Forgive my ambiguity here, reputable source: UConn making earnest P5 Push

[Seaa Blue]

The downward spiral of Notre Dame has seen them play for the national title 24 months ago, re-up their exclusive contract with NBC and play every single one of their games on an over-the-air network.

Spend zero time worrying about Notre Dame - they're doing better than whoever you're rooting for.

I think I explained that clearly. People love to see ND lose.

 

[Sea Goat]

They're not irrelevant because of a massive Catholic brand, great history up to the Lou Holtz era & they still put quality players in the NFL. But they haven't proven to belong in the BCS-CFP era & know matter how controversial this current "era" seems, it's far better than the AP-Coaches period.

So let's be real here, 4 BCS games for ND - let's break them down - as the results clearly prove that overhype and increasingly ancient history continues to sadly mislead perception:

2001: ND 9 Oregon State 41
2006: ND 20 OSU 34
2007: ND 14 LSU 41
2013: ND 14 Al 42

No other team that played in at least 3 BCS games faired as poorly as ND. They got destroyed in all but one of those games - and if you watched the OSU game - you could tell nearly all game the Bucks wouldn't lose. For comparison, VT had an awful BCS record but many of their losses were close, thus respectable & they at least won a game. ND has been the worst performing blue blood in the BCS-CFP era.

ND would actually be in a better place and their future would look brighter if playing a stable conference schedule. They won't give up their USC rivalry, perhaps one more important, high stakes game as well. If they joined any of the p5 conferences except the Pac12, thus holding the USC game, running the conference table would mean a playoff berth - 95% of the time.

ND doesn't seem built to break into the next tier as an independent, esp with the CFP format & they do have brutal academic requirements compared to most football powers. ND also shot themselves in the foot by taking Michigan off the schedule for the future because it won't take long for Harbaugh to bring them back. This past season, Michigan State was not on the schedule as well- though this series will resume shortly. But what a bad time for ND to take MSU off the schedule because Dantonio has the Spartans on the brink of consistent greatness. SOS is therefore at risk unless the ACC can deliver outside of Clemson and FSU. But how often will they play these teams?

Lastly, ND has always depended on national recruiting & they still do well in this department - but until they find a stable conference slate - too much moving around for these kids. Players need stability to improve themselves - conference familiarity yields a range of measurements to potentially find success. People also forget that Indiana, as far as a local base, can't provide enough to them and 2 BIG schools. The Hoosier state, as a whole, prefer their BIG schools.

But honestly, ND deserves their downward spiral. CF has no business honoring independent status anymore, esp with the CFP, which I hoep expand to 8. I could never imagine a professional sports league tailoring to an independent franchise. What hubris & I'm a Catholic with ND alum in my immediate and extended family.

You post has a lot of facts that are inconvenient to ND. Facts which ultimately will have corrosive effect on their importance in the national picture. Sure they have played recently in the BCS (and got hammered) and re-upped with NBC, but they are advancing toward the tipping point with each sub-par season. I suppose there will be enough alumni and subway alumni to sustain them for awhile, but not being in the national conversation with the powerhouse schools of the P-5 will eventually wear thin and impact them.

 

[upstater]

The APR/post season ban did matter. It wasn't the only issue but the ACC wasn't going to welcome a new member on a post season ban.

Louisville football was under a APR punishment when it was invited.

 

[upstater]

The things that would make this more interesting aren't share-able.

For good reason. They have to keep the ultimatum to ESPN under wraps as long as possible.

 

[UConn Dan]

Louisville football was under a APR punishment when it was invited.

Yes, that's correct. But we were banned and that's my point of emphasis. I'm not speculating on this -- it's what I was told by source close to AD.

It's not the only reason - bigger issues with perception and politics - but it's an objective reason the ACC provided to the UConn admin. It might have been a BS cover, but it's tough to argue with the fact that we were banned at the time.

 

[pj]

3 Indiana schools is a bit much. A first Connecticut school would be much more suitable.

 

[TerryD]

Sure I would take them. I campaigned long and hard to convince @TerryD that B1G was their destiny.

But, it's not like it was. B1G has done gone East. Notre Dame, still refusing to base its identity on anything tangible, continues to wonder the wilderness. It's become clear that they need to do so for perhaps another 40 years. And don't look now, but I think they've been sleeping with some other conference.

Their cash? Well, their sugar daddy (NBC) doesn't fit in well with the Big Ten. Without them, I don't know where the firehose of cash comes from. B1G has Indiana fairly well covered. And where outside of B1G's footprint would they justify BTN carriage? Cash, yes. Firehose? Maybe one with a little more water pressure, but B1G accomplished a lot recently without them and currently has assets in place that they're still dreaming about. It's no longer clear which direction the cash would flow.

1) ...and failed entirely....

2) So, we are all done talking forever about the fantasy that is ND potentially ever joining the Big Ten? Cool.

 

[Rinaldi]

3 Indiana schools is a bit much.

Not if one of the three is ND.

 

[TerryD]

They're not irrelevant because of a massive Catholic brand, great history up to the Lou Holtz era & they still put quality players in the NFL. But they haven't proven to belong in the BCS-CFP era & know matter how controversial this current "era" seems, it's far better than the AP-Coaches period.

So let's be real here, 4 BCS games for ND - let's break them down - as the results clearly prove that overhype and increasingly ancient history continues to sadly mislead perception:

2001: ND 9 Oregon State 41
2006: ND 20 OSU 34
2007: ND 14 LSU 41
2013: ND 14 Al 42

No other team that played in at least 3 BCS games faired as poorly as ND. They got destroyed in all but one of those games - and if you watched the OSU game - you could tell nearly all game the Bucks wouldn't lose. For comparison, VT had an awful BCS record but many of their losses were close, thus respectable & they at least won a game. ND has been the worst performing blue blood in the BCS-CFP era.

ND would actually be in a better place and their future would look brighter if playing a stable conference schedule. They won't give up their USC rivalry, perhaps one more important, high stakes game as well. If they joined any of the p5 conferences except the Pac12, thus holding the USC game, running the conference table would mean a playoff berth - 95% of the time.

ND doesn't seem built to break into the next tier as an independent, esp with the CFP format & they do have brutal academic requirements compared to most football powers. ND also shot themselves in the foot by taking Michigan off the schedule for the future because it won't take long for Harbaugh to bring them back. This past season, Michigan State was not on the schedule as well- though this series will resume shortly. But what a bad time for ND to take MSU off the schedule because Dantonio has the Spartans on the brink of consistent greatness. SOS is therefore at risk unless the ACC can deliver outside of Clemson and FSU. But how often will they play these teams?

Lastly, ND has always depended on national recruiting & they still do well in this department - but until they find a stable conference slate - too much moving around for these kids. Players need stability to improve themselves - conference familiarity yields a range of measurements to potentially find success. People also forget that Indiana, as far as a local base, can't provide enough to them and 2 BIG schools. The Hoosier state, as a whole, prefer their BIG schools.

But honestly, ND deserves their downward spiral. CF has no business honoring independent status anymore, esp with the CFP, which I hoep expand to 8. I could never imagine a professional sports league tailoring to an independent franchise. What hubris & I'm a Catholic with ND alum in my immediate and extended family.

Next season will be the first ND season without a Big Ten team on the schedule in 99 years. I love it. I have been the biggest anti-Big Ten guy possible for about 50 years. I would like ND to boycott playing Big Ten schools in all sports forever.

Yes, ND took Michigan and Michigan State off the annual schedule but added Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and others. (ND will play Michigan State from time to time because they have a great relationship with ND and defied Michigan's attempt to boycott and blackball ND).

ND's future SOS rankings will be just fine.


2014 Football Schedule

ND 48 Rice 17
ND 31 Michigan 0
ND 30 Purdue 14
ND 31 Syracuse 15
ND 17 Stanford 14
ND 50 North Carolina 43
Florida State 31 ND 27
ND 49 Navy 39
Arizona State 55 ND 31
Northwestern 43 ND 40 (OT)
Louisville 31 ND 28
Southern Cal 49 ND 14
ND 31 LSU 28


2015 Football Schedule

S05 TEXAS
S12 @ Virginia
S19 GEORGIA TECH
S26 UMASS
O03 @ Clemson
O10 NAVY
O17 SOUTHERN CAL
O31 @ Temple (LFSF)
N07 @ Pittsburgh
N14 WAKE FOREST
N21 BOSTON COLLEGE (Fenway Pk.)
N28 @ Stanford


2016 Football Schedule

S03 @ Texas
S10 NEVADA
S17 MICHIGAN STATE
S24 DUKE
O01 @ Syracuse (Meadowlands)
O08 @ North Carolina State
O15 STANFORD
O29 MIAMI
N05 @ Navy
N12 ARMY (Alamodome)
N19 VIRGINIA TECH
N26 @ Southern Cal


2017 Football Schedule
not official

S09 GEORGIA
S16 @ Boston College
S30 MIAMI(OH)
O07 @ North Carolina
O28 NORTH CAROLINA STATE
N04 WAKE FOREST
N11 @ Miami(FL)
N25 @ Stanford
TEMPLE
NAVY
SOUTHERN CAL
@ Michigan State


2018 Football Schedule
not official

S22 SYRACUSE
O13 @ Virginia Tech
O20 PITTSBURGH
N10 FLORIDA STATE
N17 @ Wake Forest
N24 @ Southern Cal
STANFORD
@ Navy
4 games TBD


2019 Football Schedule
not official

S02 @ Louisville
S19 @ Georgia
S28 VIRGINIA
O19 @ Georgia Tech
N02 VIRGINIA TECH
N09 @ Duke
N23 BOSTON COLLEGE
N30 @ Stanford
NAVY
SOUTHERN CAL
2 games TBD


2020 Football Schedule
not officia

N28 @ Southern Cal
STANFORD
DUKE
CLEMSON
LOUISVILLE
@ Purdue
@ Navy
@ Wake Forest
@ Pittsburgh


2021 Football Schedule

not official

S06 @ Florida State
N27 @ Stanford
PURDUE
NAVY
SOUTHERN CAL
NORTH CAROLINA
GEORGIA TECH
@ Virginia Tech
@ Virginia


2022 Football Schedule
not official

N26 @ Southern Cal
STANFORD
BOSTON COLLEGE
CLEMSON
@ Navy
@ Ohio State
@ North Carolina
@ Syracuse


2023 Football Schedule
not official

N25 @ Stanford
NAVY
SOUTHERN CAL
OHIO STATE
WAKE FOREST
PITTSBURGH
@ North Carolina State
@ Duke
@ Louisville
@ Clemson


2024 Football Schedule
not official

A31 @ Texas A&M
MIAMI(FL)
FLORIDA STATE
VIRGINIA
STANFORD
@ Navy
@ Southern Cal
@ Georgia Tech


2025 Football Schedule
not official

S27 TEXAS A&M
NAVY
SOUTHERN CAL
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
SYRACUSE
@ Stanford
@ Miami(FL)
@ Boston College
@ Pittsburgh


The proposed "stability" of a conference schedule is a red herring. It has little relevance to ND football.

 

[TerryD]

I think I biasedly propagandized that clearly. People love to see ND lose.

Fixed.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Why do you ND guys even hang out here?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

The government might have to start printing larger denominations for the Big Ten if they added ND.

If the B1G got ND and Texas, the B1G could replace China as the country's largest creditor.

 

[TerryD]

Why do you ND guys even hang out here?

I started viewing this board in 2011 when CR was all the rage. It is a habit. I make my rounds to the WVU Scout Board, the CSNbbs boards and this one for realignment rumors.

I come back here because ND is talked about all the time, it seems. Like this thread, for instance (none of which I start, btw).

 

[pj]

Why do you ND guys even hang out here?

This thread was started to encourage UConn fans. They think that posting Notre Dame's schedule through 2025 will encourage us.

 

[TerryD]

This thread was started to encourage UConn fans. They think that posting Notre Dame's schedule through 2025 will encourage us.

That was in response to a specific post about ND's supposed future SOS issues because it dropped Michigan. UConn was not even mentioned in that post, as I recall.

I merely responded with factual data to challenge/refute that undocumented assertion by a Big Ten fan. I am a lawyer and like to cite facts or links in response to undocumented, generalized opinions given out as facts.

There were a bunch of ND posts in this thread before mine. Sorry. Check the posts in the thread above.

There are quite a few ND related ones by Big Ten fans and others that had nothing at all to do with UConn.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

They're not irrelevant because of a massive Catholic brand, great history up to the Lou Holtz era & they still put quality players in the NFL. But they haven't proven to belong in the BCS-CFP era & know matter how controversial this current "era" seems, it's far better than the AP-Coaches period.

I am no ND fan; but, do not discount their power off the field. Their alumni network is loyal, strong, influential, and spans from coast to coast. The Ivy League alumni network is even stronger from an influence standpoint; but, for the most part, lacks the athletic side that draws in non-alumni to the ND family, especially among the Catholic community. Very few schools can match that, maybe Stanford, Duke, USC? After all, how many colleges draw so many affluent alumni to football games that the local airport (South Bend) had to expand its tarmac to fit in all of the private aircraft.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2006-07-24-sbn-notre-dame_x.htm

Plus, sports by nature are cyclical. A decade from ND, ND could be back on top of the world and the SEC could be just an average conference again like it was in the '80's when the SEC only claimed 1 AP 'national championship' poll (Georgia in '80).

 

[Kolumbo]

I suppose if you are a big ACC football fan, you like nd's schedules.

 

[Ldandy]

Can we stop posting nonsense scenarios involving ND joining The B1G? Its never happening. They "require" special treatment for their allegiance, and everyone knows that they will never recieve it from a conference that does not need their affiliation for its potential survival. All the reasons why ND makes sense for The B1G mean nothing as long as their need to be above their peers remains unchanged.

 

[TerryD]

Can we stop posting nonsense scenarios involving ND joining The B1G? Its never happening. They "require" special treatment for their allegiance, and everyone knows that they will never recieve it from a conference that does not need their affiliation for its potential survival. All the reasons why ND makes sense for The B1G mean nothing as long as their need to be above their peers remains unchanged.

That and the fact that ND does not ever want to join the Big Ten. Period.

It would gladly join the ACC before surrendering to the Big Ten, even if "special treatment" (i.e. football independence) were not a factor.

 

[husky91]

This sounds like huge news, thanks. UConn is not satisfied with its conference situation and would like to improve it. Good to know. I thought they were just monitoring the situation.

I'm sorry folks, I have to keep this intentionally vague and while nothing I write here will appear out of step with traditional rumor mongering, it gave me comfort to hear it so choose to take from it what you want.

While I'm sure we've all assumed UConn is working hard to pitch the P5 conferences for inclusion I'm now 2 degrees of separation from someone directly involved in the process. We're using all available resources and have compelling arguments and while there's no telling what the results of that process will be, I firmly believe we're not leaving it to chance.

You might write that off as a non story, but I think its significant. The person who brought this to me is not a realignment junky. They know I follow it closely so when the info came to them they connected it to me. All of the talking points they referenced fit the discussion and the source they indicated is plausible.

 

[CL82]

Conference realignment thread evolution in 20 simple steps.

1) A fact occurs.
2) Poster (OP) notes fact and explains how, in his opinion, the fact improves UConn's chances on joing a new conference, no matter how tenous or imaginary that connection might be.
3) OP gets many likes.
4) Poster 2 (P2) says that OP's interpretation is wrong and that fact will negatively impact UConn
5) Poster 3 (P3) notes that any fact which remotely relates to realignment must ultimately screw UConn due to CR rule#1.
6) P3 gets many likes.
7) Poster 4 (P4 -usually an ACC fan) denies fact ever occurred in the first place.
8) Board debates points.
9) Poster 5 (P5 - ugh), and I won't name names, enters thread and states that the fact's occurance or non- occurance is proof that we should drop football.
10) Everyone tells P5 to shut up.
11) Mandatory FS1 ratings discussion.
12) P4 discusses ACC basketball non-sequitor.
13) Poster 6 (P6) in discussing P4's post makes a vague reference to ND
14) Everyone else on the board groans.
15) Poster 7 (P7 a B1G fan) Talks about how the B1G ship has sailed for ND, but ND would be smart to beg for admission.
16) Everyone else on the board groans.
17 ) Poster 8 (uh let's just call him Terry) appears nearly instantanously to tell us that ND will NEVER join the B1G.
18) Everyone else on the board groans.
19) Poster 9 comes in and indignently announces that CR is dead.
20) Rinse and repeat.

 

[Gfunk]

The downward spiral of Notre Dame has seen them play for the national title 24 months ago, re-up their exclusive contract with NBC and play every single one of their games on an over-the-air network.

Spend zero time worrying about Notre Dame - they're doing better than whoever you're rooting for.

They didn't belong in that game 24 months ago & it was obvious after the first quarter. As I clearly proved, they didn't belong in the other BCS games - reputation was the sole reason they got there. They're fading - let it go. They lost to NW this year, at home mind you. ND in the BIG, which won't happen, would struggle to ever win the conference on an annual basis & their fanbase knows it.

I have a tendency of pulling for OSU or MSU, the latter being the best program in the Midwest (no one's close right now) & one of the best across the nation the past 20 years. So I'm not really worried about ND. MSU under Dantonio has held serve against ND - slight edge to the Irish.

PS Sorry Seaa Blue (I know Sparty & the Bucks are not your favorites) - I do remain loyal to Minny most sports. But you can't cheer on the FB program after 40 plus years of mediocrity. You just pray and smile - take what you can.

 

[WestHartHusk]

21) Poster 10 (P10) complains about CR board and gets lots of likes.

 

[OkaForPrez]

@CL82 should be pinned.

 

[Gfunk]

I am no ND fan; but, do not discount their power off the field. Their alumni network is loyal, strong, influential, and spans from coast to coast. The Ivy League alumni network is even stronger from an influence standpoint; but, for the most part, lacks the athletic side that draws in non-alumni to the ND family, especially among the Catholic community. Very few schools can match that, maybe Stanford, Duke, USC? After all, how many colleges draw so many affluent alumni to football games that the local airport (South Bend) had to expand its tarmac to fit in all of the private aircraft.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2006-07-24-sbn-notre-dame_x.htm

Plus, sports by nature are cyclical. A decade from ND, ND could be back on top of the world and the SEC could be just an average conference again like it was in the '80's when the SEC only claimed 1 AP 'national championship' poll (Georgia in '80).

I don't think the SEC is going anywhere in the age of the CFP & the monstrously embedded prep football culture in the Southeast. We're in an era where conferences matter more than ever & recruits generally stay close to home. If anything, ND will succeed with conference affiliation, likely the ACC - it would be their best best to regain on-field success. I'll never say never. ND, under and ACC schedule & fixed games against Navy, USC and a rotating schedule between Stanford, MSU, Mi and Purde will get into the playoffs every time they win the ACC. Under the current partial affiliation and independent schedule, not so fast - the committee will size them up with much greater skepticism.

Btw, the SEC evolved by the early 90s & made the best expansion moves over the past 30 years. It also took time for the SEC to fully integrate Black players. The 80s was the last great decade for independents - there were so many compared to now. The poll era is long over in terms of ultimately deciding a NC. Bottom line, the SEC had plenty of success in the 70s, 90s, and the BCS era - so the 80s was quite unusual because Miami, PSU and ND - all independents at the time - combined for more than half the NCs in the 80s, only ND remains independent.