There was a lot of nonsense about college football's quasi-national title game, which featured ESPN's world-class talking heads making rock-solid arguments like "Florida is just a team that knows how to win".(For the record, Michigan probably got screwed, but if Michigan was playing OSU again, Florida would have been screwed. There's really insufficient data on each team to make that call, and any argument you try to make for either side just sounds silly.) But lost in all that is a story that could have some interesting side effects for college hockey.
Despite being a total and complete fraud, Notre Dame was allowed to sneak into the Sugar Bowl on the strength of beating a couple football programs that haven't been anywhere near competitive since the '60s like Navy and Michigan State. Anyway, even though the Fighting Irish will likely lose their 47th straight bowl game this year, they still get the roughly $14 million payout, and because the Irish don't play in a conference, they won't have to split that money with anybody else.
The same thing happened last season at Notre Dame, and that money, combined with some generous alumni donations, allowed the Notre Dame athletic department to announce plans to build a new home for the Notre Dame basketball team. It would seem that the next priority for Notre Dame would be to renovate the school's ice rink, which is one of the worst in the west. This BCS bowl payout should go a long ways towards making that happen.
Indiations from Notre Dame seem to be that they want to renovate the Joyce Center, where Notre Dame plays rather than building a new arena, but I think it would be better if they started from scratch and built a nice arena to really help their program grow.
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13 comments:
Chris, ND football is no more or less a fraud and no more or less deserving than Oklahoma, Louisevile, Wake, or Boise State. ND hardly made it in based on Navy/MSU, but rather UCLA, PSU, and Georgia Tech. IF you want to call ND a fraud, then who exactly did Michigan beat this year? Other than Wisconsin (and sorry Badger fans that is nothing more than a nice team that benefitted from playing in a shit conference w/o having to play both big dogs)and the fraud ND, MIchigan played no body much less beat anyone.
I'm not positive, but I believe this year is the first one that ND does not exclusively keep the entire BCS payout. Their weenie of an AD worked out some cooperative program where they get 4 or 5 million each year and share the years they do get in.
As to the hockey (you don't have an ax to grind with ND do you when you start talking ND football on a hockey board?), ND is long over due to make a commitment to the hockey facilities, they are abyismal by high school and junior standards. Many potential recuits would actually downgrade by coming to ND as far as game day facility. The BCS money (again I am almost positive they do not get it all anymore) is no where near enough to do what needs to be done for hockey. Fear not, ND has plenty of coin to make it happen if they make the commitment. Hopefully they will.
Thank you for imploring White to pony up for the hockey team. However, I have followed ND hockey for 3 decades, and maybe I'm jaded, but I'm not holding my breath. Coach Jackson is positive about the prospects of new/renovated facilities, but I'm not as positive. The last few renovations have included new lockerrooms (which are great) and painting the inside of the north dome and hanging that big curtain (which is a joke). I want more than a curtain. This team, its coaching staff and its fans deserve more.
Anonymous is correct, ND does not get the full 14 million anymore, they get the same thing that michigan does for being the second team from the Big Ten to make the BCS a 4.5 million dollar payday. On years they don't make a bowl they get 1 million about the same as a school in a BCS conference does that does not make a bowl game.
As for Notre Dame being undeserving:
Ohio State -in as Big 10 champs
Florida -in as SEC champs
Michigan -In as at large
LSU -in as at large
USC -in as P10 champs
Wisconsin -inelligable by 2 team rule
Boise State -in as at large autobid
Auburn -inelligable by 2 team rule
Oklahoma -in as Big 12 champ
Notre Dame -in as at large
if you want to make the argument that Wisconsin or Auburn are more deserving you can, but they agreed to the max of two teams pre conference rule. Going just by the BCS computer rankings the only team that didn't get in with better numbers was Auburn and they were inneligable because the SEC already had Florida and LSU in. ND didn't get in because they were a great team this year and if there were only 4 games they would not have made it, ND made the BCS because the 2nd place teams from the Big East, Big 12, Pac 10, and ACC didn't perform better then ND.
Only reason ND made the BCS is money. Anyone who isn't blinded by the media can see this. ND is possibly the most overhyped team in the history of college football. They got destroyed at home by Michigan and destroyed on the road at USC. They were in neither of those games. They also should have lost to Michigan State, who was easily the worst team in the Big Ten this year.
There are plenty of more deserving teams than ND (Wisky, Auburn), and the only thing that got ND in was a bunch of shitty rules. I hope the Irish fans have fun watching their crappy team lose by 20+ points again to LSU. Congrats on losing eight straight bowl games btw!
Brady Quinn might just be the most overrated quaterback since Kyle Orton. Whenever Quinn plays a decent defense, he crumbles like the old cheese in my frige.
" a nice team that benefitted from playing in a shit conference w/o having to play both big dogs"
I never knew Michigan St. was considered a big dog. Dipshit.
Yeah, the Badgers only loss was to Michigan dumbass. I would also like to point out that they lead for almost 3 entire quarters on the road, where as Notre Dame was blown out from the beginning at their own stadium.
Michigan State is not a big dog just as the rest of the Little 11 other than Michigan and Ohio State are not. In case you can't comprehend, ND played 2 teams the equivalant of Michigan/Ohio State in Michigan/USC (and got spanked by both). Wisky played one legit top 20 team and lost. USC would kill Wisconsin and more than likely Georgia Tech would tag them with a loss in Atlanta.
Until Wisconsin stops playing a pathetic out of conference schedule, they will garner no respect nationally. Playing 1AA teams like WIU, teams that should be 1AA like Buffallo, the annual MAC creampuff, and Little 11 bottom feeders like Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, & Northwestern to get you 7 wins before you play anyone moderately tough does not even remotely compare to starting with at Georgia Tech, Penn State, and Michigan. ND played a tougher schedule in it's first 3 games than Wisconsin did it's entire season. ND had quality wins at Georgia Tech, Penn State, and UCLA. Who did Wisconsin beat again that was even remotely good? Let's see, ND's schedule had 7 bowl teams and Wisky had 5 (2 of which are 6-6 teams). When you also consider that Michigan State, North Carolina, Air Force, and even Stanford are historically a little stronger than they were this year (schedules are generally formed 5-10 year out), Wisconsin's schedule is even more embarassing (Bolling Green, WIU, San Diego State, and Buffalo (3 of which have to be at home) are rarely going to be even decent historically)
Keep scheduling the creampuffs and every year you can cry about getting a crap deal in the bowls and about other teams getting more love.
These comments about Wisconsin's schedule are ludicrous.
Yes, it was a weak schedule this year.
But why is that the case? There are two major reasons: One-the 12th game. Thanks to the Big Ten having 11 teams and certain designated rivals, Wisconsin got stuck with a bye week on the last week of conference play. Given the Big Ten's agreement with the MAC, they got stuck with Buffalo. Short notice, not much you can do there.
Secondly, Wisconsin had an agreement to play Oregon State this year which OSU backed out of. You know, the same OSU team that beat Southern Cal. That lead to the Bowling Green game.
Thirdly, the idea that Wisconsin somehow plays weak non-conference opponents year in and year out is simply absurd. Since the turn of the century, Wisconsin's played series with Oregon (with Joey Harrington), WVU, Arizona (scheduled when AZ was really good), Fresno State (with David Carr), North Carolina (scheduled when some guy named Mack Brown was coaching there) and Virginia, when they were going to bowl games.
Fourthly, UW's schedule isn't the reason they're not in the BCS. Even if they had beaten Michigan, the single largest factor holding them down (ala Auburn in 2003) was the fact that they were unranked in the preseason.
Bottom line is this: UW's been plenty successful on the football field, and they've translated enough of those winnings into a nice hockey arena that they fill with thousands of fans. Notre Dame is a bit Behind the curve...
Notre Dame will lose their bowl game and it won't even be close. Wisconsin will win. Wisconsin >>> ND no question about it. I'd love to play the Irish, but there too chicken to man-up and join the big ten.
Blockski, actually Western Illinois filled in for Oregon State, and don't forgot West Vigirnia(I know you listed it), but I believe they finished that year in the top 12 when UW beat them in Morgantown. In 2004? I remember Oregon finish in the top ten when UW beat them in Madison.
So Kohl center was built by UW's football success?
UND must have won multiple NCs. Funny that never made the news. Must be because of the nickname controversy.
I'm sure UW named it the Kohl center because Herb was a past All-American. That $25 million donation was nothing but a happy coincidence.
11:16,
Yes, UW's football success essentially built the Kohl. The old railroad yard where the KC sits had been targeted for a replacement to the field house for years. The issue was becoming more and more pressing, as the Fire Department warned UW that they would have to stop using the upper deck due to evacuation concerns, effectively cutting the Field House's capacity in half.
Before UW began having success on the football field, the AD was massively in debt and had to cut several sports. Tough decisions to make, and this is why UW doesn't have a baseball team. Considering Pat Richter, the AD at the time, was an ex UW baseball player (and football and basketball-amazing athlete), that had to sting.
Herb Kohl's donation was certainly the impetus to build the place, but it never would have happened without an AD running in the black. No way could the old UW AD finance that kind of debt service. Keep in mind that Kohl's 25 mil donation was less than a third of the total cost. No state tax dollars were used, it was entirely built with donations and internal financing.
Donna Shalala brought in Pat Richter from Oscar Meyer, where he had been an executive for some time. He brought the business mentality, combined with Barry Alvarez's winning product on the field, that turned the AD around financially.
Football pays the bills. This isn't a secret. Without a financially successful UW football team, the KC doesn't get built. Period.
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