The Beef: Thank you very much for your perspective and the information about legacy applicants, etc. As the old saying goes, the only constant in life is change, and it appears that ND is continuing to evolve in one way or another.

I’m wondering if you and other ND alums and current students have expressed your concern regarding the legacy situation and the more stringent rules established by Du Lac? I had not heard about the possibility of losing the Leprechaun and “Fighting” in front of “Irish.” Thank goodness the right decisions were made there!

Keep the faith, my friend! Let’s hope that as ND evolves it will always keep in mind its true self and what has always made it so special to so many.

Avon Domer-

I appreciate your affinity for ND and your willingness to defend the University against a perceived attack. However, I think there is a misunderstanding here and to a certain extent you and Enoree are talking past each other. I’m a third generation Domer (class of ’90). My brother and sister are Domers as well (’94 and ’01). I live for ND to the extent that friends and co-workers generally think I’m crazy. That being said, I’m not altogether happy with the current trajectory of the school.

In the mid-1980’s, ND was generally ranked between 16 and 20 in the various academic rankings. Since the early 1990’s there has been a distinct effort to remove much of what made ND great. Kids no longer get to request dorm assignment so the dorms lack the distinct character that each had. Du Lac rules have become more strict. The school reportedly admits less “legacy” applicants, which used to make up 20 to 25% of the student body. There is more emphasis on GPA and test scores than there was in the past. We are trying to be the Stanford of the Midwest instead of being ND. Hell, there was even a push a few years ago by the administration to do away with the Leprechaun logo and the word “Fighting” in front of “Irish”. The result of all this is that ND hasn’t moved one spot on the rankings.

No one is saying that ND needs to lower enrollment standards. Many just think they need to revert to the old criteria of seeking smart and well-rounded kids that “get” ND. In other words, embrace ND’s historical mission and do not try to become some type of Ivy wannabe.

Thanks Whitecoat. Appreciate the perspective of someone who was there.

Please correct me if I’m wrong, but your point appears to be let’s settle for mediocrity everywhere at Notre Dame except for on the football field. All I can say is thank God that everyone I know associated with ‘Our Lady’s School’ disagrees with you.

I’m 54 years old and have loved Notre Dame my entire life. I didn’t go to school there because I didn’t meet the requirements, and I blame myself for that, not Notre Dame.

The last thing I would want is for Notre Dame to come down to my level so I could go to school there. Notre Dame has very demanding requirements for freshman to be accepted into the school and the university accepts approx. 1 out of every 5 qualified applicants, which I’m sure you object to, which I’ll never understand.

Those entrance requirements are all about excellence, not arrogance, and excellence at Notre Dame should be encouraged and celebrated, not feared.

Also have new strategy, encouraging theft-4 new roster spots for bama!

While the training table and improved facilities have helped, it still comes down to coaching. Coaching certainly includes finding and getting the right talent. Kelly has done that and more. He has also used the talent effectively on the field of play. Even in his first year you could see that the team was better prepared to play and compete than it was under Weis. Similarly, both Ara and Holtz showed in their first year that they could take someone else’s team and improve it dramatically.

In Ara’s day, the football players had their own separate cafeteria in the North Dining Hall where they ate after practice. It may not have been as nutritionally balanced as today’s “training table” but it certainly was a concession to the players (and rightfully so). And while there may be no football dorms yet, many of the players are either concentrated in certain dorms or live off campus. The point being that these ancillary issues are not what makes or breaks a team’s success on the field. Certainly they have an impact. But the piped in music did not “rock” ND Stadium in 2011. In 2012 it did. Why? Because the team was winning AND in the hunt for the National Championship. At the end of the day it is about coaching a winner out of the players you have. When you win, you get a better recruiting class. Does anyone really think the recruits committed to USC switched to ND this year because of the training table or improved athletic facilities? I don’t. Even with those items, LA still beats South Bend as a destination.

Competing for the National Championship = special attention from the media = special attention from the NFL. Having a winning record and being on TV really isn’t that important, either. Most teams can now say that (and that they go to a Bowl Game, no matter how trivial, every year). The cache of ND has always been as a small Catholic school, an underdog, that won Championships and Heisman Trophies against the larger public schools. The school’s academics were never part of the mystique of Rockne or Leahy or, for that matter, Ara. The academics are important, of course. And I don’t want to see the school lose sight of that. Most of these players will never play ball after college and I want ND to keep the focus on being a university to these players. But at the end of the day, you need both the uniqueness of Notre Dame AND having a coach that can compete for Championships to rekindle the aura that has always surrounded the Fighting Irish. As special as Alabama’s accomplishments have been in football, it seemed that the majority of those tuning in to see the BCS game did so to see that tiny Catholic school from northern Indiana again play David to a large public school’s Goliath.

What does any of that have to do with the instant conversation?

Let’s stay focused, Gabby.

The intelligentsia in reality DESTROY all they touch, look at how PC our universities have become, the only thoughts tolerated are the ones that “follow der party line” and anyone who dares to think for themselves is belittled and personally attacked by the sickos.
Does anyone REALLY think that the “original” ND was a bad place to get an education, I am tired of the smugness of the elitists that think that they are better than anyone else.
ND WAS a place for working class Catholic kids to get an education, how many of those kids can afford or even qualify nowadays?
The Church and it’s institutions should be a place for ALL and not just a few.

One of the reasons I love Notre Dame is because it strives for excellence in EVERYTHING it takes on, which includes great academics and football. Enoree, if you want to support a school that doesn’t care if its students get a quality education and only emphasizes greatness on the football field, there’s plenty of teams out there for you to cheer for.

Regarding Notre Dame keeping up with the “college football arms race,” building the Gug and recently starting a training table for our student-athletes are signs that Notre Dame is serious about greatness in college football. In addition, Coach Kelly and his staff, according to recent reports, are getting raises after last year’s successful season, which is another good sign.

Jack Swarbrick has proven to be a brilliant leader in his short tenure as athletic director at his alma mater, and I have great faith that he’ll continue to upgrade the football program while not losing sight of the more important aspects Notre Dame’s goals for its student-athletes: earning their degrees and leaving ND as contributing members of society. GO IRISH!!!