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Insights from Sampson's latest piece on Swarbrick by ndzippy

Sampson published a piece on The Athletic today (linked below for those who subscribe), and I thought there were some interesting points in it.

1. When interviewing for ND's AD role, Swarbrick spent half of his two-hour interview with Father Jenkins talking about the Big Ten Network. (I guess Swarbrick viewed this as a sign of "seismic change" in college football and pointed to his "vision" as a key reason he should get the job.) That struck me as pretty odd.

2. ACC's interest in adding ND dated back to 1987 (when former ND AD Gene Corrigan became the ACC commissioner). I didn't know that.

3. Sampson wrote "Notre Dame remains an East Coast school located in northern Indiana." Is that really a fair description?

4. ND claims to be leaving $20 million on the table each year by remaining independent. I find that very hard to believe. Sure, a full share of revenue from the Big Ten or SEC Network might be $20 million higher than what we get from NBC/ACC Network, but I'm sure there are other (positive) revenue streams associated with independence that help offset that. I just can't imagine ND's PTB willingly giving up $200 million per decade just so football can stay independent.

5. Swarbrick said, "This place is more distinct in the American college and university landscape today than it’s ever been." I can't say I agree with him on this.

6. Finally, a revisionist description of the Shamrock Series: "Instead of making tickets available for alumni to come back, Notre Dame brings the university to them." So THAT explains why San Antonio has gotten two games before Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle, Denver, St. Louis, and Atlanta (all cities with more ND alumni than San Antonio) have gotten one.