There's a lot to agree with there.

by Domer99, John Wesley Powell's Expedition Island, Monday, April 06, 2026, 12:35 (110 days ago) @ Jeremy (WeIsND)
edited by Domer99, Monday, April 06, 2026, 14:03

And the ROI point is a very good one.

But I still think there is a decent amount of deflection in his punch line.

Maybe I am just overly persuaded by Hollywood, but I watched Moneyball on my flight back last night. And I think for ND to be competitive in this sport, it can't be the same way Kentucky or UConn or Duke or Arizona compete. Those schools have made very conscious efforts to make basketball priority #1. And I am not sure football is #2 for some of those programs. That's not a mutually exclusive proposition I am ready to sign up for. I don't think any ND fan is.

But it is a reality confronting all universities. But somehow, schools like Iowa and Nebraska are figuring how to allocate dollars efficiently. There isn't an entry price for competitive basketball. If you want to tell me there is an entry price for consistently elite basketball programs? Fine. I'll agree. Whatever that price is, surely Duke is paying it. And for what? 2 Final Fours the last 10 seasons, where none of those teams had their best players return for sophomore years. I firmly believe we need to figure out more creative ways to find a competitive balance. But whining that we aren't spending like the big boys just doesn't really do it for me.

Where I also get lost is using an example like Haralson as evidence of lack of resources and support. Let's be very honest here. The reason he entered the portal isn't due to money. It's because our program has shown an inability to compete and play at a higher level. You can't convince me that ND outbid Michigan St. to land Haralson with the idea that he'd only be here one season. And I don't think we reneged on paying him a second season. Do I have proof? No. But somehow we not only landed Burton, but we paid him to comeback in his sophomore season and his junior one too.

But these are examples that evade even the most logical fans like the one Taxman appears to be.

I'd actually argue the reason we are in this predicament is because we threw too much support at the program. We signed a very coveted (at least at the time) coach to a 7-year, $28MM deal. That probably wasn't a prudent hire for a coach that hadn't proved much. But it's forced ND's hand to throw good money after bad to clean up this situation. Like Taxman suggests, a buyout north of $10MM is not a great use of proceeds. And the original commitment or investment probably locks us into this shitshow for at least another lame duck season.

It's also why I think ND football is generally a decent analogous example. Not absolute dollar wise but how the program has evolved. Marcus got a $2MM deal out of the gate. This coming off a decade where the previous coach whined, bitched, and moaned about resources. But once this new coach started building, started proving himself, started developing players, and started ****winning**** well it was easy to justify greater investment and spend. With Shrewsberry we just jumped into the middle of the pool (not the shallow end but probably closer to the deep end) but without much of a plan. When we started to drown, it was hard to justify continuing to throw even more resources to rescue this dumpster fire.

I just hope that Bevaqua and Garrity come out and address the long-term vision, goals, and future. It doesn't seem like we have anything that resembles a plan.