It was the luck of the Devils that set up a meeting with the Irish.
Duke football will be taking advantage of a new rule that allows Division I-A teams to schedule 12 regular season games, beginning in 2006. The Blue Devils have already used the additional slot to arrange a trip to South Bend to take on Notre Dame during the 2007 campaign.
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors passed the 12th-game measure by an 8-2 margin in April. The ACC was the only conference from which representatives opposed the proposal in both the Management Council and Board of Directors. Nevertheless, many ACC teams, including Duke, are expected to utilize the extra-game option now that it has passed.
Duke Associate Athletic Director Chris Kennedy said that the program is still searching for a 12th opponent for the 2006 season, an unusual situation since football matchups are normally slated several years in advance.
“We try to schedule schools that are comparable to us, academically and athletically,” Kennedy said. “Believe it or not, scheduling a football game now for 2006 is very short notice.”
The Notre Dame visit means national television exposure—all of Notre Dame’s home games are televised by NBC—and a likely large payout for the program.
Some question the feasibility of the Blue Devils, who finished 2-9 last year, keeping up with the second-winningest Division I-A program in history. Kennedy, however, said he does not expect the matchup—the fourth overall between the two schools but the first since 1966—to be one-sided.
“We definitely believe that even before and certainly by 2007 we are going to be competitive with high-caliber teams like Notre Dame,” Kennedy said.
The Fighting Irish may not be the only prominent opponent scheduled by Duke in the future, as the availability of an extra game has allowed greater non-conference options. Kennedy said that his optimistic outlook towards the football program’s development has been reinforced by interest in playing at Duke from upper-echelon programs.
“Teams that usually would want us to come to them for a one-game deal are starting to look for a home and home, which says a lot about how our program is starting to be viewed from the outside,” Kennedy said.
Such interest may not have been present if not for the new legislation. Under the previous rule, a 12th regular-season game could only be played when the calendar allotted 14 Saturdays between the set start and finish dates of the schedule, a situation that occurred in 2002 and 2003 but was not slated to appear again until 2008. Kennedy said Duke already had 12 games in place for 2008 before the rule change.
The adopted rule allows schools to schedule the additional game even when only 13 Saturdays are available, eliminating a bye week for teams who choose to play the 12th game. The benefits of the 12th contest cited by supporters include increased flexibility in scheduling and additional revenue created by another game.
“I think it provides an option for those schools and conferences that choose to have the extra game, but at the same time it doesn’t require anyone to do so,” Board of Directors member Sidney McPhee said before the meetings. “If you look at the football season with the basketball or soccer seasons, it is not a very long season in comparison, so I don’t think it keeps our athletes out of the classroom for too long.”
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