Finally, we’re codifying the 95 Theses. Next step is nailing them to do the doors of the Main Building.

To go line by line:

1. The uniforms. It’s not OK to whore out our uniforms for money and to “impress recruits.” It’s not OK to wear black, or to misuse the green jerseys.

Considering how the jersey’s have changed multiple times over the years, what do you define as the traditions of the jersey? Still though, we agree with the main point that at ND stadium, 99.9% of the time, they should be plain Gold helmets, Blue jerseys, and Gold pants

But what’s wrong with taking the green jerseys from a “motivating” factor, of which they clearly had lost that mystique, to a annual tradition for the off-site game?

2. No Jumbotron.

That’s not a tradition. That’s just a matter of preference.

3. No artificial turf.

Same as the Jumbotron. It’s a matter of preference. Notre Dame played on natural grass for this long because that’s what was the best option. No wants a Veterans Stadium carpet installed in ND stadium.

4. No more skyboxes to generate revenue.

Once again, preference over tradition. No one in the world considers the decision to have skyboxes as a tradition. Incorporate them in a classy way and no one will complain. In fact, we’d rather they build classy skyboxes to move the gold seats ticket holders away from directly behind the benches

5. Blasting awful music far too often to generate noise (I am actually somewhat OK with doing this on a handful of plays a game).

We agree that it was a traditional to have only the band pump up the stadium. And we were iffy on this working at ND stadium. The pre-kickoff music definitely has livened up the stadium. The 3rd down music has been hit or miss but significantly improved about the USC/Crazy Train debacle. We also agree that we don’t want music on every play. The band is there, use them whenever possible.

6. Not allowing JUCO transfers to bolster roster holes.

When people ask us about the traditions of Notre Dame football, this is approximately #109023489 on the list. The fact is most jucos are at a junior college because of there academics. That’s sounds snobby but it’s essentially true. That’s the biggest reason ND will never fill roster holes with Jucos. If we had rosters holes and there was a slew of Konrad Reuland’s at a junior college, ND would definitely sign a couple of them.

7. Maintaining an appropriate, but not draconian, disciplinary program that is applied equally to athletes and non-athletes alike, controlled by the school, not the coach.

We agree. It had definitely gotten too draconian but starting with Ragone’s arrest 2 springs ago, it has gotten much better.

8. No special training table for athletes.

While it was nice to have the players full be apart of the student body, the fact is that not having a training tables was significantly harming the program. As long as athlete only dorms don’t start popping up on campus, this is a tradition we would be willing to “sacrifice” to help Notre Dame compete on the national stage.

9. No academic “free passes” for any athlete (though we can take into consideration one’s contribution to the overall community within reason — not everyone needs to be a bookworm).

10. No offering of easy pass majors to athletes.
11. High graduation rate for athletes.

While #9 is an ideal tradition, the standards for football players compared to the regular student body have been significantly lower for years. As long the #10 & 11 stay true, we’ll worry less about the admission standards.

12. No recruiting or playing of thugs and criminals (no, this doesn’t include “high energy” guys, or athletes with relatively minor infractions…I’m talking about 1980s Miami type players).

Well, obviously.