Notre Dame looks to schedule smartly,competitively

[achiever1911]

By Malcolm Moran, USA TODAY

SOUTH BEND, Ind.  Notre Dame officials are finalizing plans to overhaul future Fighting Irish football schedules in a way, as described by athletics director Kevin White, "that will put us in a much more competitive position ... from a success-oriented perspective."

Most of the changes will not take effect until 2009 because of existing contracts or written agreements with opponents. Beyond then, White said, "we're pretty much cleaning that slate and we're re-creating our tomorrow in the way we want to. ... Doing it with more clarity and more sanity."

Associate athletics director John Heisler said the schedules will preserve longtime rivalries  Notre Dame has played Navy every season since 1927 and Southern California every season since 1946  but will include at least seven home games and possibly as many as eight if the NCAA approves a proposal for a permanent 12-game schedule. Notre Dame would not return a home game for at least three opponents each year in the new model.

The Irish finished 5-7 in 2003 against the nation's third-most difficult schedule, according to the NCAA. The 2004 schedule includes eight teams that had eight or more wins last season. Former coach Bob Davie frequently said the cumulative effect of such a difficult schedule made national championship expectations impractical.

"I don't think we have particularly scheduled smart," White said.

"You look at the top four or five teams, look at the way they're scheduling. Nobody's scheduling like we are. With all the parity and the way the landscape has changed, maybe we needed to do it 10 years ago. I can guarantee you we must do it now."

The 1973 undefeated national championship season included victories against Northwestern, Rice, Army, Navy, Air Force and a Miami (Fla.) with a .500 record. Notre Dame won those six games by a combined 270-25. The Irish faced two ranked opponents in the regular season before beating No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

At $53 a ticket, revenue from one Irish home game exceeds $4.2 million.

White said plans are being discussed with campus committees and groups in leadership positions. "When you reshape some of the significant things in our history, you just don't rush to action," he said. "We're getting constituency leaders to see what we're doing."

[smazza]

they should  join a conference

[TyBull]

Hey Wollard............. Make the Call...........................