As a ND fan I understand the angst. Schools are uncertain about their futures and it could be all fixed by one school. Personally I'd prefer ND to join and end this discussion forever. I'd also would like it to be the BE even if it isn't the most opportune decision or result. What I don't understand is some of the rationale GA (and plenty of others) gave for his opinion though.
1) ND only joined the BE because football wasn't a stipulation. That has always been the case. Maybe the powers that be then thought they were just positioning themselves if ND ever changed it's mind. ND never gave any indication that that was a possibility. The BE was in control of it's own fate back in the day and couldn't get it together i.e. Penn St etc.
2) More than half the schools in the BE don't play football in the BE. It was a BB centered conference that has changed it's aspirations because the landscape of college sports has changed. If it's going to be all in then it should be all in for every school. BTW UConn wasn't a football school for the majority of GA's coaching career.
3) Even mentioning that ND should do the Catholic thing to do and help the less fortunate is a joke. He's not calling for ND to join conference USA or the Sunbelt who are certainly more needy then the BE. He thinks ND should help his school because it's in his schools best interest. Just like ND is looking out for it's best interest. Last I checked university athletics weren't charities. The institution & athletic teams themselves are more than involved with actual charities.
4) ND is a private school that isn't going to get the state of IN to financially support any of it's needs in regards to athletic facilities etc. The proceeds from football don't even belong to the athletic dept. It goes directly to the general fund:
Revenues from the NBC contract have played a key role in Notre Dame's financial aid endowment since the start of the relationship in 1991. University officers decided then to use a portion of the football television contract revenue for undergraduate scholarship endowment (not athletic scholarships). To date, some 2,400 Notre Dame undergraduate students have received nearly $26 million in aid.
The University also has committed NBC revenues to endow doctoral fellowships in its Graduate School and MBA scholarships in its Mendoza College of Business.
The revenue generated through the NBC contract is a primary reason why Forbes magazine has recognized the substantial financial contributions made by Irish athletics to the University's academic enterprise. In a 2007 survey, Forbes reported that the Notre Dame football program returns $21.1 million to academic initiatives, a total that is more than the survey's next five programs combined.
5) Even if ND joined the BE in football, which it won't, it still isn't going to be what you think of as fair. It will look a lot like U of Texas' template. The one and only thing that will force ND to join a football conference is the formation of " super-conferences" that change the BCS and bowl scenarios. When that happens ND will go to the ACC or work with Texas to do their own thing.
6)The "you suck, aren't relative...but join us and save us" argument by people is dumbfounding. It isn't arrogance if it's true. Their importance and value is very real. If it wasn't no one would be talking about it in the first place.
It's true ND could end this for other schools, but they are being used as the scapegoat. They aren't the cause of all of this.
