Welcome to Notre Dame's Modern Golden Age

Notre Dame is a unique place. Unlike most "blue blood" football schools, football has never been king in South Bend. The administration and the football program haven't always been on the same page regarding the needs of the program in order to consistently compete at the top of the sport.

Whether it be a lack of financial resources, modern facilities, or academic help, it's been clear that more support could come from the administration than has over the decades.

Notre Dame Football's Modern Golden Age

This dynamic has long been written and talked about, with each coach going back to Frank Leahy until now fighting certain battles with the university to provide better long-term football viability.

Over time, this has caused resentment between the football side and the administrative side; just ask Brian Kelly about it. The reality is that it's already hard to win at Notre Dame. The job only gets harder without full support from the powers that be.

But this is all now a thing of the past. Now, every part of the Notre Dame institution is pulling from the same end of the rope to support football. For the first time in my life, all boxes are being checked. Let's examine in what ways and why this has happened.

Why has Notre Dame decided to go "all in" on football?

To me, there are two answers to this question. First, Notre Dame had a decision when NIL became legal a few years back. Play the "keep up with the Joneses" game and pay what it now takes to compete, or become more of an Ivy League school and never compete for a title again.

Notre Dame chose to compete. This is an all-or-nothing proposition. There is no going halfway on this project. Irish brass knows that. And have delivered in many ways that I once thought were never going to come to fruition.

The second part of this equation has to do with Marcus Freeman. Yes, the university has realized it must modernize off the field to keep up with where the sport is headed, but its belief in Marcus Freeman and the direction of this program makes it easier to sign off on some big moves.

The administration believes in Freeman. It trusts Freeman. And perhaps most importantly, it likes him. And in return, this program is being set up for long-term sustained elite success.

Let's go over some of the biggest changes we've seen that demonstrate how, for once, the administration and football sides are fully on the same side.