Irish Scheduling Anything but Luck of the Draw
By Brad Prendergast
With each game, the talent of tailback Autry Denson has made
more and more people take notice. And with newly established
trends in the scheduling for Notre Dame, more people nationwide
will be able to see the Irish's top rusher play.
Why else would the likes of Arizona State and Louisiana State
- not the typical names on a Notre Dame schedule - be listed as
opponents on future dockets?
The Sun Devils and Tigers stand out as sore thumbs among the
more familiar names on the Irish schedules in recent years, but
Assistant Athletic Director George Kelly says there's a reason
for playing those teams. According to Kelly, who develops the
schedules for the football team, a three-pronged plan is used
when finding teams for the Irish to play. First and foremost, he
said, Notre Dame looks to maintain a highly competitive
schedule. And that includes trying to play teams - such as
Stanford, Northwestern and Vanderbilt - that share a similar
ethos about education while also providing a high level of
competition on the field. Then the athletic department tries to
select opponents that provide alumni around the country with an
opportunity to watch the Irish in action. But, said Kelly, it's
hard work.
"Being an independent, we have to work with a little more
zest," Kelly said. "We try our darndest to satisfy all the
pockets of alumni around the country."
And, of course, the visits to various parts of the country
don't exactly hurt the Irish's recruiting chances, either. Notre
Dame benefits a great deal from the ability to guarantee that
all home games will be televised nationally and that the away
games are usually aired, too, said Kelly. But making a visit to
a recruit's home state can sometimes make the difference in
winning him over.
"It's important for a recruit to know that
we'll be coming in to his backyard," Kelly said. "That certainly
will have some influence." As a result, the Irish will be
playing schools in top recruiting states such as Texas and
Florida more often in the future. Baylor, based in Waco, Tex.,
makes an appearance on the schedule beginning in 1998, and the
Irish are set to play a game against Navy in Orlando, Fla., in
2000.
The series against Navy has developed some added benefits
for Notre Dame. Besides continuing a long-standing tradition
between the Irish and the Midshipmen, a recent trend established
by the Naval Academy allows the Irish to play a game in another
region of the country each year. That trend begins this
November, when the two teams move their annual contest to
Dublin, Ireland.
Future schedules call for the Irish and
Midshipmen to play in Washington D.C. in 1998 and Orlando in
2000. Each of those games do not count among the traditional six
home games scheduled for the Irish. Rather, the games are mostly
organized by Navy as a means to ensure that the Midshipmen can
draw a big enough gate to make the series financially rewarding
for both sides, Kelly said. Noting the costs involved in
transporting players and equipment across the country, Kelly
said Notre Dame must be certain that the gate receipts will make
a game against any team worthwhile. Not only is the Irish
football team expected to cover its own costs, but the athletic
department also relies on the team to provide for Notre Dame's
non-revenue sports. That expectation, Kelly said, comes from
staunch desire to make sure the athletic side of the University
does not detract from the academics.
"Football is the bell-cow
that funds the gender-equity sports," Kelly said. "The day that
athletic (funding) takes away from the academics at this
University is a day that I don't want to see.
"The exposure in
new regions of the country created by the Navy series will be
complemented by changes in what teams the Irish will play.
Beginning near the turn of the century, teams like Florida
State, Maryland, Duke, North Carolina and Virginia may begin to
appear on the Irish schedule. "The ACC (Atlantic Coast
Conference) is very anxious to include us in their schedule,"
Kelly said.
In the athletic department, prosperity in the finances and
competitiveness on the field go hand in hand, which is why
future schedules continue the tradition of including top-notch
programs. Besides Florida State, schedules after 1999 also
include Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas A&M and the traditionally
scheduled powers of Southern Cal - which could very easily
remain on the schedule perpetually, Kelly said - and Michigan.
Thankfully, Notre Dame won't play all those teams in the same
year. "We are always interested in maintaining a competitive
schedule," Kelly said, noting that the chance always remains
that a school which is competitive when the contract is signed
will not be competitive when the game is actually played.
"But by and large, with the people we have on this schedule,
there is a good chance they'll remain competitive," he added.
The Wolverines and Michigan State return to the schedule after a
two-year hiatus beginning in 1997.
Kelly also stated that the University of Miami has approached
Notre Dame about renewing a rivalry that became heated in the
mid- to late-1980s. "They have approached us, but whether or not
we can work them in, I don't know," he said.
Kelly stressed that Notre Dame has recognized the strides
Miami has made in cleaning up its program in recent years. "We
certainly respect their new leadership and their efforts. It
takes time to make amends for errors in judgment.
"We want to play people that will bring people that are
respectful," Kelly continued. "We have to be careful of that,
and I think we are. You can have a great rivalry without
profanity."
Schedules have been completed for every year up through 2002,
said Kelly, but won't be released until all contracts with the
other schools are finalized.
Other dates have already been planned through 2007, but Kelly
noted that, in the complicated world of football scheduling,
those dates could possibly change.
"To get a team on the schedule, you have to work around their
openings and yours," Kelly said. "You have to have some
cooperation." Being an independent also makes scheduling a
little more interesting for Notre Dame. And the changing face of
conferences nation-wide adds another twist to the puzzle.
For example, the merging of the Big Eight and four teams from
the now-defunct Southwest Conference means those schools have
fewer dates with which to try to schedule Notre Dame.
"With the Big 12, it removes those teams (from being possible
Irish opponents) for nine weeks out of the year," Kelly said.
But in the end, the Irish still hold one impressive drawing
card. "Because of our TV situation (with NBC), we are in a
position where we are fortunate enough to bargain," Kelly said.
