SOUTH BEND — At the University of Notre Dame, unlike almost every other college sports program, sports and religion are seemingly tied together in the same cloth.
From the east stands of Notre Dame Stadium, football spectators can see the 230-foot spire of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart jutting into the horizon. The famous “Touchdown Jesus” mural at Hesburgh Library to the north constantly watches over the action.
Some things never change.
‘Learn every day’:Rev. John Jenkins reflects on legacy of 19 years at the helm of Notre Dame
Looking at the broader landscape of college athletics, seismic change has shaken its foundations so far this decade with “name, image and likeness” compensation for student-athletes, liberalized transfer waivers, radical realignment of the conference and the expansion of the four-team College Football Playoffs. to 12.
“College athletics is a bit of a mess,” university president the Rev. John I. Jenkins said in an interview with the South Bend Tribune last month. “(NIL) is out of control without much oversight. “It undermines the educational purpose of what these sports programs should be about.”
Jenkins, 70, will retire at the end of the month after 19 years in the role. He is proud of the direction the Fighting Irish sports programs have taken, but alarmed by the rapid deterioration of college amateurism.
In a 2023 op-ed published in the New York Times, Jenkins and then-Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick wrote that the NCAA’s NIL policy prohibiting schools from directly paying student-athletes was too easy. to manipulate.
Last February, a federal judge granted an injunction against NCAA regulations that prohibit recruits from discussing their NIL prospects before enrolling.
As the NCAA’s power over the issue diminishes, individual state legislatures must pass their own laws on NIL standards with a lack of federal oversight, which in many cases undermines the standards the NCAA is trying to implement, Jenkins explained.
Add to that highly lucrative media partnerships with schools and conferences (Notre Dame remains independent in football, but a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in most other Olympic sports) and there’s an ocean of money. in the system.
“All those pressures have put us where we are,” Jenkins said. “I hope we can get to a place that maintains the centrality of the educational context. Our sports teams are not the NFL. We don’t want to be the NFL. We want to be college athletics. I hope we can get it. “I worry about what we are now.”
Clarity, Jenkins says, will come from consistency and equal division to help “all ships rise” in all men’s and women’s sports, and not just football.
What Jenkins sees as the next progression is some kind of congressional action or oversight to help create that coherence.
Further:One on one with outgoing Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick. The moment of leaving “felt good”
“The problem now is that the courts have ruled that it is a violation of antitrust law to set these rules and enforce them,” Jenkins said. “So, we don’t have rules. What we need is some congressional action where we all say, ‘Okay, for purposes of competitive fairness, college athletics, rules can be set.'”
With Swarbrick already retired and Jenkins on his way out, that challenge will fall to incoming president, the Rev. Robert A. Dowd, and new athletics director Pete Bevacqua, who Jenkins said will increasingly be an important leader in the college athletics.
“One of the things I regret about leaving now is that I would love the opportunity to work with Pete more,” Jenkins said. “Jack has been fantastic and Pete will be fantastic too.”
Further:Who is the Notre Dame AD waiting for Pete Bevacqua? Here are 5 things you should know
As for the future of college athletics and its ever-changing model, Jenkins emphasizes that regardless of what happens, Notre Dame must remain true to its own spiritual and academic mission of educating all students.
“It is important that our team, coaches, athletic department and student-athletes continue to reflect the values of the university,” Jenkins said. “We certainly want to win the games; That’s part of the commitment to excellence. But we want to do it in a way that serves these young people.”
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