[Embo]

[quote author=centralcafan link=topic=5546.msg40484#msg40484 date=1328741998]Maybe adding the University of South Bend as the final game was a kind of slippery slope to what we have next year.

I think the South Bend contract was negotiated under Ted although Bowlsby may have extended it. Stanford's football program was in a weaker position at the time, and USB was in a much stronger one.  Stanford needed the attractive game to sell tickets, and was willing to agree to ND's terms. Now, the football program is selling out most games. The ND game was at most, the fourth biggest game last year. That contract needs to be renegotiated or even terminated. That game should not stand as an impediment to keeping our rivalry game intact. We should walk from anything other than a simple home and home agreement.

the University of South Bend is in the habit of bullying smaller schools into favorable schedules. It has a "home and home" with Connecticut in which Connecticut's "home" games are played in East Rutherford, NJ. Let ND become the randomly scheduled game, and the problems with the Big Game will be greatly reduced.
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Yvonne, you are correct regarding Ted as being the one who agreed to the shifing of the game to the Thanksgiving weekend.  The Stanford-ND series began with regularity at South Bend in 1988.  The 1989 game was played in the old Stanford Stadium in October, with kickoff at 1:30 on a warm day.  I remember it well, because it was homecoming weekend and a reunion year for me.  The attendance was over 80,000.  There were games at Stanford in 1991 and 1993 with a break in 95; those games had excellent attendance also.  The series was resumed in 1997, again on a warm October afternoon, with Mike Mitchell and Anthony Bookman each breaking 100 yards.  That crowd was around 77,000, that number of which I'm pretty confident.

Things changed in 1999.  ND wanted a yearly, end of season game in California. for the benefit of recruiting exposure and to reward their players with better November weather than what they experienced in South Bend  They had it in even years with SC.  They wanted the same in odd years, and Ted acquiesced.  The effect on attendance was predictable - at night, with students out, with a higher chance of rain (it was a deluge in 2001), it would plummet.  I remember the Wisconsin fans coming to our boards in 1999 (when the Rose Bowl matchup was set, and they had an interest in Stanford-ND) making disparaging comments about the crowd.

Ted did something in 2004 that also reeked of acquiescence to ND.  The 2004 season was to open with a marquee matchup - Michigan vs. ND.  But Michigan at the last minute rearranged their schedule to have one game before they met ND.  ND then tried to rearrange their schedule so they, too, could have a game before Michigan.  They did ask Stanford to move their game to that first week in September, which Ted at least refused.  So ND had another plan.  It was convoluted - requiring a few schools to change several games.  BYU then requested that Stanford move its game up one week.  The ulterior motive was obvious - ND was to play at BYU and wanted to move that game to before their Michigan game.  There was no real benefit to Stanford for the move.  Ted could have said no, if only to stick a thumb in the eye of the self-important Irish.  But of course, you know what happened. 

Bob Bowlsby has not taken the same path.  There were postings that ND wanted to play Stanford at a "neutral site", like the ND-WSU game in San Antonio in 2009.  Of course, ND wanted this in an odd year - away from Stanford Stadium.  Bowlsby said no. 

[Embo]

[quote author=centralcafan link=topic=5546.msg40484#msg40484 date=1328741998]Maybe adding the University of South Bend as the final game was a kind of slippery slope to what we have next year.

I think the South Bend contract was negotiated under Ted although Bowlsby may have extended it. Stanford's football program was in a weaker position at the time, and USB was in a much stronger one.  Stanford needed the attractive game to sell tickets, and was willing to agree to ND's terms. Now, the football program is selling out most games. The ND game was at most, the fourth biggest game last year. That contract needs to be renegotiated or even terminated. That game should not stand as an impediment to keeping our rivalry game intact. We should walk from anything other than a simple home and home agreement.

the University of South Bend is in the habit of bullying smaller schools into favorable schedules. It has a "home and home" with Connecticut in which Connecticut's "home" games are played in East Rutherford, NJ. Let ND become the randomly scheduled game, and the problems with the Big Game will be greatly reduced.
[/quote]

Yvonne, you are correct regarding Ted as being the one who agreed to the shifing of the game to the Thanksgiving weekend.  The Stanford-ND series began with regularity at South Bend in 1988.  The 1989 game was played in the old Stanford Stadium in October, with kickoff at 1:30 on a warm day.  I remember it well, because it was homecoming weekend and a reunion year for me.  The attendance was over 80,000.  There were games at Stanford in 1991 and 1993 with a break in 95; those games had excellent attendance also.  The series was resumed in 1997, again on a warm October afternoon, with Mike Mitchell and Anthony Bookman each breaking 100 yards.  That crowd was around 77,000, that number of which I'm pretty confident.

Things changed in 1999.  ND wanted a yearly, end of season game in California. for the benefit of recruiting exposure and to reward their players with better November weather than what they experienced in South Bend  They had it in even years with SC.  They wanted the same in odd years, and Ted acquiesced.  The effect on attendance was predictable - at night, with students out, with a higher chance of rain (it was a deluge in 2001), it would plummet.  I remember the Wisconsin fans coming to our boards in 1999 (when the Rose Bowl matchup was set, and they had an interest in Stanford-ND) making disparaging comments about the crowd.

Ted did something in 2004 that also reeked of acquiescence to ND.  The 2004 season was to open with a marquee matchup - Michigan vs. ND.  But Michigan at the last minute rearranged their schedule to have one game before they met ND.  ND then tried to rearrange their schedule so they, too, could have a game before Michigan.  They did ask Stanford to move their game to that first week in September, which Ted at least refused.  So ND had another plan.  It was convoluted - requiring a few schools to change several games.  BYU then requested that Stanford move its game up one week.  The ulterior motive was obvious - ND was to play at BYU and wanted to move that game to before their Michigan game.  There was no real benefit to Stanford for the move.  Ted could have said no, if only to stick a thumb in the eye of the self-important Irish.  But of course, you know what happened. 

Bob Bowlsby has not taken the same path.  There were postings that ND wanted to play Stanford at a "neutral site", like the ND-WSU game in San Antonio in 2009.  Of course, ND wanted this in an odd year - away from Stanford Stadium.  Bowlsby said no.