Notre Dame should decline a BCS invitation
By STEVEN LEACH
Phoenix, Ariz.
The Notre Dame Mission Statement claims, "The University is dedicated to the pursuit and sharing of truth for its own sake." A noble ideal by a noble institution. But is Notre Dame willing to put life to those words when the issue is football?
I am an Iowa Hawkeye. I graduated long ago, but black and gold runs through my veins as strong as the green and gold that drives many a Notre Dame alum. Yours is a prestigious school. Its history, academic and athletic, is the stuff of legend. The University of Iowa is no lesser place, but it is lesser known. Our universities are now brought together in a controversy not of their own making, but real nonetheless. Although the issue will not be framed until this Saturday's contests are finished, the question will likely be who is more worthy of a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bid: Iowa or Notre Dame. Make no mistake, I recognize this is not a question of biblical proportions. But to those who love their school's football (and no one loves it more then the legions of Notre Dame), it is an issue of some importance.
We Hawkeyes are rightly proud of our team's accomplishments this year. Lacking the opportunity to match talents in a playoff system, the Hawkeyes, like the Fighting Irish, must rely on computers and pollsters to determine their role in the year-end beauty pageant known as the BCS.
But college football is big business, and the BCS is college football. So, the question posed is whether Notre Dame, with a 10-2 record but unavoidable fan and media appeal, should be given a BCS berth over higher ranked 11-1 Iowa. Such issues should be decided on the field, not through binary combat. However, lacking that opportunity, record and ranking should be enough to give Iowa the BCS bowl it deserves. Unfortunately, at this point, football apparently means less than the balance sheet of viewership and attendance.
My purpose in writing is to ask this University to demonstrate its pursuit of faith and truth. What better opportunity to rise above in a show of honor and courage then to say to the BCS, "Thanks, but no thanks." Yours is a school based on noble pursuits. Your coach is a man of integrity. Live your ideals of "truth for its own sake," and tell the BCS that at least for this one year, the University of Iowa is the better team and more deserving of a BCS bid.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, December 5, 2002
