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<p>I realize you mean that Notre Dame plays a wider variety of schools, but they don’t play all over the place. Don’t they have like 8 home games this year?</p>
<p>Notre Dame was once a big name, but if Kelly isn’t successful, they’re in danger of being washed into relative obscurity. Its been a long time since Notre Dame put together a series of successful seasons.</p>
<p>MSauce, playing a national schedule means what teams you are playing, not WHERE you are playing them. Almost every elite football program schedules 7 home games (no, ND does not have 8 home games). A national schedule consists of playing teams from all over the nation and from different conferences. Its really a pretty simple concept. Do you really not understand that?</p>
<p>And whether Notre Dame is having a good year or not has nothing to do with playing a national schedule, and the fact that ND is really the only school that does it. So your petty little insults of ND’s football program, on top of your misunderstanding of what playing a national schedule means, simply makes you appear almost as clueless as ctyankee.</p>
<p>Of course ND plays a national schedule; they don’t belong to a conference, so they can play whoever they want. Every other school is bound by conference agreements to play the majority of its games against opponents from within the conference (i.e. usually within the same region).</p>
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<p>Obviously, yes, I understand that, as I posted that I understand that.</p>
<p>Here’s Notre Dame’s schedule. That’s my bad. They count the Army game as a “home” game, but its not actually played at Notre Dame.</p>
<p>[Notre</a> Dame Football Future Schedules - University of Notre Dame Official Athletics Site](<a href=“Notre Dame Athletics | The Fighting Irish”>Notre Dame Athletics | The Fighting Irish)</p>
<p>Oh, and I guess I don’t get what was petty about what I said. Its true: Notre Dame hasn’t had sustained success in a long time. If they don’t put some reasonably good seasons together soon, they’re going to lose popularity. We’ve already seen that their name doesn’t pull coaches on the same level as it once did–and if they don’t get relevant soon, its going to be tough to pull the top recruits as easily, and to sustain their TV deal.</p>
<p>If they played for the Big 10 they would also get more money from revenue sharing, wouldn’t they? Just wondering.</p>
<p>“They count the Army game as a “home” game, but its not actually played at Notre Dame.”</p>
<p>Which is kind of funny, because West Point is a few miles from Yankee Stadium. I guess ND will sell more tickets than Army, so ND gets the “home ticket allotment”. Obviously, at best, its a neutral site game. </p>
<p>Just for kicks and grins, lets examine some other major powers schedules to see how many home games they play and how many times they play outside their state:</p>
<p>Texas</p>
<p>09/04 at Rice (Reliant Stadium)
09/11 Wyoming
09/18 at Texas Tech
09/25 UCLA
10/02 at Oklahoma (Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX)
10/16 at Nebraska
10/23 Iowa State
10/30 Baylor
11/06 at Kansas State
11/13 Oklahoma State
11/20 Florida Atlantic
11/25 Texas A&M</p>
<p>Texas plays 7 home games. Except they play an away game in their home state, lol (Oklahoma in Dallas) and literally only leave the state of Texas for 2 games. So 10 games without leaving their own state, and their big away game is even in their own state mere miles from their campus.</p>
<p>Lets check Florida:</p>
<p>Sat Sep 4 Miami (OH) Gainesville, FL<br>
Sat Sep 11 USF Gainesville, FL<br>
Sat Sep 18 at Tennessee Knoxville, TN<br>
Sat Sep 25 Kentucky Gainesville, FL<br>
Sat Oct 2 at Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL<br>
Sat Oct 9 LSU Gainesville, FL<br>
Sat Oct 16 Mississippi State Gainesville, FL<br>
Sat Oct 30 Georgia Jacksonville, FL<br>
Sat Nov 6 at Vanderbilt Nashville, TN<br>
Sat Nov 13 South Carolina Gainesville, FL<br>
Sat Nov 20 Appalachian State Gainesville, FL<br>
Sat Nov 27 at Florida State Tallahassee, FL </p>
<p>Florida also has 7 home games. Except only THREE are outside the state of Florida.</p>
<p>After seeing these schedules, its easy to see why Notre Dame is the only school which is truly playing a national schedule against many different conference opponents from all over the country, and not just a regional schedule like the Texases, Floridas and even the USCs. Notre Dame plays 7 of its games in Indiana, Texas plays 10 in Texas and Florida plays 9 in Florida. End of discussion.</p>
<p>I honestly think the Big Ten could take or leave Notre Dame at this point. Yes, they’ve got a national following but their TV ratings aren’t that great anymore and, more importantly, they don’t necessarily open up new cable markets for the Big Ten Network, the money locomotive that’s driving this train. If they want in, fine; that’s been pretty much a standing offer for a long time now, but the Big Ten doesn’t need to beg, it’s in the driver’s seat because of the finances. </p>
<p>I also suspect–and this is just speculation—that the Nebraska and Missouri talk is just a threat to break up the Big Twelve, to bring Texas to the bargaining table. If Missouri and/or Nebraska were to bolt, Colorado’s probably gone to the Pac 10 and the Big 12 is toast. That leaves Texas looking for a conference. If the conference looks stable, Texas will stand pat, but if it’s breaking up they’ll look for the best deal possible. The SEC’s a possibility as is the Pac 10, but the Big Ten has more cash (and more academic prestige than the SEC), and the Big Ten Network is primed for expansion into Texas, a mega-market for cable subscribers. In contrast, the Missouri market is comparatively small, and the Nebraska market truly minor—an intensely loyal fan base, but not enough cable TV subscribers to raise big revenue for the Big Ten Network.</p>
<p>“I honestly think the Big Ten could take or leave Notre Dame at this point. Yes, they’ve got a national following but their TV ratings aren’t that great anymore”</p>
<p>That is completely false and quite silly. If ND’s ratings were that bad, why are they on TV every week? Why do they have a TV contract? If the ratings were bad, they wouldn’t be on the air every week. EVERY ND game is shown nationally, with some very rare exceptions. Their away games are picked up by ESPN or ABC or CBS. If ND was not a ratings draw, why would these channels, in addition to NBC (their rival in college football) jump at the chance to show Notre Dame every time? Why? BECAUSE PEOPLE WATCH. Notre Dame is the ONLY school that is on national television EVERY WEEK. Why? BECAUSE PEOPLE WATCH.</p>
<p>Its similar to why Howard Stern gets such good ratings—from people who love him, and people who hate him. They listen because they want to see what he will say—whether they like or dislike him. </p>
<p>Think before you post next time.</p>
<p>ND is on because they have a deal to be on. The ratings are so-so now. </p>
<p>[Notre</a> Dame agrees to five-year extension with NBC - College Football - ESPN](<a href=“LIVE Transfer Talk: Ivan Toney key to Arsenal's title ambitions - ESPN”>Notre Dame agrees to five-year extension with NBC - ESPN)</p>
<p>barrons- you are a Big 10 guy. Who would you want if the went to 12, 14 and 16?</p>
<p>Using current by laws- meaning the school has to be in a State which is contiguous to a Big 10 State.</p>
<p>More “expert” opinion on financial matters regarding Notre Dame:</p>
<p>"Though some assume Notre Dame’s deal with NBC is more lucrative than any it would receive from a conference, that simply isn’t the case. The New York Times reported in December that Notre Dame’s current NBC contract (which runs through 2015) pays the school about $15 million a year. The best estimate for the Big Ten’s revenue distribution during the next few years is about $20-$22 million per school per year, but that figure also includes bowl and NCAA Tournament revenue. Given the current revenues, Notre Dame – which received $1.3 million from the BCS in 2009 – still would stand to make slightly more as a Big Ten member.</p>
<p>That “slightly” is a bit misleading, because adding Notre Dame would allow the BTN to expand its revenue base nationwide. Cable systems in markets with a heavy Catholic populations would consider placing the BTN on expanded basic, adding to the pot. Another question is Notre Dame’s future with NBC. Cable giant Comcast is acquiring the network at a time when Notre Dame’s brand, while still powerful, doesn’t carry the weight it did in 1991 when the first NBC pact began." (Andy Staples, CNN Sports)
[Predicting</a> if Notre Dame, expansion candidates will jump ship - Andy Staples - SI.com](<a href=“http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/05/12/expansion-candidates/index.html]Predicting”>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/05/12/expansion-candidates/index.html)</p>
<p>I’d be happy with 12 with either ND or Rutgers. I want to see it expand east–not west.</p>
<p>Agree, Big Ten schools to expand on are east not west. I guess exceptions would be schools like UT- Austin.</p>
<p>I think the Big 10 wants ND the most. It has the football history and prestige, the academics, and culturally, just seems to fit better.</p>
<p>I agree with barrons. I don’t understand the interest in Missouri and Nebraska. We have to remember that the Big Ten conference is more than just football and athletics.</p>
<p>I also wonder what the benefit of going over 12 is. I think if ND was willing it would begin and end with them.</p>
<p>“ND is on because they have a deal to be on. The ratings are so-so now.”</p>
<p>And they have a deal because people watch. That is why they have a deal and not Florida, or Texas or Ohio State. Networks aren’t stupid, they exist to make money. Any decrease in ratings over time simply reflects the more crowded state of college football where there are a lot more televised games now than in 1991 with satellite etc. And your point still doesn’t address why, if ND is not a ratings draw, does ABC, ESPN and CBS jump at the chance to televise ALL of Notre Dame’s AWAY games also, which has nothing to do with the NBC contract (in fact, Notre Dame is their competition), making ND the only school in the nation who has ALL their games nationally televised for the most part? Its because they draw in ratings. Especially when they win.</p>
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<p>First thing:</p>
<p>The reason Notre Dame has its own independent contract is because it is allowed to. Even if Texas, USC, tOSU, or Florida wanted to sign on for their own contracts, they would be previously bound by their Conferences’ deals. And as said earlier in the thread, those Conference deals tend to make each school slightly more money than Notre Dame gets from their deal.</p>
<p>The second thing is, what defines a nationally televised game? Does the Big Ten Network count? Does ESPNU count? Or are we just sticking to ESPN(and 2) and the networks? Because even then, almost all Texas games are televised nationally, and almost all Florida games are televised nationally, and almost all USC games are televised nationally (if you count FSN).</p>
<p>Most networks jump at the opportunity to televise most major programs’ games. Notre Dame is no different. The difference is that Notre Dame’s independence allows them to sign an individual deal with a network, on which they get average ratings.</p>
<p>MSauce, give me a break. Why do you think Miami, Florida St, Penn St all joined conferences in the 80s, 90s? Those were great independent schools with winning traditions who drew a lot of interest. ALL of them joined a conference. Why didn’t they cut their own TV deals? Why did Penn St join the Big Ten instead of cutting their own tv deal? Why? Because none of them had the same kind of NATIONAL following that Notre Dame has. In the end, they are all REGIONAL schools. People in Walla Walla don’t care about watching Miami and Florida St. People in New Orleans don’t care about watching Penn St. But there are enough people in those cities and all over the US that DO care about watching Notre Dame. So those schools, instead of cutting their own deal like ND did, scrambled to join a conference under the safety in numbers theory. They knew shared revenue would be a better deal for them than to go out and risk doing it on their own.</p>
<p>Notre Dame is the only school that can pull off a NATIONAL deal. As great as some other programs are, the Alabamas and Texases and Michigans in the end are all still REGIONAL schools.</p>
<p>Sure, Notre Dame can pull of a national deal, but how much value do they take from it? A “regional” deal with the Big 10 seems to be much more valuable, roughly 6 million dollars more, if I recall correctly.</p>