As a non-alum fan of Notre Dame football, I read with interest the story on the alums’ dissatisfaction with the program. While I sympathize with them, there are several compelling reasons why Notre Dame will not return to its past football glory:
– To the school’s credit, its academic standards restrict the pool of available athletes.
– The Southern black athlete Notre Dame used to attract now stays home to play for national powers such as Miami, Florida or Florida State.
– Since the Ron Powlus debacle, Notre Dame is no longer viewed by the top high school quarterbacks as a place to enhance their professional or Heisman prospects.
– Midwest powers such as Michigan and Ohio State are now viewed as more attractive because of their conference affiliation and better bowl prospects.
Notre Dame’s best bet is to join the Big Ten and realize national domination is a thing of the past.
