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Fighting Irish sought
by two conferences
The Big East and ACC
want to land Notre Dame
as a conference member
By Craig Barnes
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (KRT)
FORI’ LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Big
East Conference presidents will meet
Nov. 4 and vote on a Final reorganiza
tion plan for the conference, and it is
the deadline for Notre Dame to make
its intentions clear.
With that in mind, the Atlantic
Coast Conference has re-opened ex
ploratory conversations with the Irish
to see if there is a scenario that is ac
ceptable to both sides that would al
low the school to become the confer
ence's 12th team.
The ACC's Council of Presidents
held a conference call Friday and dis
cussed the Notre Dame situation. Ihe
members participating in the call en
dorsed conversations with the Irish.
"The Olympic sports are important
to Notre Dame, and the ACC provides
a stable home for them," one source
said, "but resolution of the football
question is the biggest issue. Notre
Dame wants to remain independent,
and the ACC wants full participation
membership. There may or may not
be a resolution. That's what the con
versations are about."
The first contact between the ACC
and Notre Dame occurred over a
year ago. Notre Dame closely moni
tored the recent ACC expansion.
Notre Dame has an exclusive con
tract with NBC that pays the Irish
more than $8 million annually to
televise its home games.
The money and Notre Dame's com
mitment to a national schedule are ob
stacles to a compromise. Notre Dame
needs schedule space for Southern Cal
ifornia, Michigan, Purdue, the military
academies and perhaps Michigan State
and Boston College.
Several scenarios are under consid
eration. One would have the Irish join
the ACC in all sports but football,
with the conference having the right
of first refusal if Notre Dame decided
to abandon its independent football
status in the future.
The Irish also could agree to play
four or five ACC games, not qualify
for the league championship and re
tain all of its football money while
agreeing to get no share of the ACC's
basketball money.
If Notre Dame would agree to play
six ACC games, the league could re
duce the number of conference games
needed to qualify for the champi
onship game from eight to six, mak
ing Notre Dame a full-participating
member and leaving the distribution
of money to be resolved.
The ACC's petition to the NCAA for
a championship game in 2004 with
only 11 teams was informally rejected
by the championship committee, in
creasing the urgency for the confer
ence to get a 12th team. A final deci
sion is not expected on the proposal
until April.
Notre Dame is adding 64 scholar
ships to its non-revenue sports pro
grams over the next four years, but in
an effort to find them a home, Athlet
ic Director Kevin White would like to
leave football out of the equation.
In the Big East reorganization,
Notre Dame, Villanova, St. John's,
Georgetown, Seton I fall, Providence,
DePaul and Marquette would be bas
ketball-only schools. Louisville,
Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pittsburgh,
Rutgers, Syracuse, Boston College and
perhaps UCF or USE would play foot
ball. Central Florida or South Florida
would play only football.
When the new Bowl Champi
onship Series contract is instituted in
2007, Notre Dame's situation won't
change much. The Irish automatical
ly qualify with nine victories. It could
lose the "automatic" status, but as one
bowl source said, "Who wouldn't take
Notre Dame with nine wins?"
(c) 2003 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
COACH
continued from page 5
first time since 1998.
"He's a real player's coach," Kegel
told The Daily Evergreen earlier this
season. "We're really excited about
playing for him, busting ass for him.
The future holds good things for the
team with him in control."
Through the speculation and tur
moil that surrounded Price in his
short stint at Alabama, he is now very
aware that this is Doha's team al
though he did attend the Washington
State game against New Mexico and
spent time in the locker room.
"Before 1 did anything, 1 wanted to
make sure this was Bill's team," Price
told Ihe Spokesman-Review on Tues
day. "1 don't want to be a distraction. 1
wanted to make sure the players were
100 percent behind Bill."
The players remain behind their
new coach as nothing appears to have
changed from Washington State's
winning ways of last season. And now
I
in the head coaching position, Doha
is more aware of the increased impart
he has on his players' lives, as op
posed to when he was an assistant.
"You're the dean of boys, you've
got to be careful," Doba said.
Doba has experienced challenges
through the start of the season, in
cluding maintaining confidence in
his decisions. But Washington State's
30th head football coach has been
able to enjoy some peace and quiet.
As Doba said, "it's a lot quieter on the
offensive side."
Now, 25 years after being in the as
sistant spot, Doba is clearly remem
bering what it takes to lead a team
and has his players and the former
coach behind him.
After nearly four decades since be
coming a head coach for the first time,
Doba isn't teaching math anymore.
1 le's teaching what it takes to return to
the Rose Bowl, and that's winning.
Contact the sports reporter
at jessethomas@dailyemerald.com.
1
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