Is Notre Dame Really the Big 10's #12 Team

Does Notre Dame really want to become the Big 10's #12 school? I really don't think so.

Notre Dame thinks they're better than everyone else.

So what would it take for Notre Dame to join a conference? 2 things; 1 a Big East Collapse, 2 NBC doesn't renew their TV Contract.

Here's quotes from the Kansas City Star today

That’s how we’re approaching this. This is what we’re doing.

“Secondly, the Big East is an extraordinary partner for us. We love the schools we’re with, and they let us be independent in football.

“Having said that, everything is so unusual right now that you can envision situations where the world changes. We hope it doesn’t. We don’t want it to.“But we’re monitoring that.”

The quote I bolted is telling isn't it. It simply shows how much Notre Dame values it Independence in football.

So if Notre Dame isn't the #12 who is and why.

I can't answer those questions but I can come up with a couple of theories.

Just a couple of facts, Pitt has played Notre Dame 66 times. Notre Dame isn't willing to play Syracuse and Rutgers on their own home fields.

Those are very telling to me. I feel Notre Dame is holding the cards in this expansion and not the Big 10. Now we all know that the Big 10 wants Rutgers and that NYC Media Market. But is grabbing Syracuse and Rutgers enough to raise Notre Dame's eyebrow's. I say no.

If Rutgers and Syracuse are the 2 teams invited that's not enough to destroy the Big East. Losing Rutgers doesn't hurt our BCS bid and Syracuse has been in a funk these past 5 years.

So what exactly would really hurt the Big East's standing as a BCS Conference? Losing Pitt and Syracuse would be a start.

But the Big 10 wouldn't get the NYC Market that it wants. So whats next? Could there be a compromise?

I say that Pitt, Rutgers could possibly be the compromise that they're looking for.

Another quote from the KC Star today;

“The traditional model, where a conference had a fixed fee media rights deal, if you added somebody you sliced the pie a little thinner,” Swarbrick said.

“When you’re dealing with equity in a network ... it’s a situation we haven’t had before.”

Notre Dame’s own deal with NBC on televising home football games runs to 2015.

Might that be an an obstacle to joining a conference?“No,” Swarbrick contended. “That’s our greatest asset.”

What exactly was Swarbrick saying there? He was mentioning the TV Deals ect.

This is the closest Notre Dame has come to joining a conference since they played college football. And they're definitely thinking very hard about it.

Again there's going to have to be a compromise to get Notre Dame into the Big 10.

Here's the KC Star article that I was referring to...
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/03/28/1842531/notre-dame-ad-expands-on-big-ten.html#ixzz0jaG1vh7G

Grab a lot of popcorn and enjoy this ride.