Blue and Gold Illustrated

February 2015

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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UNDER THE DOME 25 Years Ago: Feb. 5 & Feb. 14, 1990 In a span of 10 days, two major events tran- spire for the school's football program. On Feb. 5, in an unprecedented move, Notre Dame and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) announce an agreement in which NBC will televise all of Notre Dame's home football games for a five-year period from 1991-95, with an option to extend. Terms of the agreement were estimated be- tween $30-75 million and was received with furor by the College Football Association (CFA) and ABC-TV, which had recently worked out a five-year, $210 million television contract where all network coverage of college football would have been restricted to ABC. ESPN also had a four-year, $110 million contract in writing with the CFA for games on cable. Notre Dame going backdoor and solo drew the wrath of other universities, with the Uni- versity of Kansas immediately canceling a home-and-home men's basketball series with the Irish. "Surprise. Shock. Greed. And ultimate greed, that's the reaction I'm getting from people," Georgia athletics director Vince Dooley said. Sports Illustrated summarized the move with the headline, "We're Notre Dame, And You're Not." Nine days later, head coach Lou Holtz lauds recruiting coordinator Vinny Cerrato for signing an unprecedented fourth consecutive No. 1 recruiting class on the heels of the 1988 national title, a debatable No. 2 finish in 1989 and a 24-1 record the past two seasons. This 23-man haul (with only two who would transfer) is considered the best among the four and would include a single-class record of five first-round NFL Draft picks: fullback Jerome Bettis and cornerback Tom Carter after their junior seasons, and then defensive lineman Bryant Young, offensive lineman Aaron Taylor and defensive back Jeff Burris a year later. In all, 14 of the recruits in this class would play in the NFL, with quarterback Kevin McDougal, the cur- rent career pass efficiency leader for the Irish, not among them. Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: February Fullback Jerome "All-World" Bettis was one of a single- class record five first-round NFL Draft picks in Notre Dame's 1990 recruiting haul, which was rated No. 1 nationally. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS

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