As far as arranged marriages go, the one between Notre Dame and the Big East has worked out pretty well to date.
The Irish have found a home for their non-revenue teams in the Big East, which has really helped Notre Dame’s men’s and women’s basketball programs, among others.
The Big East has been able to use the relationship with America’s College Athletics Program to increase its national profile and to benefit in TV negotiations.
Of course, one party usually benefits more than the other in such unions. In this case, Notre Dame got the dowry, known as maintaining its football independence.
It’s akin to a political marriage. One spouse gets a fancy address, invitations to the most glamorous events and trips to exotic locations. The other spouse gets the same benefits, but can have something on the side, if you will.
Sooner or later the party that’s getting the short end of the, uh, stick, yearns for more. That’s exactly where the Big East is now.
The loss of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC has left the Big East more unstable than Charlie Sheen at an open bar in the Playboy mansion. It’s not going to have a pretty ending.
The presidents and athletic directors of the Big East schools that play BCS football emerged Tuesday night from an emergency meeting at the Grand Hyatt pledging to work together to recruit new members. Aggressive was the word of the night.
Here’s a better, more aggressive idea: Instead of finding new partners, the Big East should push to maximize the relationship with Notre Dame that already exists.
We’re not suggesting the league threaten to divorce Notre Dame if the Irish don’t surrender their football independence. The laughter generated by such a suggestion could be heard in a NORAD missile silo.
We’re suggesting a postnup, of sorts: If Notre Dame wants to continue to have a nice home for its non-revenue sports, it should agree to a football scheduling alliance with the Big East.
Four games are what it would take.
Still crazy? Consider Notre Dame’s 2011 schedule:
In addition to its traditional foes: B.C., Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, USC, Stanford and two of the three service academies, the Irish have four swing games — two against ACC teams, Wake Forest and Maryland and two against Big East teams South Florida and at Pittsburgh today.
If Notre Dame agreed to schedule four swing games each year against Big East teams (and maybe even cut the conference a check from its lucrative NBC deal) the league would finally have an anchor.
Connecticut and Rutgers might not think the ACC is the greatest conference since the League of Nations.
Notre Dame would continue to have a wonderful home for its non-revenue sports. The Irish would come to the Garden every year for the Big East Conference basketball tournament.
“Notre Dame continues to have a very strong interest in the success and vitality of the Big East Conference,” Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told The Post. “That’s one of the reasons we continue to work to schedule games against Big East schools such as Syracuse, Pittsburgh, South Florida and recently Connecticut.
“We’re interested in keeping the Big East vibrant and remain open to discussing ways to make that happen,” Swarbrick added. “It’s been a beneficial relationship.”
As The Post has reported, the Big East is looking to add Air Force and Navy in football, two of Notre Dame’s perennial opponents. The Irish played Army in Yankee Stadium last season.
If the Irish and the Big East can work out a scheduling alliance, the prospects of this relationship continuing become much more optimistic.
Some might say this is too big of a gamble for the Big East. It’s only a bad play if there’s a lot to lose. The Big East is on the verge of having its league apparel becoming collector’s items.
The real gamble is not trying to determine how much both parties want to see this arrangement continue. Forget aggressive, it’s pragmatic.