There's been several threads in the past couple years about Notre Dame and the Big 10 when expansion discussions were raised. It's assumed they've been asked to join the Big 10 and they rejected the offer(s).
I recently finished reading a biography on Knute Rockne by Francis Wallace. Wallace was a sports journalist, author, screenwriter, and an alumnus of Notre Dame. He got his start in journalism while a student at the South Bend, Indiana school, 1919-23, as an offical newspaper correspondent at Notre Dame. While writing for the New York Daily News, he broke the story of Rockne's "Win one for the Gipper" when the Irish were playing Army.
In any case, I found this on page 37 in Wallace's book quite interesting:
"In 1896 the Western Conference was organized. Since Notre Dame was playing most of the state schools, it applied for membership but was shaken off as small fry, which, in terms of students, it definitely was. The Irish, under Tom Barry, who played for Brown and taken law at Harvard, put their house in order by meeting all Conference eligibility requirements. When Michigan withdrew in 1905, Notre Dame again applied, was rejected, didn't like it and, in the well-known Irish manner, let it be known. Schedule trouble immediately developed; and by 1909 there were no Conference games for Notre Dame."
A few years later, Notre Dame was once again playing many of the Conference schools on a regular basis. According to Wallace, there continued to be interest in joining the Western Conference on Rockne's part. Rockne even flirted with the idea of going to Ohio State - in his last years at Notre Dame - when a vacancy occurred. He wanted to coach against Michigan's Yost and Illinois' Bob Zuppke, and reportedly, in his mind, they were ducking Rockne and the 'Fighting irish.'
The Irish, of course, have had a storied and lucrative past since they sought membership in the Big 10. (Time and circumstances can certainly impact one's choices.) Nevertheless, one wonders if the Indiana school has a long memory of having been rejected by the Big 10 twice, and if it has been a factor in their decision making process. And, as I said earlier, has Notre Dame even been asked to join the Conference or is it only an assumption? I don't pretend to know the answer to that question.
Go Gophers!!
I recently finished reading a biography on Knute Rockne by Francis Wallace. Wallace was a sports journalist, author, screenwriter, and an alumnus of Notre Dame. He got his start in journalism while a student at the South Bend, Indiana school, 1919-23, as an offical newspaper correspondent at Notre Dame. While writing for the New York Daily News, he broke the story of Rockne's "Win one for the Gipper" when the Irish were playing Army.
In any case, I found this on page 37 in Wallace's book quite interesting:
"In 1896 the Western Conference was organized. Since Notre Dame was playing most of the state schools, it applied for membership but was shaken off as small fry, which, in terms of students, it definitely was. The Irish, under Tom Barry, who played for Brown and taken law at Harvard, put their house in order by meeting all Conference eligibility requirements. When Michigan withdrew in 1905, Notre Dame again applied, was rejected, didn't like it and, in the well-known Irish manner, let it be known. Schedule trouble immediately developed; and by 1909 there were no Conference games for Notre Dame."
A few years later, Notre Dame was once again playing many of the Conference schools on a regular basis. According to Wallace, there continued to be interest in joining the Western Conference on Rockne's part. Rockne even flirted with the idea of going to Ohio State - in his last years at Notre Dame - when a vacancy occurred. He wanted to coach against Michigan's Yost and Illinois' Bob Zuppke, and reportedly, in his mind, they were ducking Rockne and the 'Fighting irish.'
The Irish, of course, have had a storied and lucrative past since they sought membership in the Big 10. (Time and circumstances can certainly impact one's choices.) Nevertheless, one wonders if the Indiana school has a long memory of having been rejected by the Big 10 twice, and if it has been a factor in their decision making process. And, as I said earlier, has Notre Dame even been asked to join the Conference or is it only an assumption? I don't pretend to know the answer to that question.
Go Gophers!!
