Wrong…

And using this year as a scheduling example is bunk. I could just as easily point 2 years out when we will have the #1 SOS in the country with OK, etc on the sked and say that we shouldnt give that up. Skeds go from good to bad to good to great and back again. One year means little (but agree, it’s a crappy year).

Being part of a conference will not change the identity of the University.

As for traditions, I say it’s about time we create some new ones. The thought of playing Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan on an annual basis (along with USC) is very enticing. Sure beats Western Michigan, Tulsa, and Nevada!

Maybe they’ll continue to earn a little more from expansion and through the BTN and stuff like that. But it’s hard to imagine them really making a significant amount more than they already are.

On the flip side, we don’t know how much Notre Dame makes. No one’s really sure how much the NBC contract is for. If Forbes estimates that we’re the second and sometimes first wealthiest program, then we must be making a substantial more profit than a school like Ohio State who has 10x the mouths to feed and people to pay.

I think it was mentioned in the most recent Forbes rankings, that ND doesn’t have stadium advertisements, and if they did it would bring in millions.

Money just doesn’t seem to be an issue. Is there any way to know the figures of merchandise sales? I have to believe that Notre Dame is still blowing away every other school in that department. There just seems to be so many more revenue streams that Notre Dame still rake in millions with (Merchandise & Licensing fees most importantly).

And we’re still doing this despite the worst 12-15 year stretch in school history. We may look back on this and know the 2005-2015 period was the high water mark for Big Ten revenue generation and ask ourselves if it was really worth the extra $8 million or whatever.

It’s a complicated issue and money is just one part, but I think it’s pretty far back on the school’s prioroty list right.

Has lack of money prevented Notre Dame from fielding a winning team? And will it in the future?

The answer is almost assuredly, no.

I think what Monk said above was certainly right, especially in the time and place it was said. But it’s not absolute. It may continue to be right. But, also, it may not.

And sorry if that makes you need a doggie bag.

Short answer to, if you have 15, 20 or 30 mil, do you want 30, 40 or 60? Yes. The endowment is not a credit card for subsidizing the football program; rather the football program MAKES money for academics and improvements to the school. In this sense, the football program making as much money as possible is a huge positive.

Independence is desirous for all the reasons Fr. Malloy points out above AND because the money has been right. I’m not saying we have to worship at the alter of the Federal Reserve note, but let’s also not kid ourselves about the importance of cold, hard cash.