Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY DAN MURPHY W hen Notre Dame i n t r o d u c e d J a c k Swarbrick as its new athletics director in 2008, he predicted he would oversee "seismic changes" during his time in that office for the Irish. The changes have ar- rived, and the new land- scape carved out by the NCAA's shifting plates is starting to come into focus. Complaints about un- fair treatment for stu- dent-athletes, specifically football and basketball players, have echoed for decades. The recent boom of television money and conference-owned net- works magnified the disparity between the people making money from college sports and the people we are all pay- ing to see. Change was inevitable for the billion- dollar industry. The results could af- fect the way Notre Dame operates its athletic de- partment in the future, and will almost certainly benefit the players on the field. They could also end up saving the NCAA, which appeared to be headed toward im- pending doom during the last couple of years. An offseason full of buildup came down to two separate and poten- tially game-changing de- cisions made within 48 hours of each other. The first came on Aug. 7 when the NCAA Board of Governors voted to give the "Big Five" college football conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) power to make UNDER THE DOME THE MIDDLE GROUND Several off-the-field decisions made this summer will change the way college football is governed Recent changes could affect the way Jack Swarbrick, Brian Kelly and Notre Dame operate in the future. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA