Irish Musings
The Very Hot Stove League
February 12, 2004
Who needs the hot stove league in baseball now as long as we have the
chat rooms and posters to discuss the Fighting Irish?
This week we are
seeing the biggest firestorm ever to hit the campus, the Notre Dame Community
and certainly to impact the Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame du
Lac! Three alumni initiated a long letter critiquing the way that the
current administration has managed the football program and by implication other
aspects of our cherished University. If you think that the CIA picks up
chatter, forget it. This past week has been and is the busiest all over
the country on the issue of Notre Dame, its future and (would you believe it)
the "arrogance" (it appears that we are arrogant because we expect excellence on
the gridiron, at least in the minds of many sportswriters) of the Notre Dame
alums and fans!!
There is no way to cover all of what is going on
here. We can only suggest that you go to the south bend tribune website,
ndnation.com, irishtoday.com and a host of other sites. What you will see
will amaze you!!
The bottom line is that the alumni have
spoken----officially 412 have signed the letter. The most tantalizing
tidbit is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Patrick F. McCartan,
arrived at the Morris Inn for the Trustees meeting and found ten boxes of
mail and overnight deliveries for him, timed perfectly to coincide with his
arrival!!!
It appears that the there are many causes leading up to the
letter. The first can be traced back to the 1993 fiasco against Boston
College that most think started the decline. But, the latest seems to be
the John Heisler column in Notre Dame Magazine in which he seems to be saying
that it is just a matter of time until the University joins a conference.
Coupled with ten years of sliding into mediocre muck, last year's unforgivable
embarrassment upon embarrassment, the horrendous recruiting that the coaches
brought to us on signing day, the letter is well timed in many ways. Some
may say that we have to give Ty his five years, but if you do not know it, Kevin
White, our athletic director, has a one year escape clause with all of his head
coaches.
The letter is not a fire Ty missive. Rather, it
addresses what these alums believe to be a long period of mismanagement,
neglect, misdirected priorities and sheer incompetence in selecting and managing
coaches----all of which has led to a perilous erosion in one of the world's
great brands, the University of Notre Dame. A careful reading of the
letter shows that it is not just about football, but rather it is about much
more than that. It is about the direction that the University is moving
in----in this case football is the most public sign. The signers clearly
believe that the uniqueness of Our Lady's University is threatened, and that we
are in danger of becoming just like all those other schools.
Father Hesburgh referred to "this special place" in every speech I ever
heard him deliver. None of us has heard this phrase in a long time.
Even if we were to hear it, the authors of the letter and the signers would not
be sure that it was sincere, as they and all of us have heard so much about how
we have to be just like Harvard, Yale and Stanford.
Whatever you
think about this letter and the situation, and there are certainly many points
to be made from a number of different perspectives, you will have to agree that
the letter and the surrounding firestorm has triggered quite a debate about the
future of our University.
In fact we have never seen anything like
it. It suggests that something has changed and that the something is the
traditional ways in which these matters have been worked through----whispering
and quiet dealing without any public debate. The alumni are saying that
they feel that they have an equal stake in the conversation----a stake equal to
the Board and to the community on campus!!
By the way, this letter and
the surrounding situation has truly brought the Notre Dame haters out of the
woodwork. You can see this hatred in the sports pages of the nation's
newspapers and you can see it in the chat rooms of the web sites.
This is not a bad thing, for they are irrational, they are transparent,
they are obviously full of hate and they are easily dismissed.
See my
rejoinder to one of these "preachers" below, ironically writing for a Miami
newspaper!!
The difficult part is not to dismiss or defeat the naysayers
and naves outside our community: rather, the difficult thing that lies ahead of
all of us is to find a way for all to come together. To do that will
require some change. Like life, it will be quite a journey.
Those of you who can access "communication central" (my term for the
grotto) please say some prayers for the Notre Dame Family. We will work
through all of this and come to a
much better place than we are right now and
with Our Lady's guidance we will do it rather quickly. Meanwhile, we are
in for quite a ride!!
Yours in Notre Dame,
Charlie Kenny
'63
Season of cynicism follows
recruiting
Commentary
By JASON KELLY
Irish Sports
Report
Unrest reached apopleptic proportions Tuesday in the populist
forum of Internet chat.
A letter from Notre Dame alumni
to the university Board of Trustees, excerpts of which were published in the
Chicago Tribune, distilled a decade of frustration about a struggling football
program and inspired a virtual tempest.
One contributor to NDNation.com
provided this historical analogy related to the fall of Notre Dame
football:
I liken it to 4th century Rome. Internal strife, poor
management, etc., making it easier, much, much easier for barbarians to attack
it from the outside. Still the foremost power in the world, but a shell of its
former self. Hopefully these efforts will prevent a complete fixed, and
return us to another Pax Romana.
Another compared the correspondence to
confronting a family member in need:
Notre Dame is all at once football
and bigger than football, but it is not for everyone, nor do we want it to be. I
view this letter like an intervention something is seriously wrong with a loved
one, and frankly, its time to stop pretending that everything is OK and that
this is just a phase. This is a family matter, everyone else be
damned.
Delivered to members of the Board of Trustees before their
meeting last week with the signatures of over 400 alumni, the letter outlined a
litany of crimes against Notre Dame football.
It documented
disillusionment at length, focusing on perceived administrative failings and
flirtation with conference affiliation that the authors believe threaten the
programs future and even the universitys unique identity.
Tim Kelley, a
1964 Notre Dame graduate now retired in Beaver Creek, Colo., helped coordinate
the letter-writing effort. He explained the motivation behind it Tuesday in a
telephone interview.
Championship football and the football program that
produces it is an integral part of what makes Notre Dame a fabulous place to get
an education not only academically, but to pick up some of the values expressed
by excellence in sports,Kelley said. We saw that not being properly nurtured by
the leadership of the university for a long period of time.
Since 1994,
to be exact, the year after Notre Dame last competed for a national
championship.
From an age-discrimination lawsuit to NCAA probation to
George OLearys unedited resume to a string of stinging blowouts, it has been an
unprecedented era of embarrassment for the Irish.
Alumni like Kelley draw
one of two conclusions about the administrations responsibility for this series
of blemishes.
From the actions of the leadership, it appears football
either has a much lower priority than many other things, which we feel is
wrong,Kelley said, or it is priority and its been incompetently
managed.
Those themes have a long history at Notre Dame. About the only
thing more common than national championships are cries of de-emphasis when too
much time passes between titles.
Former president Rev. Theodore M.
Hesburgh and executive vice president Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, now held up as
paragons in the pursuit of athletic achievement, hired Terry Brennan, Joe
Kuharich and Gerry Faust.
They also presided over the selection of
championship coaches Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz, thus redeeming
their reputations for posterity.
Current university president Rev. Edward
A. Malloy, who leads the administrative cabal implicated in the current criminal
neglect of Notre Dame football, inherited Holtz so he receives no credit for his
success.
A national championship and a strong claim to two others in
Malloys first seven years as president do not mollify his image.
He spent
a decade as Holtzs boss with only a couple slips from elite level football in
that span, but he did not barricade the door to prevent the coach from leaving.
Hes never been forgiven for that.
Hesburgh ushered Frank Leahy out with
even less resistance and Notre Dame football did not recover for 10
years.
A precedent exists for the current predicament. Even in the hands
of a legend like Hesburgh, football success can be fragile. Nobody knows who the
next Knute Rockne will be.
Malloy and athletic director Kevin White have
not exhibited the best judgment in identifying or attracting that ideal
candidate, the root of the lingering problems the letter
addressed.
Administrative leadership of the football program must be
reorganized and authority for coaching searches granted to the athletic director
and select trustees, the letter stated, to find the right person for the
job.
Making a point not to call for the firing of Willingham, the letter
added that absent significant progress in 2004, a coaching change will become
necessary.
Necessary, Kelley said, because Notre Dame football cannot
afford prolonged failure and expect to return to the prominence of the
past.
I think were at a point now and the jurys still out on Willingham
where we cant miss again the next time around,he said, whenever that may
be.
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Report.
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Software, All Rights Reserved
Here is the link to the posting of the column in the miami paper and
my interlinear comments as a rejoinder to the author
http://www.ndnation.com/boards/showpost.cgi?football+64301
here is the text
my stuff is in italics and
in larger print
Dialogue
with Mike Imrem and a friend of mine concerning Mikes article
today
Email To: mimrem@dailyherald.com
Mike,
Quick question from some Domers.
Did you talk with the authors and or the signatories of the Notre Dame letter?
Several of us have seen your article and are debating this issue.
Thanks,
Charlie Kenny '63
Mike responds:
charlie,
no.
mike
mike
i could not just type into your web based article as it would not send
so i have a word attachment
hope you can open it
charlie
Charlies responses below are in italics:
Irish alums might want to reconsider
Posted February 11, 2004
By Mike Imrem
Oh, sure, this would be a great idea.
A Chicago newspaper reported Tuesday that a group of Notre Dame alumni are attempting to insert themselves into the Fighting Irish football program.
Alumni at Notre Dame are part of the University and part of the football program, so we don't have to insert ourselves into it.
Without getting into details, they are unhappy with Irish football's slumbering echoes and sent a letter to the board of trustees with a number of recommendations.
look at the record since the bc game in 1993
the program is in serious decline and it is getting worse not better
More like demands, actually.
yes i would hope so
The alums want Notre Dame football restored to its national-championship form.
yes of course
They're tired of sitting in snowy South Bend over the holidays instead of traveling to a balmy bowl.
this is hyperbole
Most of all, they want change. Start winning again or else. Or else what? Or else donations to the university will be withheld, that's what.
I think that you will find that we want change in direction and leadership of the university----all this is spelled out in the letter where it is clear that the alums believe that we need a layman to manage at the executive vp level
Now, this might be where you expect me to ridicule Irish alums for being arrogant, absurd and insufferable ... but that goes without saying, doesn't it?
no you won't do that will you, so why do you say you won't
this is a silly thing to do and a cheap red herring
it is innuendo
Instead, I'd just like to ask them whether a letter of outrage would have been sent to the board of trustees if parolees and flunkies were among the football recruits signed last week.
again this is a ten year deal we are complaining about
in the letter the authors complained about the mismanagement that led to nd being on probation
mike, why did you not ask them?
the authors that is
their names are public
Maybe, maybe not.
Also, would Irish graduates have been as disgusted if a head coach and university chancellor had engaged in a verbal confrontation at a supermarket salad bar?
Maybe if the team were losing.
Would there have been as much disgust if the football coach was implicated in a wild soiree at a strip club or the basketball coach was photographed cuddling co-eds at campus parties?
Maybe if their teams were in last place.
last place in what?
in football we do not play in a conference and never will
the letter is full of concern about the catholic character of the university, spiritual values, the university as an icon and yes....
probation
the letter goes way beyond football
To be fair, Notre Dame probably isn't the place for this sort of letter-writing thing, and not just because its alums are a bit unbalanced.
Why do you engage in character assassination?
My experience over decades of following Irish football and basketball is this is one of the few colleges trying to maintain some athletic dignity.
very astute of youtre Dame has lapsed at times, both on the athlete level and administrative level.
we are human
The Irish have suffered more scandals in recent years than probably ever before. Some of their players have behaved too much like they do at ordinary schools.
yes----this is part of the mismanagement of the program!!
Meanwhile, in some seasons, just because Notre Dame is Notre Dame, administrators have muscled football benefits the school doesn't deserve.
how does one do this
how does one do such things in a free market?
Wouldn't it have been refreshingly revolutionary if Notre Dame alums were campaigning for the restoration of an impeccable student-athlete image and an administration that plays well with other NCAA members?
Instead, the alums insisted Notre Dame maintain its football independence and a TV deal separate from its counterparts.
Hey, this is a free market. If any other school was popular enough to enjoy such a contract, they would do so. You are either naive or jealous.
Along with, of course, more victories.
So overall, I'd have to say this letter-writing movement isn't a good idea at Notre Dame.
At other schools, well, it would be commendable.
Like, it would be refreshing if Colorado University alums were that outraged over the possibility that football coaches lured recruits with sex and booze.
Or if at St. John's University, alumni conducted a letter-writing campaign rejecting a basketball program ravaged by a curfew-breaking, strip-club-visiting scandal.
Or if at Miami of Florida, alums decided they couldn't tolerate last week's signing of a recruit who has an extensive criminal background.
Unfortunately, as is indicated at Notre Dame, the outrage always seems to center more on the team's record than the school's reputation.
Somebody new should be in charge of policing intercollegiate athletics because coaches, athletic directors and university administrators have failed at doing so.
You are right about this one! The NCAA is like the UN----ineffectual.
But alumni? No, I don't think so. Not them. They're the folks the system was corrupted to indulge.
well if we are different and special and we see that slipping away then why would we not call attention to that fact? not to do so would be out of character and unforgivable!!!
Simply put, maybe nobody is capable of cleaning up college sports.
Charlie Kenny
Class of 1963
The Right Brain People®
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Cordova TN 38018
901.682.8569
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