(02-15-2022 03:39 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:03 PM)ken d Wrote:  Would partnering with ESPN make better business sense? Absolutely. But nobody has left more football money on the table knowingly and willingly than the Irish.

Maybe Notre Dame hasn't left money on the table. Maybe they know that their major donors value football independence so much that they would donate a lot less money to Notre Dame if the university gave up on football independence.

It's not just donations to the athletic department that could be impacted, donations to the university general fund might go down if big donors became less enthusiastic about Notre Dame.

If Notre Dame could make $20 million/year more as a member of the Big Ten but doing so cost them $40 million/year in athletic and non-athletic donations, then they are better off doing what they're doing.

As for NBC, Notre Dame probably values the guaranteed 7 or 8 over the air broadcasts a year enough to not want whatever extra money they might get from selling those games to ESPN and letting Disney decide whether to air those games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, etc. Look at a Notre Dame home schedule and ask, how many of those games would be on ABC if Disney could put them where they want? Based on how Notre Dame's road games vs. ACC teams have been placed, the answer is, about half would be on ABC and the other half would be on other ESPN outlets. So by going with NBC, Notre Dame gets 3 or 4 more games a year on over the air network TV than they would get if Disney had their home games. And maybe that extra exposure has value for donations and value for recruiting both athletes and non-athlete students.

Bottom line, if Notre Dame wants to stay independent and make the CFP they are going to have to play more than 2 key games a season, and certainly will need a better schedule than what they have now. Their series of BCS/CFP appearances ending in blowouts has lost and is continuing to lose traction. So, their only pay path to CFP consideration while keeping independence means a meatier schedule and their best way to attain that is with ESPN, not NBC.

(02-15-2022 06:42 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:39 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:03 PM)ken d Wrote:  Would partnering with ESPN make better business sense? Absolutely. But nobody has left more football money on the table knowingly and willingly than the Irish.

Maybe Notre Dame hasn't left money on the table. Maybe they know that their major donors value football independence so much that they would donate a lot less money to Notre Dame if the university gave up on football independence.

It's not just donations to the athletic department that could be impacted, donations to the university general fund might go down if big donors became less enthusiastic about Notre Dame.

If Notre Dame could make $20 million/year more as a member of the Big Ten but doing so cost them $40 million/year in athletic and non-athletic donations, then they are better off doing what they're doing.

As for NBC, Notre Dame probably values the guaranteed 7 or 8 over the air broadcasts a year enough to not want whatever extra money they might get from selling those games to ESPN and letting Disney decide whether to air those games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, etc. Look at a Notre Dame home schedule and ask, how many of those games would be on ABC if Disney could put them where they want? Based on how Notre Dame's road games vs. ACC teams have been placed, the answer is, about half would be on ABC and the other half would be on other ESPN outlets. So by going with NBC, Notre Dame gets 3 or 4 more games a year on over the air network TV than they would get if Disney had their home games. And maybe that extra exposure has value for donations and value for recruiting both athletes and non-athlete students.

Bottom line, if Notre Dame wants to stay independent and make the CFP they are going to have to play more than 2 key games a season, and certainly will need a better schedule than what they have now. Their series of BCS/CFP appearances ending in blowouts has lost and is continuing to lose traction. So, their only pay path to CFP consideration while keeping independence means a meatier schedule and their best way to attain that is with ESPN, not NBC.

Every 10-win Notre Dame team in either a BCS or CFP year would have made a 12-team playoff.

That will continue to be true unless most of the contenders in every P league start playing schedules that are far more difficult than they now play, as in, something like 11 games a year vs. good P opponents. I would be surprised if a lot of top teams start playing schedules like that.

(02-15-2022 08:37 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 06:42 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:39 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:03 PM)ken d Wrote:  Would partnering with ESPN make better business sense? Absolutely. But nobody has left more football money on the table knowingly and willingly than the Irish.

Maybe Notre Dame hasn't left money on the table. Maybe they know that their major donors value football independence so much that they would donate a lot less money to Notre Dame if the university gave up on football independence.

It's not just donations to the athletic department that could be impacted, donations to the university general fund might go down if big donors became less enthusiastic about Notre Dame.

If Notre Dame could make $20 million/year more as a member of the Big Ten but doing so cost them $40 million/year in athletic and non-athletic donations, then they are better off doing what they're doing.

As for NBC, Notre Dame probably values the guaranteed 7 or 8 over the air broadcasts a year enough to not want whatever extra money they might get from selling those games to ESPN and letting Disney decide whether to air those games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, etc. Look at a Notre Dame home schedule and ask, how many of those games would be on ABC if Disney could put them where they want? Based on how Notre Dame's road games vs. ACC teams have been placed, the answer is, about half would be on ABC and the other half would be on other ESPN outlets. So by going with NBC, Notre Dame gets 3 or 4 more games a year on over the air network TV than they would get if Disney had their home games. And maybe that extra exposure has value for donations and value for recruiting both athletes and non-athlete students.

Bottom line, if Notre Dame wants to stay independent and make the CFP they are going to have to play more than 2 key games a season, and certainly will need a better schedule than what they have now. Their series of BCS/CFP appearances ending in blowouts has lost and is continuing to lose traction. So, their only pay path to CFP consideration while keeping independence means a meatier schedule and their best way to attain that is with ESPN, not NBC.

Every 10-win Notre Dame team in either a BCS or CFP year would have made a 12-team playoff.

That will continue to be true unless most of the contenders in every P league start playing schedules that are far more difficult than they now play, as in, something like 11 games a year vs. good P opponents. I would be surprised if a lot of top teams start playing schedules like that.

9 P games will be standard soon enough. Add in 1 required OOC P game and you have 10. It's coming. Why? That's where in pay increases will be focused. Have a breakaway and it happens sooner. So, prepare to be surprised in the next few years. As long as ND keeps pace with the number of P games and makes sure at least 4 have a pulse they'll be fine.

(02-15-2022 02:12 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 01:38 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 12:45 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 09:07 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 06:00 AM)XLance Wrote:  Two observations:
The ACC's participation in "the Alliance" will give ESPN access to B1G content without having to pay for it.
Notre Dame's association with the ACC will continue to give ESPN access to to mid-western markets without the B1G.

Agreed. Admittedly, I have no idea what's been discussed behind closed doors between the ACC and ESPN, but this isn't all bad for ESPN (and I wouldn't close the door on CFP expansion, either - but if the ACC wants to make sure they get compensated, that's no different from the SEC!)

Don't make me laugh! Clemson / Ohio State is access ESPN wants. Maybe FSU / Michigan. Then what would they show which would be on a platform above ESPN2 or U?

As to ND and the ESPN goal of keeping a backdoor in the Northern Midwest I would adamantly suggest that ESPN best does this by outbidding NBC for ND home games and then assisting the Irish with scheduling. This is a win / win for ESPN 8 weekends vs a max of 3 with the ACC arrangement and ND stays INDY with ESPN lobbying for at large CFP slots which the SEC will surely push.

What's not a win win is Clemson, or FSU/Miami, vs the ACC field. ESPN is bleeding profit and ratings because of it. X and UNC administration know what they are facing. I find it odd that the worst possible fate for the mid-tier schools in the ACC is the just find a way to hang in philosophy. Many of you would have much brighter futures if shed of it. Fear of the unknown is all that is holding you back.

JR, you missed the point of my post. The issue that the ACC might (and should) be concerned about is compensation for the increase in value of the ACC FCG! The SEC is already highly-compensated, and the Big Ten, Big XII, and Pac-12 are all coming up for renewal, but the ACC would get nothing (unless they negotiate it NOW).

As for ESPN bidding for Notre Dame, you can ask Terry, but I suspect that is an absolute non-starter. The Irish want to stay on OTA broadcast TV, but ABC is almost locked up thanks to the new SEC contract.

I responded to your stated ESPN motives with regard to ND being an entry to Northern Midwestern cities.

Terry D is a mossback Irish fan who will be right on Independence but wrong about NBC. The threat against Irish independence is scheduling. Only one provider can help in that regard. And that same network will likely retain a great deal of influence over the CFP structure and format and it sure isn't NBC. NBC is the Achilles Heel of ND. The contract is good, not great. NBC needs more splash than half the Irish games bring. NBC doesn't have a stake in the CFP. There is only 1 network which could assist Irish scheduling and influence a post season to include their possible inclusion.

ND's deal with the ACC is a trial courtship which ESPN will not screw up.

ESPN has the SEC, has added Texas and Oklahoma to it, and with ND in scheduling arrangements with those schools, and some in the ACC, ESPN could likely have ND for 10 games a year by buying their home slate. Then they would have any games scheduled with the SEC and ACC and have USC every other year and likely a B1G school every other year as well.

That's insurance should another network seek more of the B1G's rights.

ESPN has Clemson and Miami and FSU, and you guys they need to have in better games. Division-less solves some of that. They have UNC, Duke, and UVA and Syracuse as hoops brands. Two of those have faded, one is fading, and the most successful is losing its coach.

ESPN's bigger concern now is how to save those hoops brands and maximize the value of those 4 football programs. What does Occam's razor suggest? You have 8 schools who could be maximized in value. You have 3 neutral values in the next tier of the ACC and you have 3 which lag, and you have a slither of ND. Now you are the CEO and you have to allocate funds. As CEO I would go hard for Irish home games and improve their schedule. That's national eyes and bigger profits. Then I'd maximize my 4 potential football products and consider how many hoops brands and which ones I wanted to elevate. I'd cut the rest.

So you have 7 programs you see as a must keep. UNC and Va Tech deliver the most eyeballs in a 20 million combined market. Clemson, FSU, and Miami are worth a lot more elsewhere playing more must watch games and playing each other annually. Triple dipping Florida with top brands is money. Maybe Duke as a brand, UVa as a UNC/VaTech bud, or maybe NCState makes it 6, maybe. You have 5 ACC schools and 4 SEC slots. The rest is business and negotiations.

You are right JR, it is ESPN's concern and or responsibility to provide leadership to move forward.
ESPN owns all of the SEC and ACC's rights and Occam's razor suggests that in order to increase football value of the whole and maximize hoops value that some pieces of the puzzle need to be moved to accommodate both goals. I've already explained this in another post.
Triple dip Florida? Yep!, move both Miami and Florida State into the SEC side of the ledger, plus swap football success Clemson (they have a marketable shtick) with South Carolina (which has been a tough sell for the SEC).
In return move three of the poorer watched/attended football schools into the ACC (Missouri, Kentucky and Vanderbilt) to create two 15 team leagues. ESPN has the influence to facilitate these moves.
Once this configuration is complete and before the end of the ACC's contract (2035-36) we'll know who can stay at the top and those that can't. The weak will cull themselves out of the equation.

ACC West-Mizzou, Vandy, Louisville, Ky, Pitt
ACC South-GT, UNC, NC State, WF, South Carolina
ACC North-Duke, VT, UVa, BC, Syracuse

SEC West-Texas, OU, TAMU, LSU, Arkansas
SEC South-Ole Miss, MSU, Alabama, Tenn. Auburn
SEC East-Florida, FSU, Georgia, Clemson, Miami

Notre Dame can be used as needed within the current contract. Perhaps the bulk of their required games are shifted and are played against the SEC to facilitate marquee matchups. This would enhance Notre Dame's strength of schedule and certainly make them a shoe-in for the playoffs when they are deserving.

There is no tortious interference in these moves. No negative impact on any other conference.
I'm not claiming that this is the solution to the Gordian Knot, it's just an idea on how to get started.

(02-15-2022 02:12 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 01:38 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 12:45 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 09:07 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 06:00 AM)XLance Wrote:  Two observations:
The ACC's participation in "the Alliance" will give ESPN access to B1G content without having to pay for it.
Notre Dame's association with the ACC will continue to give ESPN access to to mid-western markets without the B1G.

Agreed. Admittedly, I have no idea what's been discussed behind closed doors between the ACC and ESPN, but this isn't all bad for ESPN (and I wouldn't close the door on CFP expansion, either - but if the ACC wants to make sure they get compensated, that's no different from the SEC!)

Don't make me laugh! Clemson / Ohio State is access ESPN wants. Maybe FSU / Michigan. Then what would they show which would be on a platform above ESPN2 or U?

As to ND and the ESPN goal of keeping a backdoor in the Northern Midwest I would adamantly suggest that ESPN best does this by outbidding NBC for ND home games and then assisting the Irish with scheduling. This is a win / win for ESPN 8 weekends vs a max of 3 with the ACC arrangement and ND stays INDY with ESPN lobbying for at large CFP slots which the SEC will surely push.

What's not a win win is Clemson, or FSU/Miami, vs the ACC field. ESPN is bleeding profit and ratings because of it. X and UNC administration know what they are facing. I find it odd that the worst possible fate for the mid-tier schools in the ACC is the just find a way to hang in philosophy. Many of you would have much brighter futures if shed of it. Fear of the unknown is all that is holding you back.

JR, you missed the point of my post. The issue that the ACC might (and should) be concerned about is compensation for the increase in value of the ACC FCG! The SEC is already highly-compensated, and the Big Ten, Big XII, and Pac-12 are all coming up for renewal, but the ACC would get nothing (unless they negotiate it NOW).

As for ESPN bidding for Notre Dame, you can ask Terry, but I suspect that is an absolute non-starter. The Irish want to stay on OTA broadcast TV, but ABC is almost locked up thanks to the new SEC contract.

I responded to your stated ESPN motives with regard to ND being an entry to Northern Midwestern cities.

Terry D is a mossback Irish fan who will be right on Independence but wrong about NBC. The threat against Irish independence is scheduling. Only one provider can help in that regard. And that same network will likely retain a great deal of influence over the CFP structure and format and it sure isn't NBC. NBC is the Achilles Heel of ND. The contract is good, not great. NBC needs more splash than half the Irish games bring. NBC doesn't have a stake in the CFP. There is only 1 network which could assist Irish scheduling and influence a post season to include their possible inclusion.

ND's deal with the ACC is a trial courtship which ESPN will not screw up.

ESPN has the SEC, has added Texas and Oklahoma to it, and with ND in scheduling arrangements with those schools, and some in the ACC, ESPN could likely have ND for 10 games a year by buying their home slate. Then they would have any games scheduled with the SEC and ACC and have USC every other year and likely a B1G school every other year as well.

That's insurance should another network seek more of the B1G's rights.

ESPN has Clemson and Miami and FSU, and you guys they need to have in better games. Division-less solves some of that. They have UNC, Duke, and UVA and Syracuse as hoops brands. Two of those have faded, one is fading, and the most successful is losing its coach.

ESPN's bigger concern now is how to save those hoops brands and maximize the value of those 4 football programs. What does Occam's razor suggest? You have 8 schools who could be maximized in value. You have 3 neutral values in the next tier of the ACC and you have 3 which lag, and you have a slither of ND. Now you are the CEO and you have to allocate funds. As CEO I would go hard for Irish home games and improve their schedule. That's national eyes and bigger profits. Then I'd maximize my 4 potential football products and consider how many hoops brands and which ones I wanted to elevate. I'd cut the rest.

So you have 7 programs you see as a must keep. UNC and Va Tech deliver the most eyeballs in a 20 million combined market. Clemson, FSU, and Miami are worth a lot more elsewhere playing more must watch games and playing each other annually. Triple dipping Florida with top brands is money. Maybe Duke as a brand, UVa as a UNC/VaTech bud, or maybe NCState makes it 6, maybe. You have 5 ACC schools and 4 SEC slots. The rest is business and negotiations.

I am probably one of the most liberal people on this board, politically and personally, one who embraces change in what people think about politics, labor, business, religion, technology and other things.

It made me smile to be called a "mossback" because I like to be the counterpoint to the "ND needs to join a conference" crowd and provide the ND fan slant to message board discussions (there are only about three ND fans on non-ND boards like this).

How much is a contrary, stubborn nature, exasperation with certain people/viewpoints and a fondness for debate and how much is "emotion", as Crazy Paco thinks?

For instance, I support NIL and even players paid directly as employees even if that means that ND drops out of big time football.

Not very "mossback", is it? Changes in certain things are much more important to me than other things remaining the same.

We shall all know about about the NBC/ESPN issue in about a year, which is when ND usually re-ups with NBC.

Will it just do so and quietly announce re-signing with NBC or will it put the deal on the market?

I bet the former, not the ranch but more than a dollar.

(02-15-2022 03:39 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:03 PM)ken d Wrote:  Would partnering with ESPN make better business sense? Absolutely. But nobody has left more football money on the table knowingly and willingly than the Irish.

Maybe Notre Dame hasn't left money on the table. Maybe they know that their major donors value football independence so much that they would donate a lot less money to Notre Dame if the university gave up on football independence.

It's not just donations to the athletic department that could be impacted, donations to the university general fund might go down if big donors became less enthusiastic about Notre Dame.

If Notre Dame could make $20 million/year more as a member of the Big Ten but doing so cost them $40 million/year in athletic and non-athletic donations, then they are better off doing what they're doing.

As for NBC, Notre Dame probably values the guaranteed 7 or 8 over the air broadcasts a year enough to not want whatever extra money they might get from selling those games to ESPN and letting Disney decide whether to air those games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, etc. Look at a Notre Dame home schedule and ask, how many of those games would be on ABC if Disney could put them where they want? Based on how Notre Dame's road games vs. ACC teams have been placed, the answer is, about half would be on ABC and the other half would be on other ESPN outlets. So by going with NBC, Notre Dame gets 3 or 4 more games a year on over the air network TV than they would get if Disney had their home games. And maybe that extra exposure has value for donations and value for recruiting both athletes and non-athlete students.

Yes.

(02-16-2022 08:47 AM)TerryD Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 02:12 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 01:38 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 12:45 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 09:07 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  Agreed. Admittedly, I have no idea what's been discussed behind closed doors between the ACC and ESPN, but this isn't all bad for ESPN (and I wouldn't close the door on CFP expansion, either - but if the ACC wants to make sure they get compensated, that's no different from the SEC!)

Don't make me laugh! Clemson / Ohio State is access ESPN wants. Maybe FSU / Michigan. Then what would they show which would be on a platform above ESPN2 or U?

As to ND and the ESPN goal of keeping a backdoor in the Northern Midwest I would adamantly suggest that ESPN best does this by outbidding NBC for ND home games and then assisting the Irish with scheduling. This is a win / win for ESPN 8 weekends vs a max of 3 with the ACC arrangement and ND stays INDY with ESPN lobbying for at large CFP slots which the SEC will surely push.

What's not a win win is Clemson, or FSU/Miami, vs the ACC field. ESPN is bleeding profit and ratings because of it. X and UNC administration know what they are facing. I find it odd that the worst possible fate for the mid-tier schools in the ACC is the just find a way to hang in philosophy. Many of you would have much brighter futures if shed of it. Fear of the unknown is all that is holding you back.

JR, you missed the point of my post. The issue that the ACC might (and should) be concerned about is compensation for the increase in value of the ACC FCG! The SEC is already highly-compensated, and the Big Ten, Big XII, and Pac-12 are all coming up for renewal, but the ACC would get nothing (unless they negotiate it NOW).

As for ESPN bidding for Notre Dame, you can ask Terry, but I suspect that is an absolute non-starter. The Irish want to stay on OTA broadcast TV, but ABC is almost locked up thanks to the new SEC contract.

I responded to your stated ESPN motives with regard to ND being an entry to Northern Midwestern cities.

Terry D is a mossback Irish fan who will be right on Independence but wrong about NBC. The threat against Irish independence is scheduling. Only one provider can help in that regard. And that same network will likely retain a great deal of influence over the CFP structure and format and it sure isn't NBC. NBC is the Achilles Heel of ND. The contract is good, not great. NBC needs more splash than half the Irish games bring. NBC doesn't have a stake in the CFP. There is only 1 network which could assist Irish scheduling and influence a post season to include their possible inclusion.

ND's deal with the ACC is a trial courtship which ESPN will not screw up.

ESPN has the SEC, has added Texas and Oklahoma to it, and with ND in scheduling arrangements with those schools, and some in the ACC, ESPN could likely have ND for 10 games a year by buying their home slate. Then they would have any games scheduled with the SEC and ACC and have USC every other year and likely a B1G school every other year as well.

That's insurance should another network seek more of the B1G's rights.

ESPN has Clemson and Miami and FSU, and you guys they need to have in better games. Division-less solves some of that. They have UNC, Duke, and UVA and Syracuse as hoops brands. Two of those have faded, one is fading, and the most successful is losing its coach.

ESPN's bigger concern now is how to save those hoops brands and maximize the value of those 4 football programs. What does Occam's razor suggest? You have 8 schools who could be maximized in value. You have 3 neutral values in the next tier of the ACC and you have 3 which lag, and you have a slither of ND. Now you are the CEO and you have to allocate funds. As CEO I would go hard for Irish home games and improve their schedule. That's national eyes and bigger profits. Then I'd maximize my 4 potential football products and consider how many hoops brands and which ones I wanted to elevate. I'd cut the rest.

So you have 7 programs you see as a must keep. UNC and Va Tech deliver the most eyeballs in a 20 million combined market. Clemson, FSU, and Miami are worth a lot more elsewhere playing more must watch games and playing each other annually. Triple dipping Florida with top brands is money. Maybe Duke as a brand, UVa as a UNC/VaTech bud, or maybe NCState makes it 6, maybe. You have 5 ACC schools and 4 SEC slots. The rest is business and negotiations.

I am probably one of the most liberal people on this board, politically and personally, one who embraces change in what people think about politics, labor, business, religion, technology and other things.

It made me smile to be called a "mossback" because I like to be the counterpoint to the "ND needs to join a conference" crowd and provide the ND fan slant to message board discussions (there are only about three ND fans on non-ND boards like this).

How much is a contrary, stubborn nature, exasperation with certain people/viewpoints and a fondness for debate and how much is "emotion", as Crazy Paco thinks?

For instance, I support NIL and even players paid directly as employees even if that means that ND drops out of big time football.

Not very "mossback", is it? Changes in certain things are much more important to me than other things remaining the same.

We shall all know about about the NBC/ESPN issue in about a year, which is when ND usually re-ups with NBC.

Will it just do so and quietly announce re-signing with NBC or will it put the deal on the market?

I bet the former, not the ranch but more than a dollar.

Is 3 rep points more than a buck? If so, you have a bet. And Terry D I defined the parameters of Mossback in your case. I know we stand aligned on players' rights, and I'd hardly call myself a liberal, but right is right and wrong has to be fought!

(02-16-2022 08:57 AM)TerryD Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:39 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:03 PM)ken d Wrote:  Would partnering with ESPN make better business sense? Absolutely. But nobody has left more football money on the table knowingly and willingly than the Irish.

Maybe Notre Dame hasn't left money on the table. Maybe they know that their major donors value football independence so much that they would donate a lot less money to Notre Dame if the university gave up on football independence.

It's not just donations to the athletic department that could be impacted, donations to the university general fund might go down if big donors became less enthusiastic about Notre Dame.

If Notre Dame could make $20 million/year more as a member of the Big Ten but doing so cost them $40 million/year in athletic and non-athletic donations, then they are better off doing what they're doing.

As for NBC, Notre Dame probably values the guaranteed 7 or 8 over the air broadcasts a year enough to not want whatever extra money they might get from selling those games to ESPN and letting Disney decide whether to air those games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, etc. Look at a Notre Dame home schedule and ask, how many of those games would be on ABC if Disney could put them where they want? Based on how Notre Dame's road games vs. ACC teams have been placed, the answer is, about half would be on ABC and the other half would be on other ESPN outlets. So by going with NBC, Notre Dame gets 3 or 4 more games a year on over the air network TV than they would get if Disney had their home games. And maybe that extra exposure has value for donations and value for recruiting both athletes and non-athlete students.

Yes.

I agree with both of you. When I spoke of "business sense" and "football money" I was saying that ND considers its entire enterprise and its mission, not just football as a separate business.

(02-17-2022 08:36 AM)ken d Wrote:  

(02-16-2022 08:57 AM)TerryD Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:39 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-15-2022 03:03 PM)ken d Wrote:  Would partnering with ESPN make better business sense? Absolutely. But nobody has left more football money on the table knowingly and willingly than the Irish.

Maybe Notre Dame hasn't left money on the table. Maybe they know that their major donors value football independence so much that they would donate a lot less money to Notre Dame if the university gave up on football independence.

It's not just donations to the athletic department that could be impacted, donations to the university general fund might go down if big donors became less enthusiastic about Notre Dame.

If Notre Dame could make $20 million/year more as a member of the Big Ten but doing so cost them $40 million/year in athletic and non-athletic donations, then they are better off doing what they're doing.

As for NBC, Notre Dame probably values the guaranteed 7 or 8 over the air broadcasts a year enough to not want whatever extra money they might get from selling those games to ESPN and letting Disney decide whether to air those games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, etc. Look at a Notre Dame home schedule and ask, how many of those games would be on ABC if Disney could put them where they want? Based on how Notre Dame's road games vs. ACC teams have been placed, the answer is, about half would be on ABC and the other half would be on other ESPN outlets. So by going with NBC, Notre Dame gets 3 or 4 more games a year on over the air network TV than they would get if Disney had their home games. And maybe that extra exposure has value for donations and value for recruiting both athletes and non-athlete students.

Yes.

I agree with both of you. When I spoke of "business sense" and "football money" I was saying that ND considers its entire enterprise and its mission, not just football as a separate business.

No question about that at all.