Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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them all. (It would feature more than a dozen NFL players, including five first- round picks in running back Jerome Bettis, offensive lineman Aaron Taylor, defensive lineman Bryant Young, and defensive backs Tom Carter and Jeff Burris.) More than ever, Notre Dame had the makings of another football dynasty, and NBC was going to cover it all for posterity, while also providing a mas- sive financial windfall to the school. GREED & ENVY The vitriol from that watershed event in broadcasting was powerful. "Surprise. Shock. Greed," said Geor- gia AD Vince Dooley about the deal. "And ultimate greed — that's the reac- tion I'm getting from people." "It boils down to one word: greed," echoed Colorado State athletics director Oval Jaynes. "Notre Dame wants all the exposure and all the money." Even head coaches got into the act. Penn State icon Joe Paterno commented that Notre Dame used to be known as a school, but now it operates strictly as a bank — a veiled shot at Rosenthal, who had been a prominent banker prior to becoming the Notre Dame athletics di- rector in 1987. Syracuse's Dick MacPherson, who led the Orange to an 11-0-1 finish in 1987, was even more personal. "They're the No. 1 draw, but they're not sharing the wealth, which the Cath- olic Church is noted for," MacPherson said. Meanwhile, the University of Kansas canceled a home-and-home basketball series it had recently signed with Notre Dame because of the school no longer being a team player. Especially under the leadership of Notre Dame president Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., from 1952-87, the university was valued as a champion for promoting "the greater good." This was manifested in the early 1980s when the Southeastern Conference was planning its own break from the CFA to sign an exclusive television contract. In 1984, the Supreme Court made a rul- ing that allowed schools to negotiate their own TV contracts. Cable super sta- tion WTBS offered Notre Dame a sepa- rate, lucrative contract to televise all the Fighting Irish games, but then athletic director Gene Corrigan (1981-87) and the school turned it down to do "what's right for the CFA." "When people start doing things strictly for money, we're dead," Cor- rigan said back then. "Notre Dame could have done that long ago … [The SEC's] decision to stay with the rest of us is truly significant. Had the CFA been splintered, a number of schools would never get any television money. This way, everyone gets something." The NBC contract ushered in what many labeled "the new Notre Dame." A year later when an outstanding Notre Dame baseball team was not in- vited to the NCAA Tournament, Irish manager Pat Murphy indicated it night have been tied to the NBC contract. There has even been some specula- tion that Notre Dame not receiving the national title nod over Florida State in 1993, despite defeating the Seminoles in November on NBC, may have had two intangible factors involved. One, was finally getting popular FSU head coach Bobby Bowden the national title that