Notre Dame Football Makes A Sad Decision And We’re All Worse For It

Notre Dame just took its golden helmet and went home. 

It’s something we parents teach our children not to do. If something goes wrong, if you lose an important game, don’t quit. Yet, the famed football program, Touchdown Jesus and all, has chosen to do just that. They’ve chosen to quit like a petulant child.

The decision by the school came after officials announced the twelve teams for the 2025 College Football Playoffs. That list did not include the Fighting Irish. So, the school has said that if they aren’t going to be part of the playoffs, they won’t be part of any postseason play at all—that means no bowl game of any kind this year. 

Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah…and boo-boo to boot!

“As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” read a statement from the school on Sunday. “We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we’re hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”

Ranked in the top-10 near the end of the season, Notre Dame had expected to make the 2025 playoffs. Even though they were on the fringes after losing their first two games of the year, the school felt confident. Why? Well, it’s unclear, given that the school had already lost earlier in the season to the team that leapfrogged them, the University of Miami. 

But even if Notre Dame felt angry by the selection committee, even if the school thought it belonged in the playoffs, even if some football fans believe they got robbed—to take your ball and go home? That’s the pinnacle of poor sportsmanship. It’s also a rash decision the school will likely regret.  

What message does opting out of postseason play send? Isn’t the reason you field a football team so you can play football? Aren’t we teaching our student-athletes (NIL deals and all) that the game isn’t just about money, that it’s also about sportsmanship and fighting through the odds to do your absolute best? 

For the record: I agree that Notre Dame should have been in the 12-team playoff, but I felt the team that took their spot was Alabama, which seems to happen often! But all sympathy for the Irish was lost when they decided to…QUIT.

Of course, the world is never going to do right by a person or program every single time. But to respond to that with a cold and immature “we’re out” creates a slippery slope. Just ask the head coach for another historic Irish program. 

Boston Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla said he would never throw in the towel under any circumstance—to do so is disrespectful to the game. “You sign up in the NBA because of the purity of the competition,” said Coach Mazzulla. “It’s unfair to look at it any other way.” 

Translation: You don’t only suit up if you can win, you suit up for the chance to participate in the game, itself. 

Heading into the 2025-26 NBA season, expectations were murky for the Celtics. They had won a title in 2024, but at the end of last season, the team’s best player Jayson Tatum went down with a torn Achilles injury. Some thought he’d be out for over a year. In the wake of that news, Mazzulla and the Celtics could have folded, could have packed it in, could have sat their players or phoned-in the season. Instead, they chose a different route. 

Now, they’re the third seed in the East, in line for homecourt advantage in the first round if the playoffs were to start today.

However, Notre Dame’s athletic director Pete Bevacqua is not Coach Mazzulla. Shocked over the weekend that his team was held out of the playoffs, even though Miami had an identical 10-2 record as Notre Dame, the outraged Bevacqua said, “There is no explanation that could possibly be given to explain the outcome.”

Really? None?

“We feel like the playoff was stolen from our student-athletes,” he added. 

As Bevacqua continues his protest and finger-pointing, the outcome for everyone else is just unfortunate. Players, coaches and fans will now miss out on what could have been one more game together. Worse, Bevacqua is teaching his students the one thing football is supposed to guard against—that quitting is okay. 

It’s just sad.