Expansion: Bad for Waistlines, Good for Football

Ugh. As if there weren’t all ready enough reasons to hate Notre Dame, their AD had to open his mouth. See, if the Big Ten and PAC-10 expand, as they desire, and are able to hold a conference championship like the real conferences, Notre Dame just might have to acquiesce to the pressure. In response, AD Swarbrick swears, “We’re trying like hell to maintain our independence. I think it’s good for college football and it’s good for Notre Dame.”

The latter point is arguable. Sure, it’s good for you scheduling the weakest teams in the division (excepting USC, whom you haven’t beaten since 2001) and getting preferable treatment in bowl games. Good for you until you consider those two things have caused you to rack up an impressive 1-5 record in bowl games this century. Sure, the NBC contract is good for you. Until you consider a) you’ll generate more revenue as a conference member and b) since you always have to play at 3:30 EST, you’re losing tons of fans who are watching other games at that time. Much as I love watching the Irish lose, I didn’t see a single Notre Dame game on television because there were always better games on at that time. Move to the occasional 11:00a or 8:00p game and you’ll get a lot more viewers.

But how in the world is their independence good for college football? At best, college football is indifferent.

I can tell you this: it’s certainly not good Notre Dame gets to sponge off BCS coffers regardless of their seasonal performance.