No ND in 2015-17

Submitted by the Bray on

According to Larry Lage on twitter, ND has canceled the 2015-17 games with Michigan.

 

Larry Lage @LarryLage

#NotreDame has notified #Michigan it is exercising a 3-year out in their contract, meaning their last scheduled game will bein 2014

 

Larry Lage @LarryLage

A letter from ND AD Swarbrick to UM AD Brandon cancelling games in 2015-17 was obtained by AP through a Freedom of Information Act request

NOLA Wolverine

September 25th, 2012 at 11:15 AM ^

Hopefully we can pick up a series against USC, Stanford, Texas, or someone else like that. I was a fan of the Ohio State home and homes with USC and Texas, those would be pretty cool for us to have.

cozy200

September 25th, 2012 at 11:17 AM ^

The TV money loss sucks but only for those on the right side of that equation, which wouldn't be any of us. Lets get some more essss eeee ceee involved anyway. If we are gonna keep up lets play teams that matter in the national picture. Cant shy away from it anymore and we should be up to brady's expectations for his style of offense by then. If we aren't well thats a whole different issue.

StephenRKass

September 25th, 2012 at 11:20 AM ^

I figured it was only a matter of time, although this is earlier than anticipated.

It is only logical:

  • ND's agreement with the ACC stipulates 5 ACC games a year.
  • USC, Stanford, and Navy are protected games for ND.
  • They want to play several easy games, and Michigan is not an easy game.
  • MSU & Purdue are easier games than Michigan, provide the same gate to ND, and are also close geographically.

The reality is that ND will likely be playing a full ACC slate soon enough, and one or two of the above games (USC, Stanford, Navy, MSU, & Purdue) will fall by the wayside.

This particular change is personally irksome, because it was always doable for Michigan fans like myself to easily travel to South Bend. For instance, I left home at 2:30pm, had plenty of time to tailgate, took a leisurely walk to the stadium, and was back home by 1am. That won't be possible in the future with many solid opponents.

However, if this opens up pairs of home and away games vs. solid teams in the Pac 10, SEC, ACC, and Big 12, I can live with it. Can you imagine a home & away schedule over 10 years including:

  • Florida or Georgia
  • ND or Florida State
  • UCLA or USC
  • Washington or Oregon
  • Oklahoma or Texas

10 games with any five of those teams, one home and one away, in a 10 year span, would be awesome and a nice change of pace.

I also think that ND has been irritated because the financial arrangements for the Michigan series ended up being to Michigan's advantage and not Notre Dame's.

profitgoblue

September 25th, 2012 at 11:58 AM ^

GA Tech and triple option?  No thanks.  But its definitely be an intersting matchup for people other than those of us here (the "casual observers").

I think a lot of these big non-conference games are based on playing teams in markets that Michigan does not get as much exposure.  So maybe a team in Florida would make sense.  Or maybe a team out west like Cal.  That would be interesting - two very good universities.  How about a team like Missouri?  There could be some interesting options, depending on the opponents schedules, of course.

willywill9

September 25th, 2012 at 12:14 PM ^

the state of Georgia produces the 3rd most division 1 football players, if i'm not mistaken.  Behind Texas and Cali.  Last I checked, we may have gotten a few players from there (David Cone, i see you!) but that's a market we could potentially benefit from.

Texas looked all tied up, but hey, I guess A&M or somebody would be a good "SEC" opponent too.

profitgoblue

September 25th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^

I think this is a false statement.  I'm pretty sure they were a powerhouse back in the day.  But by "traditional" I assume you refer to more recent history, in which case you're probably right.  But I'm sure it'd be cool to do a home-and-home with them, especially for the players since the stadium is right near the middle of Atlanta.  The more I think about it, the more interesting that game sounds.

willywill9

September 25th, 2012 at 12:32 PM ^

You know it'd be a night game too.  Capacity is kind of small, but it gets loud. and it's a pretty nice place to play.  Lots going on in Atlanta... and yeah, it's pretty much in the heart of it all.  (Lobbying because my girlfriend went there, and we almost never play them in much of anything.)

inthebluelot

September 25th, 2012 at 11:42 AM ^

Can we schedule LSU or Florida State? We need to establish recruiting in these states again now that RR is gone, I fear our Florida pipeline will go back to 1 player per roster from Florida. And we haven't been relavent in Louisiana since the mid nineties. A-Train's son should be about high school age by now... Lets go!

StephenRKass

September 25th, 2012 at 11:51 AM ^

LSU or FSU or Florida or even Miami. Any of those would be good.

While we still have several players on our roster from both Florida and Louisiana, there aren't many in the last couple years. However, I'd rather have the best talent from wherever it comes from, and especially think it is more important to recruit Ohio well, with Illinois and Pennsylvania after that. If we are filling up with 4-stars and the occasional 5-star from Michigan and the surrounding states, we will do well.

HarBooYa

September 25th, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^

I love the idea of Texas or Lsu. Great recruiting. I hate the idea of another Utah on our schedule. Miami might be interesting too. I used to love it when we played USC and or ucla too.



Still the most "satisfying" win for a Midwesterner has to generally be over Notre dame. Now I dislike them even more.

turd ferguson

September 25th, 2012 at 1:08 PM ^

I wonder how much it helps recruiting to have a one-time game someplace far from your campus.  If anything, I'd imagine that it helps with kids from that area who will already be playing for you by that time, because they get to go home, their families get to watch them, etc.  But if you're a junior in high school someplace in Michigan, have your eyes been opened to Boise State because of that MSU game?  To UMass because of that Michigan game?

TrppWlbrnID

September 25th, 2012 at 11:47 AM ^

i know everyone is going to be mad at ND and everything, and maybe rightly, but really this just makes me sad. college football is set apart from the NFL by special or unique things, whether it be unique traditions, tailgating, trophy games, stadiums, etc. For me, the Michigan ND series has always been special, a part of early fall. Going to games in South Bend is definitely the most unique setting in college football and it is unfortunate to lose that as a Michigan fan. When rooting for Michigan vs ND you are not only rooting for that specific team in that specific game, but also rooting to prove that Grbac to Desmond still matters and that just for a day you can erase the pain of Raghib Ismail's 2 tds. When UM is up 38, against ND you are caught between thinking "MOAR POINTZ PLEASE!" and "maybe they should hold up a bit, save some points for next year." The level of opponents that are going to be brought in are going to feel so hollow compared to ND - Pitt, Kansas, South Florida, teams that are in fact BCS level teams, but ones that you will likely never see again and don't really care about.

also, this is not so much a "i haz a sad becuz ND is gone." its more that this is one more small special thing that college football is losing in its neverending race to become NFL lite.

not TOM BRADY

September 25th, 2012 at 11:53 AM ^

Finally, Beating them usually has done Michigan no good. They have been average the past 20 years. Time for a real oponent. I would start a series with Texas. On and off every two or years. 

TO HELL WITH NOTRE DAME. 

readyourguard

September 25th, 2012 at 12:06 PM ^

NBC must be thrilled at the prospects of broadcasting ND vs ACC football games. I bet the next time the contract is up for renewal, they'll be willing to fork over tens.......nay, HUNDREDS of dollars for the rights.

MGoClimb

September 25th, 2012 at 12:08 PM ^

Can't say I'm surprised to see this happen.  I love the rivarly with Notre Dame, but it'll be nice to see another game in it's place.

This rivarly isn't done.  There will be more games with them in the future.

greymarch

September 25th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^

I say good riddance!  Bo was right, we don't need ND, we don't want ND.  Once Nebraska joined the B1G, Michigan now has enough quality opponents.  In the average year, Michigan will play OSU, MSU, Wisconsin and Nebraska.  The occassional non-conference tough opponent makes future UM schedules quite difficult.

TdK71

September 25th, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^

ND doesn't want to play schools from the B1G anymore so that they can expand their "National" footprint.

This is actually good for Michigan i'd like to see Michigan start a rivalry up with Cal or Georgia, both schools matchup with us well from an academic and football perspective.

 

"Bite Me Irish!"

maizeonblueaction

September 25th, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^

again, I've never followed Michigan when we haven't played ND, so this will be weird. On the other hand, if a good football school is free in a good recruiting area, I say let's go for it. Notre Dame did produce some crazy football moments, but if we play a nationally relevant OOC team every year instead, let's do it and not look back.

Stike A Pose

September 25th, 2012 at 12:52 PM ^

"Once we signed on to play five games against the ACC we realized it would be difficult to schedule Air Force, Army, and Navy.  Thus, we have to cancel our Big 10 games so we can continue the tradition of winning the Commander-in-Chief's trophy.  It's really important to uphold our tradition since we haven't won anything else since 1988."

-Notre Dame

MichiganStudent

September 25th, 2012 at 1:15 PM ^

I'm actually really pleased with this development. Taking ND off the schedule allows Michigan to add some variety to their OOC schedule and play team from different areas of the country.

 

 

WindyCityBlue

September 25th, 2012 at 4:18 PM ^

I have much respect for ND, but this should help Michigan even out those lop-sided home/away schedules.

The only way this becomes a detriment to us is if:

1. We don't find someone equal or better to play as a replacement

2. We don't properly schedule a home/home series to avoid having a year where all big games are away

BlueMan80

September 25th, 2012 at 1:29 PM ^

look at it this way.  In the future, if we have a really crappy season, we can play ND in the Poulan Weedeater Bowl or other thrilling bowl contest.  I think the ACC has some excellent bowls locked up in the future.

Fhshockey112002

September 25th, 2012 at 1:35 PM ^

I don't understand why DB is so against Home and Home series. I know there is loss in revenue but think about the broader picture. The reason ND goes home and home with 2 California teams is to establish a road game close to home of your recruits.



Scheduling a game in Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, or California can be used as a HUGE recruiting tool. Think about how many kids eliminate potential schools because their families would never get to see them play.