Should Notre Dame join the Big 10?

Facing a 6-6 record and the prospects of hiring a new coach to come and turn around the program, the University of Notre Dame football team is at a crossroads. With so much potential for success in 2009,led by the offensive trio of quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receivers Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, the Irish failed miserably this season at living up to the hype and expectations that not only the country had for them, but that they had for themselves. Sitting at 6-2 and facing a home game versus Navy on November 7, Notre Dame had the potential to run the table and get to 10-2 and almost assure themselves a at-large berth in a BCS bowl game. Two losses would have been perfectly justifiable, and perhaps if they had fallen to only either Pitt or Stanford, a 9-3 record would have earned Notre Dame a respectable New Year’s Day bowl. However, they dropped that game versus Navy (a game which I was in attendance), and then the following three against Pitt, UConn, and Stanford to bring the program to where they currently stand. On Monday, Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick fired Charlie Weis with six-years remaining on Weis’ contract.
I’m not writing this column to say whom the new coach should be. If I had my way, I’d be prying the defensive-minded Bob Stoops away from Oklahoma as my first option. My purpose here is to tell you what I think Notre Dame should do as a football program. They should suck it up and join the Big 10.
To me, this makes sense for a number of reasons. It would give their schedule more credibility, it would help with recruiting, and it wouldn’t hurt them financially at all. I’ll explain why shortly, but these three reasons make perfect sense to me.
1) The Big Ten Schedule
If Notre Dame were to join the Big Ten, the number of the teams in the conference would raise to twelve. Other conferences that have twelve teams, such as the ACC, Big XII and SEC, all have divisions within the conference, where the division champs meet in a conference championship game, much like Alabama and Florida are set to do this weekend. With Notre Dame’s pull (money and national TV contract), they could pretty much dictate how they wanted the division to be split up. Since they already play Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue every year, those three teams would join ND’s division. They also wouldn’t want to play Ohio State and Penn State every year, so those two teams would be in the other division, as would Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Minnesota. If you are fixated on geography it doesn’t work, but logically it does. Notre Dame gets their rivalry games, and then games they should win versus Illinois and Northwestern. With crossover games coming every other year, they wouldn’t have to consistently face the Buckeyes, Nittany Lions, or other strong teams from Madison and Iowa City. Other rivalries stay intact (UW-Minnesota, Iowa-Minnesota, UW-Iowa, etc.), and Notre Dame is perceived as coming down off their high horse and receiving some conference legitimacy.
2) Recruiting
With consistent scheduling, Notre Dame would be exposed to more Midwestern recruits that the Big Ten is attracting towards is other schools. And with a location situated in the heart of Big Ten country, ND can spread in every direction as far as recruiting goes. They could still attract the Jimmy Clausen-type players coming out of California because of their deep pockets, but much of their talent comes from the Midwest anyways (Michael Floyd, Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija, John Carlson). This would only improve on that core and give them depth, which they’ve clearly lacked. Joining a conference would again add to credibility and give them a recruiting base in the heart of the country.
3) Finances
Notre Dame still has a ridiculous athletic budget, and joining a conference wouldn’t jeopardize that. They’d still have their TV contract, and would bring in additional money in bowl revenue sharing and the Big Ten Network contract. Money just isn’t an issue here (considering they didn’t blink at Weis’ $18 million buyout).
Of course, this is all fine and dandy but really hinges on finding that coach that can return ND to national prominence. With Brian Kelly as the hire, only time will tell if this comes to fruition. I don't think this is likely, but hey, it's worth talking about.