Holtz firmly supports ND as an independent

By Stu Durando

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS

Lou Holtz envisions only one scenario in which Notre Dame should consider surrendering its Independent status in football.

Despite overtures from the Big Ten, the former Irish coach believes the school is well situated in the Big East barring the creation of 16-team super conferences.

“If that happened, they might have to look at their options,” Holtz said. “The landscape would have changed tremendously. I never said Notre Dame should join a conference. But if that were to happen, they’d have to re-examine.”

Otherwise, Holtz is firmly in the camp that supports independence for the school’s football program while the remainder of its teams play in the Big East. Holtz coached the Irish from 1986 to ’96, winning a national championship in ’88.

Talk of realignment has slowed in recent weeks, but the Big Ten continues to study the possibilities. But does Notre Dame?

“I don’t think they’re looking at it right now,” Holtz said. “I don’t see where much has changed from a year ago. As it is now, Notre Dame is a national school and should remain one.”

Notre Dame wouldn’t seem to have anything to gain financially from joining the Big Ten. The league will disburse about $20 million to its members for the 2009-10 fiscal year, with $14.9 million coming from television revenue ($6.5 million from the Big Ten Network).

The SportsBusiness Journal has placed Notre Dame’s multimedia, marketing and licensing revenues at nearly $30 million a year, with an estimate of $10 million coming from its contract with NBC.

Notre Dame already has regular games against Big Ten members Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. The Irish play other BCS conference opponents throughout the season.Holtz envisions a problem if 16-team conferences develop.

“How do [the Irish] find a schedule they can compete by?” he asked. “If you end up with five or six major conferences, no one is going to want to play them in the middle of the season when they’re fighting for a conference championship.”