Notre Dame shuns Big Ten, fears losing
distinctiveness
By PAMELA SCHAEFFER
NCR Staff
Citing a basic dissimilarity between the University of
Notre Dame and the 11 universities that make up the Big Ten athletic
conference, Holy Cross Fr. Edward A. Monk Malloy said a Feb. 5
decision against joining the conference reaffirms the schools distinctive
mission as Catholic, private and independent.
Malloy, Notre Dames president, said the board of
trustees decision was made in light of the schools religious
mission.
Similarly, the trustees Feb. 5 decision to exclude a
gay-rights clause from the universitys nondiscrimination policy was
rooted in concerns that protecting gays would give civil courts leeway to
interpret Catholic teaching, according to a statement released by the board of
trustees.
The statement expressed concern that declaring sexual orientation
a protected category could inhibit the university in its ability to
make decisions which are necessary to support Catholic church
teaching.
Church statements in recent years have described homosexual
behavior as sinful but have also strongly denounced violence or discrimination
against homosexuals. School officials pointed out that courts, however, do not
distinguish between sexual orientation and practice and could subject the
school to legal action if it attempted to place limits on sexual behavior.
About 70 students had fasted for three days awaiting the
boards decision. The students favored including lesbians and gays in the
antidiscrimination policy, which prohibits discrimination based on gender or
race.
In announcing their decision, trustees reiterated support for a
1997 document titled Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame.
We value gay and lesbian members of this community as we
value all members, the document says. We condemn harassment of any
kind. Malloy said the university will respond to a higher
standard than a legal nondiscrimination clause: Christs call
to inclusiveness, coupled with the gospels call to live chaste
lives.
As for the decision about whether to join the Big Ten, some had
characterized it as the most important decision facing the university since
1971, when it decided to admit women into its undergraduate program.
Chuck Lennon, executive director of the alumni association, said
most alumni had been strongly opposed to the conference link. We just
have a different mission, he said, because of the way Catholicity
permeates the educational process.
Holy Cross Fr. Bill Miscamble, associate professor of history,
told NCR that the debate over the Big Ten went well beyond football. It
had touched a nerve on campus and among alumni, he said,
about what kind of place Notre Dame wants to be. The sentiment that
emerged was that folks affirmed they want to preserve and enhance this
distinctive mission that we have.
Malloy acknowledged that desire in a statement issued in London,
where the board meeting was held. The issue of religious identity is not,
as might be thought, a question of our Catholic character somehow being
diminished by an affiliation with secular institutions, Malloy said.
We alone are responsible for the vitality of our Catholic
character. But the religious mission of Notre Dame creates a basic
dissimilarity between Notre Dame and the institutions with which we would be
partnered. The identity differences are essential, not
incidental, Malloy said.
The Faculty Senate had voted 25-4 in support of joining the
Committee on Institutional Cooperation, an academic consortium composed of the
11 Big Ten schools and the University of Chicago. In the view of the Faculty
Senate, the affiliation with major research facilities would have enhanced
academic status. Many faculty members, however, were concerned that affiliation
with the Big Tens academic arm would undermine Notre Dames strong
commitment to undergraduate education, Miscamble said.
Miscamble said many faculty members, along with students and
alumni, felt that joining the Big Ten would have compromised the
universitys identity and mission over the long haul. If you move in
similar circles, theres a desire to take on a similar appearance,
he said. Over time it could have cost us our distinctiveness, he
said.
Had Notre Dame joined the Big Ten, the school would have been one
of only two private universities in the conference, the smallest of the schools
by far, and the only school with a religious affiliation. The average
enrollment of schools in the conference is more than 37,000 students, nearly
four times Notre Dames 10,000.
The recent debate resurrected memories of a long and testy
relationship in former decades between the Big Ten and Notre Dame. For example,
in 1926, athletic director Knute Rockne expressed interest in conference
membership but was rebuffed. Under Rockne, Notre Dame, a small school in rural
Indiana filled with sons of Catholic immigrants, had established a national
football program.
Six years ago, the Big Ten approached Notre Dame, but the
university wasnt interested.
Some pointed out that the university stood to lose athletic funds
if it joined the Big Ten. Last year the conferences 11 teams split $19
million evenly with the five bowl teams and divided another $6 million among
themselves. Conference teams share gate receipts, revenue from a television
contract with ABC and other earnings.
Notre Dame currently keeps its gate receipts and gets about $7
million a year from its television contract with NBC. Notre Dames high
national visibility -- its games get high television ratings -- and its
independence, allowing it to pick its competitors, serve as major attractions
in recruiting players.
National Catholic Reporter, February 19,
1999
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