Irish Musings
Can we rest assured now that conference stuff is put on the back burner??
Irish Musings
Can we rest assured now that conference stuff is put on the back burner??
December 18, 2003
NBC Contract Extended Through 2010
Pete Sampson
BlueandGold.com Editor
One of the pillars supporting Notre Dame’s football independence grew stronger Thursday.
Notre Dame announced the extension of its television contract with NBC, which will now run through the 2010 season. The fourth in a series of five-year contracts will preserve NBC’s right to televise all Notre Dame home football games and could strengthen the University’s independent stance after mid-season speculation regarding membership in the Big 10 or Atlantic Coast Conference.
The NBC contract was set to expire after the 2005 season and considering Notre Dame’s 5-7 record in 2003, the program’s third losing season in the past five years, it was thought that the University’s relationship with the network might be coming to an end. That will not be the case, however.
NBC will pay Notre Dame more the $1.5 million per game through 2005, according to ESPN.com. Figures for the latest renewal running from 2006-2010 were not disclosed. Part of the revenue generated from the NBC contract is directed toward student scholarship. In a statement, Notre Dame indicated 111 undergraduates will receive need-based scholarships this academic year that averaged $17,600 from an endowment funded by the NBC contract.
“Thanks to this innovative collaboration, the dream of a Notre Dame education has been made a reality for hundreds of Notre Dame students who have received millions of dollars in scholarship support,” said University President Rev. Edward A. Malloy. “While our partnership with NBC has been important to Irish athletics, it is the general student body that has been the greatest beneficiary.”
As important as the NBC contract has become in funding scholarships, it also maintained Notre Dame’s visibility during a 10-year drought of Top 10 finishes and bowl victories. From 1994-2003 Notre Dame is 0-6 in bowls, losing 28-6 to North Carolina State in last year’s Gator Bowl played on Jan. 1, 2003 and televised by NBC.
Despite the downturn in football success, NBC remains confident that Notre Dame’s brand name will insure the contract with advertisers.
“We covet our association with Notre Dame because of its storied tradition, exceptional values and commitment to excellence, both on and off the field,” said NBC Sports and Olympics chairman Dick Ebersol. “With Tyrone Willingham, the football program is in the right hands. He embodies Notre Dame’s core values, and his leadership, character and drive assure Notre Dame’s return to its traditional place among the elite national powers.”
A frequent criticism among fans is that the NBC deal pushes Notre Dame to schedule too many marquee games to help the network’s ratings. The resulting schedule, rated the nation’s most difficult during the 2003 regular season, then hurts Notre Dame’s chances for a national title. The network dismisses that claim, and six times since the original NBC contract in 1990 Notre Dame’s schedule has ranked outside the Top 25 in terms of opponents’ winning percentage.
“The ability to have our home football games telecast on a national basis becomes a tremendous vehicle for us in maintaining a national visibility and platform in terms of our football program's profile and recruiting,” said Athletic Director Kevin White.
Charlie Kenny
Class of 1963
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