I hear you Grant, but you are comparing Notre Dame up against Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, etc. I’m an Irish fan, but the reality is they have not been considered - for good reason - among the top tier of teams in some time. Where they stand in the power structure, I don’t see it being of greater benefit. If we were talking one of the modern day elites, it makes sense. Making the Final Four at a 20% clip is a lofty goal for most. Irish included.

BTW, @LIPTON BASH, the link is not working for me, so I haven't read the article.

 

I will try to find another

Stubbornness? They haven't sniffed a national championship but twice in the last 30 years, yet they get on primetime TV as much as Alabama and Ohio State.

 

Why is that?

 

ND has the largest fan base in college football. A fan base that stays loyal regardless of whether they make the playoff or not. Notre Dame Stadium is packed every home game and when ND is in town, you are guaranteed a sellout, regardless of their record. The Catholics come out of the woodwork to see their team.

 

Depending on the reporting service you prefer to reference, they rank from 1st to 9th in yearly college merchandise sales. Yet, they rarely compete for a national title.

 

They have their very own major network deal to televise their home games. A deal that pays them well and does not required them to share any of that deal with 13 to 15 other schools. They also get piece of the ESPN/Fox/CFP pie.

 

It would be insane, from a financial point (and that is what college football is all about, isn't it), for them to join a conference. They are in a unique situation and they take advantage of it.

 

That's not stubbornness. That's practicality and intelligence.

So the point of playing college football is not to win a national championship? Well that’s just a fundamental disagreement if I’ve ever heard one. If you aren’t building towards trying to win national championships then you’re wasting your time as a program. Especially a program like Notre Dame. Notre Dame does very well for themselves now, but think how much better they would do if they were competing for championships on a more regular basis. Notre Dame could join a conference, still keep their deal with NBC (see the Longhorn network), and be in a better position to compete for championships on a yearly basis. Something tells me Notre Dame fans don’t really give a damn about how well their program is doing financially. Touting financial success as a program is like Michigan fans touting ACT scores every year Ohio State beats them.

I hear you Grant, but you are comparing Notre Dame up against Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, etc. I’m an Irish fan, but the reality is they have not been considered - for good reason - among the top tier of teams in some time. Where they stand in the power structure, I don’t see it being of greater benefit. If we were talking one of the modern day elites, it makes sense. Making the Final Four at a 20% clip is a lofty goal for most. Irish included.

It shouldn’t be though. Their goal should be to compete for a national championship every single year. We’re talking about Notre Dame. One of the pillars of the sport of college football. If College Football had a Mt Rushmore, Notre Dame would be on it. Being in a conference allows them to achieve the same level of success Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, etc. have in recent years. That’s what ND should be. The only thing holding them back from being that is their independence.

So the point of playing college football is not to win a national championship? Well that’s just a fundamental disagreement if I’ve ever heard one. If you aren’t building towards trying to win national championships then you’re wasting your time as a program. Especially a program like Notre Dame. Notre Dame does very well for themselves now, but think how much better they would do if they were competing for championships on a more regular basis. Notre Dame could join a conference, still keep their deal with NBC ;(see the Longhorn network), and be in a better position to compete for championships on a yearly basis. Something tells me Notre Dame fans don’t really give a damn about how well their program is doing financially. Touting financial success as a program is like Michigan fans touting ACT scores every year Ohio State beats them.

 

The Longhorn network is allowed to exist in the Big 12 because the Big 12 would collapse without Texas.

 

Don't get me wrong, ND has to attempt to compete for a national championship and that should always be their goal. The goal in football is to win, but their fan base won't bail if they don't make it in years where they don't go undefeated. History proves that. So there is no need to be burdened by a conference affiliation.

So the point of playing college football is not to win a national championship? Well that’s just a fundamental disagreement if I’ve ever heard one. If you aren’t building towards trying to win national championships then you’re wasting your time as a program. Especially a program like Notre Dame. Notre Dame does very well for themselves now, but think how much better they would do if they were competing for championships on a more regular basis. Notre Dame could join a conference, still keep their deal with NBC (see the Longhorn network), and be in a better position to compete for championships on a yearly basis. Something tells me Notre Dame fans don’t really give a damn about how well their program is doing financially. Touting financial success as a program is like Michigan fans touting ACT scores every year Ohio State beats them.

 

I've seen several sources ranking the Irish as the #1 best and biggest fanbase in college football. Apparently they've secured some of the most loyal fans in college football regardless of how you seem to think they "should" be doing things.

It shouldn’t be though. Their goal should be to compete for a national championship every single year. We’re talking about Notre Dame. One of the pillars of the sport of college football. If College Football had a Mt Rushmore, Notre Dame would be on it. Being in a conference allows them to achieve the same level of success Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, etc. have in recent years. That’s what ND should be. The only thing holding them back from being that is their independence.

Their goal IS to compete for a national championship every single year. They just do it their way, which perturbs you much more so than their fans. If their fans weren't loyal as a result, you'd have a good point. Look at their fanbase.

The Longhorn network is allowed to exist in the Big 12 because the Big 12 would collapse without Texas.

 

Don't get me wrong, ND has to attempt to compete for a national championship and that should always be their goal. The goal in football is to win, but their fan base won't bail if they don't make it in years where they don't go undefeated. History proves that. So there is no need to be burdened by a conference affiliation.

They are burdened by their independence.

They are burdened by their independence.

 

In your eyes, not theirs or their fans.

So the point of playing college football is not to win a national championship? Well that’s just a fundamental disagreement if I’ve ever heard one. If you aren’t building towards trying to win national championships then you’re wasting your time as a program. Especially a program like Notre Dame. Notre Dame does very well for themselves now, but think how much better they would do if they were competing for championships on a more regular basis. Notre Dame could join a conference, still keep their deal with NBC (see the Longhorn network), and be in a better position to compete for championships on a yearly basis. Something tells me Notre Dame fans don’t really give a damn about how well their program is doing financially. Touting financial success as a program is like Michigan fans touting ACT scores every year Ohio State beats them.

 

Also, I never said the Notre Dame fan based cared about Notre Dame's financial situation. Notre Dame cares about Notre Dame's financial situation.

 

Also, if a program is wasting its time not trying to win a national title, then more than 50% of FBS schools should drop their programs immediately.

I've seen several sources ranking the Irish as the #1 best and biggest fanbase in college football. Apparently they've secured some of the most loyal fans in college football regardless of how you seem to think they "should" be doing things.

Being the university for the largest religion in the United States helps quite a bit in developing their fan base. It’s not like ND is doing anything special in 2018 to make that a thing. Their fanbase is derived from Catholicism and their blueblood status. Neither of those things can be altered.

Their goal IS to compete for a national championship every single year. They just do it their way, which perturbs you much more so than their fans. If their fans weren't loyal as a result, you'd have a good point. Look at their fanbase.

So ND fans aren’t as passionate as fans of other blueblood programs. Got it. That’s basically what I heard. If ND fans are ok with 3 decades of no championships then they aren’t the fans I thought they were.

Being the university for the largest religion in the United States helps quite a bit in developing their fan base. It’s not like ND is doing anything special in 2018 to make that a thing. Their fanbase is derived from Catholicism and their blueblood status. Neither of those things can be altered.

 

It's not like you get excommunicated for not being a fan. :lol2:

So ND fans aren’t as passionate as fans of other blueblood programs. Got it. That’s basically what I heard. If ND fans are ok with 3 decades of no championships then they aren’t the fans I thought they were.

 

You hear what you want to hear. Got it.

So the point of playing college football is not to win a national championship? Well that’s just a fundamental disagreement if I’ve ever heard one. If you aren’t building towards trying to win national championships then you’re wasting your time as a program. Especially a program like Notre Dame. Notre Dame does very well for themselves now, but think how much better they would do if they were competing for championships on a more regular basis. Notre Dame could join a conference, still keep their deal with NBC (see the Longhorn network), and be in a better position to compete for championships on a yearly basis. Something tells me Notre Dame fans don’t really give a damn about how well their program is doing financially. Touting financial success as a program is like Michigan fans touting ACT scores every year Ohio State beats them.

 

Let's face it outside of maybe 12 to 15 teams, most schools field a team each year knowing full well that they are not going to win a national championship.

 

Over the last 20 years (which also coincides with the formation of the BCS) only 12 different teams have won a title. Outside of a Notre Dame win this year, that number will not increase. Odds are pretty good already that come next year the playoff spots will be filled by those same teams.