I’ve lost track of how many articles this offseason have been written advising Notre Dame football to “join a conference.” Any conference affiliation will require the independent Irish to sacrifice some long-time rivalries.

Rivalries are defined by tradition, often naturally linked by distance, and usually contribute to a tougher conference strength of schedule.

Some great regional rivalries form some of the history and intensity that …

With Independence Day upon us, some college football fans have difficulty in swallowing an independent Notre Dame. The cartel that is the BCS—a conglomeration of the biggest bowls and the biggest conferences—succeeds in siphoning more money into their teams’ coffers. Meanwhile, some delusional non-Irish fans think that somehow, someway Notre Dame has a BCS “rule” that bestows preferential treatment. Nothing is further from the truth.…

The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) decided that transparency in revealing coaches’ voting in its final poll was a mistake. Over the four years coaches’ votes have been publicized, fans have seen a pattern of coaches promoting their own teams, sometimes shamelessly, clear conference bias and some strange votes. Rather than dealing with these issues, the AFCA, whose board members make up those coaches who …

Tim Brown was to become a Pentecostal minister. His mother, Josephine, wanted him to play in the band rather than play football at Woodrow Wilson High in Dallas. SMU, which was close to home, nearly gained Brown’s commitment. While Tim Brown may still end up in Christian ministry, his football choices were all the right moves.

At Notre Dame, Tim became a football legend—an All-American …

Notre Dame’s Austin Carr owns the NCAA Tournament scoring record book. Call A.C. “The Man” and be done with it.

A remarkable thirty-eight years have passed with sharpshooters taking aim at his records. The closest anyone has come since Austin’s 61 points against Ohio is David Robinson’s 50 points against Michigan in 1987. Consider that Carr did not benefit from a three point line. “With …