As Jack Swarbrick’s comments about Notre Dame’s football independence - and potential lack thereof – spread across the nation on Tuesday, some longtime Domers suggested that the administration was getting the story out early to prepare fans for what could be inevitable.
Not so, according to Notre Dame.
In today’s edition of the Daily Dish, a series of athletic notes sent out by Senior Associate Athletics Director John Heisler, the Irish contingent in New York City for the Big East Tournament did not plan to make national news the other day.
“1. If you are wondering how sports headlines come about, understand that sometimes it’s almost by accident. Take Tuesday, for example. Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly, in New York for a day of events with Notre Dame-connected groups, was visiting with a small group of New York-based sportswriters over coffee that morning at the Barking Dog café on 34th Street. The event was designed as more of a “meet and greet” session for media who don’t make it to South Bend every day.
Most of the conversation wasn’t headline news, but Kelly at one point was asked about his thoughts on conference affiliation. Meanwhile, Irish athletics director Jack Swarbrick just happened to stop by the session to listen – and he, too, was hit with the question about conferences. What Swarbrick said wasn’t necessarily new or groundbreaking – but it maybe involved more of a national assessment of the conference landscape than had been voiced. In any event, the nature and context of Swarbrick’s remarks immediately prompted the Associated Press to run a short item, followed by a more in-depth feature later in the day – and the New York Times wrote a full-blown piece that ended up the lead sports story at the top of the page in Wednesday’s print edition.”
