[Editor's note: For more information on Notre Dame Football check out Rakes Of Mallow. An interview with them, as I have done with other teams, will be posted in a few weeks.]

Ah, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The legendary independent, fighting alone amongst armies and navies organized against them, from the ACC to the PAC 10. Resting on a steeped history, tracking back to the origins of the sport, and success that most teams can only dream of, they stand in a league unto themselves.

A league NBC pays to cover every game of. A league with special provisions in the BCS formula.

A league that is the only team ever to sell out their allotment of tickets for the Hawaii Bowl and ask for more, not named Hawaii. And that was when Notre Dame fans were openly disappointed at their team's 6-6 performance and were suggesting their own team's appearance in that bowl was a disgrace to the bowl traditions they helped build.

A league that only plays football. Notre Dame participates in the Big East in all other sports, and shares bowl tie-ins with the Big East if they don't participate in the BCS.

During the recent conference realignment discussion much was made about whether Notre Dame would break these sacred independent roots. Roots almost as deep to some as not playing on Sunday. In football, Notre Dame is coveted by (and has more in common with) the Big 10. The Big 10 values equal membership and would disdains a one sport member. Notre Dame has strong bonds with the Roman Catholic non-football Big East members that they are loath to sever.

And they can afford to remain independent. For now.

Often success earns the envy of your peers. Notre Dame is certainly no exception. With success comes the fruit of success, in higher TV deals and better bowl contracts. With a slightest slip everyone is ready to prep their jealous fits of glee. With a couple of really bad coaching hires they are ready to chant "The King is Dead!"

Which brings us back to the NBC deal and the BCS arrangements.

The NBC deal has been a glorious mark of the elite status Notre Dame once held. Inflation of TV deals and the emergence of dedicated conference networks has greatly eroded the gap between Notre Dame and leading conferences like the SEC and the Big 10. The total revenue these conferences receive is more than the NBC deal, but this ignores that those revenue sharing plans include all sports so Notre Dame's Big East revenue should be included. No matter how you slice it, the gap is nowhere near what it used to be.

Contracts end and Notre Dame has not been the acclaimed giant of glorious years past. The novelty of watching the king's death pangs has grown stale (unless we are talking about Notre Dame's rival, USC.) One has to wonder if Notre Dame will be able keep up as TV revenue evolves and diversifies.

But at least, critics say, Notre Dame will always have the windfall of their unfair BCS revenue stream. They get $2.3 Million even when they don't play. That is more than some conferences get. What this ignores is how that value was arrived at to begin with. There is no doubt Notre Dame could join a BCS conference. Even with the recent down turn they could still join any conference they wanted. If you take the total payout to all BCS conferences and divide it by the total number of BCS conference members you get Notre Dame's base payout.

They get the same base BCS payout as Baylor, Duke, Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Washington State.

In years they go to the BCS they earn $5.8 Million. This is identical to what the second team from an AQ conference earns their conference, above and beyond their base value. Notre Dame does not get their base value. The BCS ends the day with more money to share amongst everyone else when Notre Dame qualifies than when they don't.

This is also the percentage amount that teams from outside the AQ conferences have traditionally received from their conferences when they participate, though Boise State was somewhat less in 2009 as they earned an at large bid rather than an automatic bid.

Ok, well they still have that preferred language in the BCS contracts right?

After the highest ranked team from a conference without an automatic qualification in the top 12 is given a spot at the BCS table (top 16 if an AQ champion is ranked lower), Notre Dame is given a spot if they are in the top 8. Notre Dame needs to finish higher than an outsider.

I will concede that the polls might be biased, but that is unavoidable. It is also likely that Notre Dame would be selected over any other candidate if they are even barely eligible and the other is several spots higher. History tells us so.

Is that fair? Until your team goes 6-6 and sells out the Hawaii bowl with gusto, I say yes.

The BCS is broken, but let's not focus on the symptom of the Notre Dame provisions and forget the real issues of prohibiting a fair and competitive national title. Get that right and revenue streams become a non-issue for most fans and prestigious bowl invites become an honor untainted with the air of corruption and injustice, regardless of how the tie-ins are aligned.

Participating in 9 games with #1 vs. #2. That is just crazy.

Head Coach: Brian Kelly (First Year)
Offensive Coordinator: Charley Molnar (First Year)
Defensive Coordinator: Bob Diaco (First Year)

The Irish hopeful are hoping a clean sweep will brush away the ills of the last two coaches.

BCS numbers:

Willingham and Weis. Your presence has been noted.

Schedule: #24T

Every game is on a Saturday. How many teams can say that? Oh, and seven home games with four road games.