The events of this week made things abundantly clear. First thing is that the Big Ten has better control of the agenda than congressional Democrats and Notre Dame's recent struggles on the field may be starting to wear away at its bargaining position off the field.
If ND chooses a conference they will still have their pick. Whatever conference takes them would do well to grandfather in their NBC deal having the rights to only Irish Road games would still be a big deal for the Big-10 network.
I grew up a Notre Dame fan, I wore my Notre Dame Irish coat straight through high school and well into my second year of college. For me, an Irish kid in South Buffalo, there was no college football outside of Notre Dame. I was, unwittingly, captured by the cult of Notre Dame fans who have *nothing* whatsoever to do with the university.
Even after more than fifteen years since they have been a legit contender I would have classed myself a Notre Dame fan. It was not until UB decided to try winning in 2005 that I turned my attention away from Irish football and did what I should have done in the 90's gotten behind my school.
I still have a soft spot for Notre Dame. Most Saturdays my TV will land on NBC at some point or another, while there I, and my kids, will root for the Irish (usually in vein). Because I am now a casual Notre dame fan, or maybe because despite a horrid decade of football the media still fawns over the Irish, I missed the exact moment when Notre Dame when from a chooser to a beggar.
If ND chooses a conference they will still have their pick. Whatever conference takes them would do well to grandfather in their NBC deal having the rights to only Irish Road games would still be a big deal for the Big-10 network.