scheduling rumblings (summary)
Just jotting a list of the scheduling news & rumors we've heard in the past few months.
1. Possible Miami series. Latest update from April.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/umiami/2009/04/a-chat-with-kirby-hocutt-more.html
One of the things Hocutt said he has become more involved in since taking over has been the future scheduling of opponents. He wants to get UM involved in big-time games including playing Notre Dame again and getting Florida on the schedule...
Speaking of down the road and opportunities, Hocutt seemed more confident there could be a future meeting with Miami and Notre Dame than with the Canes and Gators, who are currently scheduled to meet for the last time in football at Dolphins Stadium in 2013.
"If there is any way whatsoever to get [a series with Notre Dame] done, we'll get it done," Hocutt said. "I don't want to lead people on or sound too optimistic, but there has been an initial phone call and another conversation through a mutual relationship [TV]. There's definitely interest on both sides. If it's something we can get done in the future it sounds like we're both committed to it."
2. Possible Wisconsin series.
http://gazettextra.com/news/2009/may/28/alvarez-badgers-have-eyes-notre-dame-football/
3. Possible game at Yankee Stadium.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/sports/21irish.html
4. Army series confirmed (was already rumored), to start in 2010. Candidate for Yankee Stadium.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090523/SPORTS36/905230344
Seems like a game in 2013 would make sense given the 100-year anniversary of the 1913 ND-Army game.
5. Swarbrick is interested in continuing the Purdue series, but is trying to work out the terms, apparently.
http://www.jconline.com/article/20090531/SPORTS020101/905310355
This is per Rothstein, yesterday.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090606/SPORTS/306069942/1008/SPORTS
For those thinking the Purdue-Notre Dame game might end up taking a hiatus or changing its format, think again. Swarbrick said Friday he'd like to continue playing the Boilermakers, the Irish's only in-state football rival, on a yearly basis. Neither Swarbrick nor Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke said a deal to continue the series has been formalized.
"The Purdue series is really important to us," Swarbrick said. "The number of things I've been doing in scheduling, I'm trying to make sure we're very mindful of our history and tradition here. When others in the Big Ten wouldn't play us, Purdue would back early in our history.
"I think it's important to acknowledge and not lose sight of that important assist that they gave us at a critical time. We don't have all the future dates nailed down, but I think the chances are very high that we will continue to play Purdue."
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Per "Mike's Future Schedules" site ( http://www.geocities.com/mike-nd/sched-f.htm#years ) we still have two games to fill for 2010. I highly doubt a Miami or Wisconsin game will fill those slots, so look for more team names to surface. Notes:
* There are only 3 open dates. They are all late-season.
* We have four road games scheduled (@ MSU, BC, Navy, USC). Would we add another?
S04 PURDUE
S11 MICHIGAN
S18 @ Michigan St.
S25 STANFORD
O02 @ Boston College
O09 PITTSBURGH
O16 Army (neutral site)
O23 @ Navy (Baltimore)
O30
N06
N13 UTAH
N20
N27 @ Southern Cal
My guess: look for two one-off home games against the likes of Duke to fill in for 2010.
Not Alabama but South Alabama.
by PMan 
, The Banks of the Spokane River, Monday, June 08, 2009, 06:04 (6261 days ago) @ Jay
http://www.al.com/sports/press-register/thicks.ssf?/base/sports/1244452528215860.xml&am...
"Jones said Sunday the school is talking to Hawaii about scheduling games, where former Alabama teammate Peter Kim lives and is assisting in the negotiations. That would be quite a road trip for the Jags and a pretty good game to mention during recruiting visits. Jones said the school is also talking with Notre Dame, Florida and Arkansas about future games. He said talks with Notre Dame had taken place previously, but broken off, only to be revived."
I've sort of been following the birth of SA football
It's not every day that a college decides to start a Division 1 football team from scratch. My in-laws are in Mobile, and my father in law has been peppered with offers to buy "inaugural" season tickets to Jaguars Football. I told him he should get in on the ground floor so that when the Jags are kicking ass in 20 years, he can be part of the founders circle and partake in all the perks they're sure to have by then.
The whole rollout plan for SA football is sort of interesting. They are starting as an independent and will gradually add Division 1 opponents with the goal to join Conference USA in like 2013 or something like that. They'll also have a new stadium open that year. They are literally starting with nothing. It's kind of cool.
There has been a bit of press around here on Georgia State.
by PMan , The Banks of the Spokane River, Monday, June 08, 2009, 11:41 (6261 days ago) @ Jay
Thoughts about 2010
Miami has no OOC openings in 2010, one OOC opening in 2011 and plenty thereafter.
Wisconsin has two OOC openings for 2010, and an open date on Oct. 30. But they open at UNLV and almost never play more than one road OOC game. Wisconsin has plenty of OOC openings starting in 2012.
Here are the BCS teams and prior ND opponents I could find with openings for 2010, per nationalchamps.net. Unless otherwise indicated, all could potentially play at ND, and some would be decent candidates for a return date later in the decade. Some schools' open dates would require ND to juggle its schedule:
Alabama
Arkansas
Air Force
Cal
Duke
Georgia Tech
Illinois (away only, Nov. 20 only)
Kansas (away only)
Kansas State
Kentucky (Nov. 6)
LSU (away only, Oct. 30)
Maryland
Minnesota (hosts USC on Sept. 18)
Miss. State
Missouri (Sept. 18-25, Oct. 2 only)
N.C. State
Northwestern (away only, Sept. 25, Oct. 16 only)
Oregon State (Sept. 4-11, Dec. 4 only)
South Carolina
Syracuse (away or Yankee Stadium?)
Tulane
Virginia (at USC on Sept. 11; 2 open OOC dates)
Washington State (is San Antonio available again?)
There are more openings in 2011 and plenty in 2012 and beyond. Swarbrick will have an immediate opportunity to upgrade our schedules, especially if he's not wedded to 7-4-1.
thanks; thoughts
by JD in Portland , Portland OR, Sunday, June 07, 2009, 19:57 (6261 days ago) @ Sherman Oaks
Alabama would be all kinds of awesome. Let Ara give the pre-game talk. This would be for my money the best possible, even better than Wisc (though I love the idea of playing them too).
Cal would make sense for many reasons, recruiting high among them.
So. Carolina/Spurrier would be terrific.
NC State would be a solid opponent in a part of the world where we do find recruits.
Opening with Nevada depresses me beyond belief. WTF were they thinking about?
Great legwork here, much appreciated!
I like the Cal matchup
by Jeff (BGS) , A starter home in suburban Tempe, Tuesday, June 09, 2009, 08:45 (6260 days ago) @ JD in Portland
It gives us another option for Thanksgiving other than Southern Cal/Stanford, and possibly gives us some leverage with Stanford. I would love to see the odd-year Thanksgiving game rotated between Stanford, Cal, Hawaii, South Florida, and Miami. All of those schools but Miami may even be pressured into signing up for unbalanced home/road games to help fill up ND's home slate.