the final candidates for the same honor another year. Frank Verducci has made great strides in improving the offensive line and the running game has improved under his and Tony Alford’s coaching.

What Has Been Missing?

One thing Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, Devine and Holtz had that Weis does not is a dominant defense. Defense wins championships and saves your job. Whether the criticism has been poor tackling, poor run defense, poor schemes, or lack of aggressive secondary play, it all comes down to close games this year and trying to outscore our opponents.

Except for Nevada, Notre Dame’s losses this year are all to highly-ranked rushing offenses, including Navy (3), Pittsburgh (29), Michigan (31), USC (34) and Connecticut (42), in the last minute or in overtime. Stanford (12th) is upcoming.

Notre Dame’s rushing defense this year ranks 80th, the worst in Weis’s five years except for 2007 (96th).

Notre Dame football has decisions to make that require analyzing whether they throw out the baby with the bathwater. Should Weis be fired, there will be blood-letting. Clausen and Tate may depart for the NFL. Some very high quality assistant coaches may quickly find work elsewhere. Committed and interested prospects for this recruiting cycle may look elsewhere. Emotional ties between players and staff would be broken. A new staff may take a year or so to implement their offenses and defenses, longer to put in place some personnel they may need. Michigan’s lesson with Rich Rodriguez cannot be ignored.

While all the publicity brings smiles to a Saunders’ or May’s faces and drives ratings at ESPN, Notre Dame needs to decide if something less than major surgery will fix the direction of the football program.

An Alternative Way of Proceeding

An alternative might be to hire a high-profile, successful defensive coach like Will Muschamp, Charlie Strong or defensive-minded coach at a non-BCS school like Gary Patterson to provide guidance to a young defense. They could be designated as a “Head Coach in Waiting,” so the coaching transition could be smooth. The new coach in waiting could concentrate on the defense, evaluate current talent and assistant coaches, and get used to the pressure and visibility of the Notre Dame head coaching position, with national demands with alumni and recruiting.

Clausen and Tate naturally move to the NFL after next year, benefitting under another year under Weis’s offense.

If Notre Dame can afford to buy out Weis’ remaining years, they can afford the kind of salary required to lure such a coach away from his current position, especially if it only costs one buyout year less from Weis’ contract.

Similar Posts:

• For Better or Worse: Re-Evaluating Irish Expectations (Part 2)
• Facing an Angry Mob: The Future of Charlie Weis at Notre Dame
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This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

Imagine a stable of running backs—Bush, White, Allen, Simpson and Garrett led by Palmer and Leinart—facing off against an armload of quarterbacks—Huarte, Horning, Lattner, Lujack, Bertelli, Theisman and Rice with Brown and Hart as receivers. Two of the country’s three top Heisman-winning programs annually play each other. Only heroes and Heismans emerge from football’s greatest rivalry.

Twenty-two consensus national champions have emerged from this game. Counting all major selectors of national champions, USC and Notre Dame have been chosen thirty-eight times from a game that has been played eighty times. Without this virtual elimination game, imagine how many national championships these teams could have claimed.

Always there has been mutual respect—as well as heartbreak.

USC and Notre Dame Through the Decades

After the first game in 1926, Howard Jones came to the Irish locker room after a heartbreaking one point loss to congratulate his friend, Knute Rockne. Rockne thanked Jones and said, “It was the greatest game I ever saw.” More than one Irish coach would feel that way throughout the years.

Over a five year span from 1928 to 1932, the two teams combined to win the national championships between them every year—USC in 1928, 1931, and 1932 and Notre Dame in 1929 and 1930.

The Trojans spoiled an Irish championship and undefeated hopes in the last game of the season in 1938, 1964, 1970, 1980 and the tie in 1948. The Irish returned the favor in the last game in 1947 and 1952.

A War Story

In 1937, Mario Tonelli, an Italian Catholic from Chicago, took a handoff with the game tied 6-6, late in the fourth quarter, deep in Irish territory. He rumbled 70 yards, was tackled short of the goal, and then scored the winning touchdown moments later for the Irish victory. The following year, Tonelli and the rest of the Irish entered the Coliseum ranked #1. The Trojans ended that Irish squad’s national championship aspirations with a 13-0 victory.

Three years later, Tonelli was trapped with his comrades in the Philippines and forced to march 70 miles on the infamous Bataan Death March. He had been stripped of his treasured Notre Dame class ring by scavenging Japanese soldiers. A Japanese officer soon approached Tonelli and asked in perfect English, “Did one of my soldiers take this from you?” The officer pulled the ring from his pocket. “I went to the University of Southern California,” the officer said. “I graduated the same year you did. In fact, I saw the game when you made that long run that beat us. You were a hell of a player. I know how much this ring means to you, so I wanted to get it back to you.”

“He gave me my ring back and wished me good luck,” Tonelli recalled many years later.

Coaches

After the war, when Frank Leahy was targeted by some Big Ten teams and having difficulty scheduling opponents, Jeff Cravath, the former coach at the University of Southern California wrote to him and said:

“There never will be a time when USC drops Notre Dame from its schedule. The Irish play football the way it was meant to be played and it is a distinct privilege to coach against Frank Leahy. Let’s preserve the classic USC – Notre Dame game for our grandchildren. The Trojans are proud to play Notre Dame. Never would I criticize boys who fight with all their hearts and soul for their school. Hopefully, that is the same spirit we have at USC.”

After the 1948 game, which ended in a tie between the teams and spoiled Notre Dame’s national championship hopes, “Coach Leahy tried to enter to congratulate his opponents, the (USC) students hoisted him on their shoulders and even gave him three cheers. ‘This is the first time in my coaching career that I have been so highly honored by the student body of an opposing school,’ said the surprised Leahy.” (Source: “Notre Dame vs USC, The Glamour Game,” Cromarte, 1989)

The great coach John McKay said:

“Notre Dame has always lent a lot of dignity and tradition to college football. The enthusiasm of their student body is tremendous, their fight song is inspiring and I get goose bumps when I go back to South Bend and see the leaves falling and the golden dome shining in the sunlight…

It amuses me that coaches say they like to play Notre Dame, but when it’s time to schedule them, few teams stand in line… In 1971 before the game in South Bend, I told my players ‘We’re back here together in the greatest hotbed of football, Notre Dame, and this is the game that typifies college football. This is what its all about. This is what I’ve believed in since I was a little kid. And I still believe in it.’ Notre Dame – USC is the greatest in college football.” (Source: “The Game is On – Notre Dame vs. USC,” John McKay, 1976)

John Robinson echoed the feeling: “Notre Dame – USC is one of those elite games that is second to none, with great nationwide interest. The entire coaching staff has that feeling at USC… It’s such an honor to have either of these jobs, head coach at USC or Notre Dame, it’s an honor to be in the position. Nothing better can happen to you than to be involved in this great series.”

Former USC athletic director Jess Hill summed up the USC approach to this game:

“The Notre Dame series has proven to be very outstanding in every respect, because our philosophy has been in scheduling, that you play the best in the country and when you play Notre Dame—you are playing the best… There’s no disgrace in ever losing to Notre Dame, but there’s a great deal to be gained by defeating Notre Dame.

I sincerely hope that the USC – Notre Dame series will continue forever, and I think it will.

It has been a privilege and pleasure for me as a coach and athletic director to have the opportunity of meeting the wonderful people from Notre Dame. They are dedicated to excellence.” (Source: NDNation.com)

2009

Well, we’re up against it now, boys. In the last seven years, those great USC teams have averaged more than forty points a game against us, while we’ve scored more than two touchdowns only twice. They have more talent, more confidence, and ooze success.

We have only each other, standing toe-to-toe against such an onslaught as brothers. Games are not won by statistics or clippings, but by your heart and teamwork—something you can expect from them, something you will need to match and exceed.

Today you will fight on this field for Notre Dame. Perhaps some day, someone will come up to you and say, “I saw you give your all. You were a hell of a player.” When you see old age, you and your grandchildren will celebrate this day, this game, this rivalry above all others and whisper of what you have done, together.

The day you have worked for is here. Today you become part of of a proud history. We are ND.

Similar Posts:

• To Hell With Notre Dame
• National Championship Drought: How Long Is Too Long?
• 2008 Elite Selection Playoff: Week Twelve

This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

The responses to two incidents in this young college football season are illuminating.

We all watched replays of Oregon’s top running back, LaGarrette Blount, sucker punch Boise State’s Byron Hout. Hout had yelled in Blount’s face, tapped him on the shoulder and turned away. Blount was apologetic after the game: “I just apologize to anyone watching that. I just apologize to all of our fans and all of Boise’s fans. That’s something I shouldn’t have done. I lost my head.”

Oregon’s first year head coach and long-time offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly said, “I did not see anything. I will see it on tape and make a decision on what we need to do with him. There is no place for that. I do not condone that. I will make that decision if that is the case.”

The next day, Kelly suspended Blount, a senior, who set an Oregon record of 17 TDs last year. “Football at the University of Oregon is a privilege, and with that privilege goes responsibilities.”

Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott, said, “We commend the University of Oregon and its leadership for taking swift and decisive action in response to this incident. The Pac-10 strongly emphasizes sportsmanship and fair play in all its athletic competitions and expects high standards of sportsmanship from all participants, including student-athletes.”

The University of Oregon’s President, Richard Lariviere, said, “We do not and will not tolerate the actions that were taken by our player. Oregon’s loyal fans expect and deserve better.”

Kelly made it clear he was not taking away his scholarship so Blount could achieve his education. Oregon would provide Blount with support, calling it a “teachable moment.”

“We will provide him with instruction if necessary for him to succeed. He’s going to practice with this football team, he’s going to student support services, he’s going to go class. We’re going to make sure LaGarrette gets the goods.”

After the second week’s games, video evidence surfaced that Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton sucker punched Notre Dame center, Eric Olsen, during the second quarter of their game. Olsen was on his knees after a play was over.

Michigan coach, Rich Rodriguez, denied the incident happened to reporters.

“What are you talking about? I know they were talking about one incident on film, and I didn’t see anybody throw a punch or anything like that. The little bit I saw on the clip, I saw guys got tangled up together, and Jonas tried to free himself. There’s a whole lot of officials out there, and I’m sure if there was an infraction, then they’d call it.”

Eric Olsen had done nothing to provoke such an attack. Michigan reviewed the video but refused to discipline Mouton. The video was clear enough for Big Ten commissioner, Jim Delaney, who determined Mouton struck Olsen and violated the league’s sportslike conduct agreement.

In words similar to the Pac-10 commissioner’s, Delany said, “The actions of Jonas Mouton during the Notre Dame game are unacceptable. Mouton’s behavior has no place in the sport of football or the Big Ten Conference.”

Punches of opponents after a play ends are not that big a deal to Rodriguez. Clearly, he had no intention of disciplining his player, especially if the officials had not seen it. “I told the team, it should have been a penalty. It should have been a personal foul and maybe the officials didn’t see that part and I understand the league as a whole has to look at what they consider a non-football act and make their judgment accordingly. I don’t think for any instance or any stretch of the imagination that it was malicious and you should compare it with a windup punch like we saw earlier in the season (by Oregon’s LaGarrette Blount) in the Oregon game, but it’s an act the Big Ten is going to try to enforce and set a precedent with so we accept that.”

A punch after the whistle is “a non-football act” to Rodriguez and not his responsibility, certainly not “a teachable moment” about the responsibilities that come with the privilege of playing football for a university.

Rodriguez’s “acceptance” of the Big Ten’s reprimand came with a warning to the league and Commissioner Delaney. “Now I will tell you, my conversation with the commissioner was that we will watch every Big Ten game very closely and any non-football act, whether it’s a six-inch jab or anything that’s not called for the game of football we’re going to ask that person get the same type of punishment Jonas Mouton got. I’m sure the league will do that.”

Can you ever recall any player suspension by a league, which was not first undertaken by a team—and so reluctantly “accepted?”

Can you ever recall a coach who warns his league’s commissioner that he will monitor all other league games for such violations?

Noticeably absent is any statement from the University of Michigan’s President, Mary Sue Coleman, about upholding Michigan’s sportsmanship values, not tolerating such actions and the privileges and responsibilities of playing football. Mouton has not apologized as Blount did.

Perhaps she has surrendered ultimate control of the athletic department. Or maybe the independent review of the recent allegations of Rodriguez’s program and the possibility of major NCAA infractions consumes her full attentions.

Are Chip Kelly, Larry Scott and Jim Delaney are wrong? Maybe there is a place in college football where those type of acts and values are acceptable by the coach.

The silence in Ann Arbor outside of Rich Rodriguez should speak volumes to the Big Ten and the rest of college football.

Similar Posts:

• Under Pressure (Already)
• Notre Dame vs. Michigan: Keys to an Irish Win
• Notre Dame – USC: A Rivalry of Respect and Heartbreak

This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

Collins: To many this seems like a surprising move, Mike. How did it come about?

Slive: Well, Michael, we’re very honored to make the NCAA part of the Southeastern Conference Corporation of Holdings. We think it fits into what we want to do with our conference. We welcome all those universities who have been part of the NCAA to the SEC.

Collins: How much did it cost?

Slive: Of course, I can’t discuss exact figures. As you know, after signing our recent television contracts, we had a $3 billion windfall. Initially, we committed to support the education of our student-athletes. We decided to lower our admission standards to the NCAA minimum and look around for other opportunities. What return does education get you? We could have acquired the state of California, but that’s a sinkhole for future money, too. We settled on the NCAA.

Collins: My sources tell me you were interested in acquiring Notre Dame football.

Slive:  That wasn’t supposed to get out. I know Fr. Jenkins from the BCS Oversight Committee. We had some friendly discussions—even getting to the point of discussing valuations. I tell you those Holy Cross priests are businessmen. They’ve built quite a brand name. We were excited.

Collins: What was the hang-up?

Slive: The Pope got wind of it. We were forced into a hostile takeover bid. Even with the backing of ESPN/ABC though, you can’t fight the Church. He’s quite a fan–the Pope—even to the point of selling some Michelangelos, if it came down to it. He watches every game in the Vatican Theater with his ND cap on. Ol’ Benedict threatened to establish a world-wide Pope Network that would air Notre Dame games to every Catholic throughout the world. Imagine! We capitulated.

Collins: Will you regret not being able to acquire Notre Dame football?

Slive: When I look back, Notre Dame will probably always be the one that got away. The Irish are such a unique brand. You either love them or hate them. We like that model. We could’ve held it for a few years, building the brand by matching the Irish against Alabama or Florida. Think of the love-hate and further exposure that would have brought. ESPN has been drooling to sink their teeth into that television contract. Then we could have spun it off and been rolling in dough.

Collins: Why the NCAA? Why not Texas? Or the ACC?

Slive: Texas maintains a unique position in the great state of …, but ever try selling Texas to Californians or New Yorkers? Those were markets we wanted to get into. Notre Dame football seemed the ideal fit. I admire the ACC institutions and their commitment to education, but please, where’s the beef? The NCAA presents some unique opportunities for us and, between you and me, was less expensive.

Collins: What are your immediate plans for the new NCAA/SEC?

Slive: A number of changes. Let me reveal a couple.

First, we want full control over all visual images from each game. Our new SEC Digital Network now has rights to every picture taken at every NCAA game. We want to make college football lucrative to those few that can continue to participate.

Second, the history of college football will be changed. National Championships by SEC teams and legitimate All-Americans have been ignored by eastern media and that we will change that. The College Football Hall of Fame will be moved south. We’re considering moving it into the Bear Bryant Museum.

Collins: Is there anything else you’d like to add, Mike?

Slive: No, it’s been my pleasure, Michael. You’ve been a real gentleman. Who do you write for anyway?

Collins: An Irish football blog called Clashmore Mike and an open-source sports community called Bleacher Report.

Slive: Hmm, haven’t heard of either. Luckily, it appears our conversation won’t reach much of an audience.

Collins: Well, Bleacher Report, for instance, now appears on CBS Sportline, ESPN and Yahoo! Sports websites.

Slive: Whoa, I had no idea… How much would you say Bleacher Report is worth? We might be interested. Also, tell me more about Clashmore Mike…  You know fans can be businessmen, too.

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• Clashmore Mike Welcomes Michael Collins
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This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

The 1909 Notre Dame-Michigan Game

Though Michigan had won two national championships and five conference championships in the decade, Wolverine coach Fielding Yost expected a struggle: “We’ve got to work as we have never worked before. Notre Dame is coming up here Saturday with a bunch of men that have had more football experience than any of the players on our team. They are almighty strong. Saturday’s contest will be as hard as either the Pennsylvania or Minnesota games.”

Notre Dame dominated first half play against one of Yost’s greatest teams and led 5-3. Despite their coach’s halftime exhortations—”Git ‘em low, I tell you. Git ‘em low! Fight, fight, FIGHT!”—Notre Dame won 11-3 for their first victory against Michigan, igniting national sports news and an uneasy rivalry.

The Detroit Free Press headline read: “‘U. of M. Outplayed and Beaten By the Notre Dame Eleven’  – ‘Shorty Longman’s Fighting Irishmen Humble the Wolverines to Tune of 11 to 3′.” This headline is often credited with the origin of Notre Dame’s team name.

Yost, a West Virginian, was crushed following the loss. “What makes me so dag-goned mad is that we might have won the game. Those are the worst kind of games to lose. They leave a worm in a man’s heart to gnaw and gnaw. Oh, I don’t know. I’m sick and tired of the whole business; it certainly is discouraging. Although we were outplayed we should have won. I take my hat off to the Irishmen.”

Notre Dame outscored its first seven opponents 236-14 with five shutouts, but ended with a 0-0 tie against Marquette. At that time in college football’s history, champions were crowned in the East and the West. After Michigan eliminated undefeated Minnesota 15-6, Yost was singing a different song. “They will have to do some juggling to make the Indiana bunch champions of the West. Let them fight it out in the newspapers, y’know. We are satisfied. The games that counted, Michigan won.”

Michigan proclaimed themselves West champions once again (picture above) and then cancelled the Notre Dame game on the eve of the game in Ann Arbor the following year.

Fritz Crisler and Frank Leahy

The Wolverines did not play Notre Dame for another thirty-three years until two games scheduled during the lean years of World War II. Michigan won 32-20 in 1942 in South Bend and lost 35-12 in Ann Arbor in 1943.

George Ceithaml, captain of Michigan’s 1942 team, victorious over ND 32-20 and later an assistant coach at Michigan wrote his old coach Fritz Cristler, “Conference champions come and go, but beating Notre Dame stays forever.”

Coach Frank Leahy recalled, “In 1944 I asked Fritz Crisler directly if we could resume the series. He looked me straight in the eyes and said that Michigan was willing to meet Notre Dame any place, any time and any Saturday. I believed him. I repeatedly asked him for a date that we could meet and he never could make room on his schedule for Notre Dame.”

When asked by reporters about a Michigan-Notre Dame series in 1947, the normally quiet, reserved Leahy shot back, “I just wish we had the opportunity to beat Michigan. We’d be happy to play them any time, on any Saturday, during any fall.”

In the 1940s Michigan coach Fritz Crisler attempted to organize Big Ten schools to boycott ND. Michigan State and Purdue both told Notre Dame they were proud and delighted to have the Irish on their schedules.

Michigan would not play Notre Dame again for another thirty-five years.

Michigan Players and Coaches

Bo Schembechler once spat, “To hell with Notre Dame.” Much as he tried, Bo could not downplay the rivalry. “When you are setting your goals at the beginning of the season, Notre Dame always pops into the picture.” Bo also railed against the winds of history, “We don’t need Notre Dame.  They need us more than we need them.” Ultimately, Schembechler was 4-6 versus Notre Dame all-time.

In fact, of Wolverine coaches in modern times, only Lloyd Carr has a winning record (5-4-1) against the Irish. Carr felt, “In the history of college football, in my judgment the biggest game you could ever have for the national championship would be Michigan and Notre Dame.”

Michigan football also players feel strongly about the Notre Dame game.

QB Elvis Grbac, when asked in 1991 if Michigan were to go 1-11 which team would he want the one victory to come against without hesitation answered, “Notre Dame.”

Mike Hart (‘07) knew the score, “You can’t be considered a great back until you perform against Notre Dame.”

“I think of Notre Dame 365 days of the year.” —Greg Skrepanek, OT, 1990

“We at Michigan want to say, ‘We’re the greatest college football team ever and we’re the ones who taught you guys football. When it comes to these two schools, you should just throw the rankings out the window. Everybody knows what’s at stake.” —Jamie Morris, 1986

“When we lose to Notre Dame, it is so disheartening. It leaves a bitter taste you can’t seem to get out of your mouth.” —Tony Henderson, DT, 1994

Gerald Ford (UM ‘33) said of the rivalry, “It’s good for Michigan, it’s good for Notre Dame and it’s good for college football.”

This week, Rich Rodriquez sounded much like Fielding Yost did a century ago: “We’re going to get challenged by a quarterback that is playing as well as you can possible play. He’s [a] very strong armed, accurate, smart guy. He can take advantage of some situations. He throws a deep ball extremely well and he’s got some guys that can catch it in Tate and Floyd. He has got two in the best of the country at wide out. Their tight end is an NFL guy, an outstanding player. I really like their tailback. I remember Armando Allen coming out of high school. I thought he was one of the top guys in the country coming out… They’ve got a lot of talent and they’re playing and executing at a nice [level], ever since the bowl game. You can see that the bowl game gave them confidence. They carried it over last week against Nevada and I’m sure that they are going to have a lot of confidence coming in here.”

Throw out the rankings, the statistics, your logical choices and the Irish’s 15-12-1 record against Michigan in this century of play. The Irish are headed to Ann Arbor once again to play before 100,000 Wolverine fans who may feel as Bo did. In this rivalry, the worst emotions of Othello rule us: “Now by heaven, my blood begins my safer guides to rule, and passion, having my best judgment collied, assays to lead the way.”

Wins over Michigan have always taken heart, passion and everything players and coaches can muster.

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This article is © 2007-2010 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.