11 days ago, the University of Notre Dame announced it was leaving the Big East for the ACC in all sports except hockey and football. The catch was that Notre Dame had to play five games a year against ACC opponents. In college football teams play 12 regular season games, meaning they still get to keep their football independence on a 7-5 ruling. It also means they get to handpick seven opponents each year. Shockingly, Michigan will not be one of those eight schools once the 2015 season rolls around.
Notre Dame athletic director, Jack Swarbrick, handed Michigan athletic director, David Brandon, a letter exercising a three-year out clause in the contract between the two schools. The school ran until 2031, but on a three-year rolling basis. This means that either school could opt out of the contract if they gave the other school three years notice. The letter was given to Brandon on the field before the kickoff on their Week 4 game, meaning that Notre Dame will be freed of the contract after the 2014 season. Michigan head coach, Brady Hoke, called the breakup "unfortunate," which is putting in lightly in my opinion.
The rivalry between the two teams dates back to the 1800s, 1887 specifically. While there were breakups in the past, they have played regularly since 1978 and yearly since 2002. The rivalry is arguably one of the best in college football as it pitted the two teams with the highest winning percentages in football. Michigan has won 74% of its games over the lifetime of the program while Notre Dame has won 73%. It is a classic rivalry full of some much history. The kind of game where a grandpa could tell his grandson stories about the two teams from when he was a young man. The kind of game that makes college sports so exciting. A game that will be no more after 2014.
Swarbrick provided no reason in his decision to end the rivalry. He did, however, shed some light on which rivalries he wanted to keep. He stated that he thought the most important yearly rivalries for the Fighting Irish to keep were against Navy, Stanford, and the University of Southern California. While I understand the significance of the Navy game, I do not know what is special about the Stanford and USC rivalries. Even if there is no specific history, Stanford and USC are both elite teams and two great teams to play each year, especially if the team is in contention for the BCS title. Playing well against those two teams surely proves that you could fight for a title. But why can't Michigan be kept on that list?
Notre Dame gets to play seven teams of its choosing. Of those eight slots, three are already filled by Navy, Stanford, and USC. Another slot gets filled early on in the season by a team that isn't very good. It's like a tuneup game. This year their tuneup game came Week 2 against Purdue, a team that only went .500 in the 2011 regular season. This leaves three slots left. Michigan could definitely fill one of those slots, leaving the remaining two open for change each season. Michigan is nowhere near a bad team, and so it isn't like keeping on Michigan would prevent them from booking an elite opponent. Michigan is an elite opponent that just happens to have a historic rivalry with the team. Keeping them on the schedule seems like a no-brainer. Am I the only one that seems this?
The Michigan rivalry was not just historic for Notre Dame, it was also a money-maker. Each team has a massive stadium. Michigan Stadium holds a whopping 109,901 people, making it the largest stadium in the country. Notre Dame Stadium holds a respectable 80,795. Each year both teams make hundreds of thousands, if not millions, at the gate, regardless of whose the home team. The game is also nationally televised each year, adding more money to each team's bank account. At a time where schools are jumping conferences to make more money, Notre Dame among them, you'd think Notre Dame would keep this game for the money it brings in alone. When you add the history, it's simply foolish for Notre Dame to end this rivalry, foolish for themselves and foolish for the fans.
Reference
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8423552/notre-dame-fighting-irish-opts-series-michigan-wolverines
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