Notre Dame on NBC: How Much Longer?

This past week NBC agreed to an extension with Notre Dame through the 2015 season. Their television contract is what puts Notre Dame in a league all it's own in the college football world. The question is: How long will this agreement last? Last year the ratings for the Fighting Irish on NBC took a nosedive to a 1.9 rating. This was the lowest Notre Dame on NBC rating ever. Their previous worse was in 2003 when they had a 2.4 rating. In 2006 they posted a 3.9 rating on NBC when they went 10-3 only 2 seasons ago.

If the ratings continue to slide for Notre Dame, NBC may look to drop the team. Much of the lasting aura of Notre Dame comes from their national contract with NBC. If they were to lose that deal, there would be very little that makes the program stand out amongst the other schools.

If Notre Dame would continue on the network, it would be assumed the program would continue to have success. NBC made it clear that their expectations for the program is to be in or near the top 10 on a consistent basis. Dick Ebersol last week stated: "We go into this thinking that if the vast majority of the years has Notre Dame competitive in that top 10 or for that top 10 through the majority of the season, then we'll be very happy," This is a far cry from the 3-9 record posted in the 2007 season.

Notre Dame today is not the same program who manhandled competition and was a year in and year out contender for the national championship. A string of bad coaching hires, and lack of production have lead to an era of mediocrity with a few sound seasons. Recruits today did not grow up with Notre Dame being a dominant program. The Irish have not won a bowl game since 1994 and today's seniors in high school were not even born the last time ND was crowned national champions.

If Notre Dame doesn't get their act together on the field, they're in grave danger of becoming just another college football program. This may or may not be possible with Charlie Weis. Rest assured however, it's going to be on the top of the mind of whoever is named the next AD at Notre Dame.