The Notre Dame cred doesnt get any bigger than with Gene Smith.

The man won a national championship as a player (1973) and a coach (1977) in South Bend. Somewhere beneath the scarlet-and-gray apparel he wears as Ohio States athletic director beats a heart of blue and gold.

The Notre Dame love poured out Tuesday as Smith, unprovoked, basically made a plea for his alma mater to join the Big Ten.

“If they end up being one of the schools,” Smith said during a break in the conferences spring meetings, “I hope that they would consider what a conference championship means to a young person. I was blessed to be at Notre Dame when we won national championships, one as a coach, one as a player.

“The landscape has changed. … One of the challenges we have is celebrating conference championships. Our men won a Big Ten [basketball] championship, our womens basketball team won the Big Ten championship. We wake up the next day and you guys are writing about what seed theyll be.

“Our teams went through a gantlet to win Big Ten championships and were not celebrating that. To me, a Notre Dame football player winning a conference championship and havi and chasing the national championship. You can do both.”

Smiths voice was the most refreshing during a week when expansion talk droned on with no clear direction. Notre Dame is an option for the Big Ten, though seemingly not much of one. The schools leaders seem to be talking out of both sides of their mouths. They want their independence but are leaving a slight door open for conference affiliation if, say, the Big East falls apart.

At least Smith knows what he wants. He played defensive end for the Irish team that won a split national championship in 73. From 1977-1981 he was an assistant coach. Smith remains one of the most respected ADs in the country running the countrys second-richest (next to Texas) athletic department.

The Big Tens addition of Notre Dame would be one of the biggest stories in college athletics. Its independence goes back to the days when the older Western Conference, the forerunner of the Big Ten, wouldnt play the Irish. The program resorted to a barnstorming philosophy, playing all over the country to keep the program relevant. The philosophy exists today.

“Ive always struggled with my alma mater,” Smith said. “I love em. I love em deeply. The things I enjoy in life today are because of the experiences there. My feelings run deep, really deep. Ive always struggled with the quality and experience in this landscape of football players.”

There is nothing wrong with Notre Dame playing for a Rose Bowl. In fact, it would make a nice “consolation prize” each year for the Irish, who havent won a national championship in 22 years. But at the moment, Notre Dame has games reportedly scheduled into 2016. If ND went to the Big Ten tomorrow, it would have drop at least two games from a 2012 schedule that already includes Miami, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, USC and Navy.

Smith knows his voice is one of many. All he can do is hope and, considering his alma mater, pray.

“Back in the day when I was playing, it was a different deal,” Smith said. “That national landscape was different. You didnt have the BCS, didnt have the bowl alliance. Notre Dame could dominate.”

Now? Just a voice in the crowd when it comes to the Irish and the Big Ten.

“I represent no one but Notre Dame.”

Posted on May 20th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: College football news, NCAA college football