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Notre Dame Says No To Big Ten

© Chuck Bednar

The Notre Dame board of trustees has announced that the school will not join the Big Ten in football, choosing instead to maintain the 111-year independence on the gridiron.

While the decision was made partially because of money, the board announced that remaining independent would keep the Roman Catholic school's national identity in tact. Notre Dame will also be able to select from a broader choice of bowl games as an independent. Their options would have been drastically limited had the school joined the Big Ten.

According to the Associated Press, the prospect of joining the Big Ten was overwhelmingly opposed by the students and administration of Notre Dame. Students had allegedly started chanting "No Big Ten" during Irish basketball games, and Charles Lennon, director of the school's alumni association, estimated 99.5 per cent of his members were against changing the school's unique "brand name" as an independent university.

This marks the second time in five years that Notre Dame has declined an offer to join the Big Ten. As an independent, Notre Dame earns an estimated $7 million per season from their exclusive TV deal with NBC. Plus, the school pockets all of its ticket sales and bowl appearance money, making the decision a financially lucrative one. As a member of the Big Ten, Notre Dame would have been forced to join a revenue-sharing program that divides up a portion of each school's gate receipts from football and basketball, bowl revenues, TV contracts and proceeds from the NCAA basketball tournament and distributes it among the conference schools.

Big Ten officials still are expected to pursue expansion. Reports have named Syracuse or Missouri as the likely candidates to be invited in to give the conference 12 members.

Auburn buys its way off FSU's schedule -- The University of Auburn has decided to excerise an escape clause in their contract to play Florida State, and will not open the season against the Seminoles as planned. The deal signed between the two schools allowed Auburn to buy out the game by paying $500,000 to FSU. According to athletic director David Housel, the controversial move was made to avoid playing against Bobby Bowden, the father of former Auburn coach Terry Bowden.

"If we played the game as scheduled, the controversy surrounding the game and the turmoil of last season would be rehashed again and again and again over the next eight months," Housel told the Associated Press. "The controversy would become bigger than the game, and that would be unfair to the players and coaches on both sides."

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