<p>Why do they want to keep scheduling games, which are suppose to at home, at neutral sites?!!</p>
<p>I know we have a wide fan base, but still! If I was a student, I would be angry</p>
<p>They just signed a deal to play ASU in the cowboy's new stadium.... this is one of NDs home games...</p>
<p>THey also lose a home game when the play WSU in san antonio in 2009</p>
<p>there are others....</p>
<p>what are they thinking.... trying to reach our wide fan base?</p>
<p>Right.</p>
<p>More money that way.</p>
<p>Well they're doing the same to other schools, like forcing UConn to play them in NY for UConn's HOME games. It's allll about the money I s'pose</p>
<p>Is six home games a year not enough? Really anything more than half of your games at home is unfair to your opponents.</p>
<p>Rutgers of course said no to the thought of playing ND at a neutral site, which got a lot of media attention, but I don't understand what the fuss is about. This has been in the works to try to make ND football more accessible to the ND fans across the country and you know the games are going to sell-out, so why not have more tickets and gain a little more money for ND and the other school, plus it gives that many more fans an opportunity to see them play. </p>
<p>People say that ND asking teams to play games at neutral sites is ND being pompous, but I don't see it that way. It is trying to fulfill the goal of why we are doing this as well as giving more people an opportunity to go. Does anyone complain when we play Navy in the Baltimore Ravens' stadium? I haven't heard anyone complain.</p>
<p>It isn't being pompous, it is simply a smart business decision.</p>
<p>I thought the Rutgers situation was because they would come to Notre Dame for our home games, then the Rutgers home games would be at neutral sites.</p>
<p>Last year we had 7 home games and 5 away games. With these neutral sites, it will just be 6 home, 5 away, and 1 neutral. I don't have a huge problem with it, but maybe we should go back to being the Ramblers...</p>
<p>Playing at a neutral site means allowing more Notre Dame fans to see Notre Dame play.</p>
<p>That has no benefit to the other school except a decent profit.</p>
<p>Navy plays in Baltimore because Navy has no stadium. No one complains because Navy doesn't exactly have a student body with season tickets. </p>
<p>Who the hell wants to play its home game at a neutral site? Other schools have student bodies. They would not want to or should even worry about traveling just to see their football team on a neutral turf. </p>
<p>I think it's only a smart business decision when it's seen from a greedy Notre Dame perspective.</p>
<p>There's got to be another way to play exhibition games for Notre Dame fans nationwide. A friendly game in the spring? Summer? </p>
<p>Then someone's going to complain about the risk of injury to key players and...</p>
<p>I give up.</p>
<p>All im saying is that if I was a notre dame student, I would be upset that nd is selling their home games away for more profit. to me, there is nothing like a football saturday in south bend....</p>
<p>IDK... seems weird to me.</p>
<p>6 home games is still quite a bit, I think that is all I ever got while I was at ND.</p>
<p>Playing ND at home or at a neutral site is absolutely a smart decision for any school. There are plenty of schools where ND is the one game they sell out, Michigan State charges more for the game, to say it isn't fair to the school is ridiculous to me. It is one of the best games of the year of the team as far as profits, and we all know this is a business. The students can still get the tickets. If I could have ND play one game a year at Soldier Field, honestly, I would have been all about it as long as I still got my tickets</p>
<p>I think it takes that something away from the atmosphere of college football.</p>
<p>Of course its good for the team playing ND. I just dont think it is necessary on NDs part.</p>
<p>ND does have fans all over the US though, and they are trying to raise their visibility. It will actually be good for the team in a few years because it may help us get more recruits out of areas where we struggle, like Texas which it looks like we will be hitting pretty hard. </p>
<p>Also, there are plenty of ND fans who can't make it back to South Bend. I am in that position now if for no other reason the cost of hotels around there! I simply can't afford to make it back with gas prices since I only make $10,000 a year as a graduate student. If it were closer, though, it would be a lot more feasible as it would save me hundreds of dollars.</p>
<p>I can see how someone in Texas who is a fan can't fly across country, rent a car, and drive down to pay $700 a night for a hotel room but can make it to Cowboy stadium. It is just about making ND more accessible, visible, and helping make a bit more money as well. </p>
<p>I also realized why I didn't remember that many games... the 12 game rule where schools now can play one more D1 game (came into effect a few years ago). Personally I would rather see ND play ASU at Cowboys Stadium than Duke at home, but that is just me.</p>
<p>Anyway, enough with the rambling. Back to answering angry student e-mails (I released grades yesterday for my Intro to Psych class).</p>
<p>Mike, you better have not been too harsh!</p>
<p>Your second to last paragraph kind of shocks me. I mean, I would love to have all 12 games at home! i have to forfeit 6 to make if fair. so that leaves 6 home games a year.. usually. Our program is different though. With the NBC contract, all of our home games are available throughout the country. sooo, its not like we are closing out the availability of the game for those fans/alumni throughout the country</p>
<p>I mean i understand some of the logistics of it, but honestly there is a mystique of those saturdays in the fall. The tradition... the spirit, etc it is unmatched. Why you would want to pass that up is beyond me. OUr program is already visible throughout the nation due to our TV contracts.</p>
<p>Move the away games to neutral sites... not the scheduled home games</p>
<p>The problem is that schools aren't willing to do that, like Rutgers. It is hard to ask another school to do something that we ourselves aren't willing to do, you know? I know that the students want, and deserve, all the home games they can get, and they should get them. I just am saying that I think the neutral site idea is a good one as well for poor alums like me.</p>
<p>Seriously, I gave my $100 donation but I don't have enough money now to send in my alumni ticket application :(.</p>
<p>Money and Recruiting.</p>