It’s been said this is a tradition and a hallowed one that shouldn’t change. No player names on the backs of Notre Dame’s jerseys has existed for the majority of the program’s history although that could be changing soon. And it would be a change that is long overdue.
The blue-collar mentality epitomized by the Lou Holtz era was embedded in Notre Dame culture to such an extent that it’s taken multiple decades for it to fade away. The days may be coming to an end when Irish fans instinctively understand that Holtz taking off the jersey names was a valiant decision.
First, a quick history of NOB (Name on Back) for Notre Dame football for some additional context:
1887 – 1913: Nothing, not even player numbers existed. RIP to the stat keepers.
1914 – 1968: Player Numbers with NNOB (No Name on Back).
1969 – 1974: Nameplates used for bowl games in 1969, 1972, and 1974.
1975 – 1976: Nameplates for all games.
1977: Nameplates on the road, vs. MSU at home, and for the 1978 Cotton Bowl.
1978: Nameplates for 4 of 7 home games, all road games, and the 1979 Cotton Bowl.
1979: Nameplates for 3 of 7 home games and 2 of 4 road games.
The first time ND wore nameplates was during the ’70 Cotton Bowl.
1980: Only some players wearing nameplates for the 1981 Sugar Bowl.
1981 – 1985: Nameplates in all games except USC 1983 and 2nd half of USC 1985.
1986 – 2007: No nameplates, except for the 1988 Cotton Bowl.
2008 – 2020: No nameplates, except for bowl games in 08, 10-14, and 17-20.
Now, here’s why nameplates should be on Notre Dame’s jerseys starting in 2021 and forever:
1) We’ve Moved Past the Blue Collar Fetish
It’s not about the name on the back it’s about the name on the front! Well, for Notre Dame it would be more the name on the shoulder sleeves, but I digress. Anyway, I’m not sure the culture today believes the sappy blue collar fetishizing that persisted for so many years, particularly in South Bend.
There’s a local coach on Facebook in my town who constantly posts stuff like, “A coach is there to teach you about life”, “A coach doesn’t care about your feelings”, “kids don’t try as hard as they used to” and whines about participation trophies. This is a guy who loves no nameplates. It sends a message!
I think it’s time we accept the fact that college football players can embrace all of the ideals of hard working team members while also having their names printed on their jerseys. Refusing to grant this very normal aspect to D-1 college football feels, not necessarily backwards, but living in a past that doesn’t exit.
2) Let’s Look Professional
I will die on this hill if forced. The lack of nameplates looks cheap and amateurish. It looks like Notre Dame went to manufacture their jerseys and ran out of money. It’s a pee-wee football, dime store look.
Styles can change but football played at a high level has meant wearing your name on the back of your jersey for over 50 years. It represents class and an honor that player’s have earned by reaching a certain level of the game. Plus, USC and Penn State are other national programs to do this and we should not be associating with them in this regard.
Ironically, this is the excuse offered in recent years to use nameplates during bowl games–that the players earned them and it’s a special treat for them with their families in attendance. Using that logic I think the nameplates should be more than a treat, they should be used for every game.
3) Information is Good!
Let’s start with a quiz. Can you name the Notre Dame players associated with these jersey numbers? I’ve included all seniors except for one player who is younger:
#5
#18
#41
#55
#75
What percentage of Irish fans can name all 5 off memory? I’d honestly love to see a study done because I think the vast majority of fans would struggle mightily with player numbers after the biggest 5 or 6 stars on the team. It’s also a lot more common for players to switch numbers (we have new freshman numbers for 2021 while about 20% of the remaining roster changed numbers) in recent years which makes identification even more difficult.
Of course, nameplates don’t solve this problem entirely but they do help a ton. Most shots on television show at least a partial view of a player jersey name and in person they are incredibly useful. Nameplates are also important for kids to learn players and their names, too. Think about the children!
4) NIL Implications
Recently, we have witnessed college football players selling their own personal merchandise including branded logos and everything. Quite literally, more power to you but I’m really skeptical that this type of gear is going to have much of a market. I know I’m not in a hurry to buy a branded logo for a player who hasn’t even become a starter yet.
However, in this atmosphere can jerseys without nameplates continue to exist in the Name Image Likeness era?
You can log onto Hammes Bookstore right now and buy a No. 12 Notre Dame jersey without a nameplate. Should Ian Book be getting a cut of those sales? Do you need his name on there to give money to him? How long after he’s done playing should Notre Dame be selling a name-less No. 12 jersey?
When it comes to more school-issued gear an additional collection of player images and names has to be in the cards, right? I’m not really into wearing jerseys these days but I’d probably buy a tee-shirt jersey of a different player every 2 or 3 years and wear it a lot more often than an expensive jersey.
Adding nameplates and increasing the recognition for the players feels like a win for everyone. Several schools (including Alabama and Ohio State) have already signed deals providing group licensing opportunities for their athletes whereby players and former players can utilize NIL deals in conjunction with official school branding. The time for blank nameplates on jersey’s appears to be over.
Quiz Answers:
#5 Cam Hart
#18 Joe Wilkins
#41 Kurt Hinish
#55 Jarrett Patterson
#75 Josh Lugg
I’ve been in favor of this for a long time, and I’m usually the guy who knows all the players’ numbers by the end of the 2nd game anyway! Every time I watch a game with family/friends I spend every 4th or 5th play explaining which player missed a tackle or made a great block. It’s dumb.
And now with the NIL implications, this should become pretty obvious to everybody involved with the program. If you don’t have the nameplates, this just becomes another way other schools can recruit against us. Other schools are going to do everything in their power to get their players paid; ND has to do the same.
Just look at BYU; they’ve already figured out how to get around the scholarship cap by having a local business sponsor full tuition payments for ALL of their walk-ons. ND can’t afford to fall behind here because of something as silly as not having names on their jerseys.
Tuition is like $5k to go to BYU because their church subsidizes much of the cost (must be nice, eh?). Not really a big deal in that instance. It’s not like they have 4 or 5 stars who have the academics to go through the normal admission process and they’re skirting the scholarship rule, it’s just nice for them that their scout team gets their school paid for.
We’re a month into NIL and a non-powerhouse is doing this. I bet Alabama picks up a few 3 stars next year as “walk-ones” who immediately get sponsored tuition. I would not be surprised to see a dozen P5 schools effectively add 5+ scholarship players to their rosters in the near future.
You think someone is going to pay $30k per year for a 3-star prospect? And that said players at a public, state university are going to go through the admission process like a normal student and get in without the waivers and football process helping?
Doesn’t make sense for ROI, doesn’t make sense for the kid. They’re not going to pay $120k up front for a three star kid, and what’s to say the boosters don’t drop a 3* kid after a year or two if he gets hurt or isn’t doing much? Better to get a full ride or at least of a gray shirt/medical situation forced out the door the school takes care of the kid..
And why in the world would boosters pay for a 3* when Bama gets exclusively 4 and 5 stars who are better and going to be playing ahead of 3*’s anyways?
Makes zero sense. The BYU thing is an anomaly where you have an excessively cheap school, and religious ties that gives a reason for why it comes together.
Yes, I think someone is going to pay $30k per year for a 3-star prospect; if Saban asks a booster to do it, they will do it. In all of the years Saban has been at Alabama, there is one single year where he recruited fewer than three 3-star prospects; they don’t get “exclusively 4 and 5 stars.”
Also, BYU has 36 walk ons that are being sponsored. Their sponsor is going to be paying out more than $100,000 per year.
So yeah, if BYU can get a $100,000+ sponsor for their walk ons, I think Alabama can get a $12,000 per year (in state) or $32,000 per year (out of state) sponsor for a walk on easily.
Do they have the money and funds to sponsor a walk on? Sure, that’s believable, if still a stretch and poor usage of money.
Will they be able to meaningful scholarship manipulation by large programs skirting rules to have boosters pay for extra players who are not even as good as 90% of their scholarship players that will end up creating an athletic advantage? I doubt that a lot.
It just doesn’t make rational or reasonable sense for the booster, kids or program, really. Better for all to spend that money on actually good players who will be playing.
And even if that comes to pass, that still leaves no answer for:
–How many of the average 3* football player have the ability to apply for a school and gain entrance without the football program’s waivers? What happened at BYU (a private school) for existing walk-ons is not going to be the same as public schools. What happens if the kid doesn’t get admitted and it’s after signing day and most all the scholarships are already signed? Bad risk on his part.
–Why would a marginal recruit accept tuition money to pay for a scholarship at Bama instead of a different school’s actual scholarship? A full, guaranteed ride elsewhere for a 3* kid is way more attractive and firm of an offer, with a better chance to not be player #86 on the roster, at that.
–The BYU business isn’t really “paying the tuition” to the school, they’re paying the kid and what he does with it is up to him. So is a sponsor going to pay one year worth of tuition? All 4 years? What happens if the kid gets paid up front, doesn’t pay and goes into the portal and the sponsor has paid him and the kid has spent it? What happens if the kid gets hurt and the sponsor doesn’t pay next year’s bill? One party, or potentially both parties can burn the others, and that wouldn’t be lost on anyone
For those reasons just skimming the surface, it doesn’t make a ton of sense, nor look like an actual way for teams to get extra players of substance.
2021 3 Star WR J’Kolbe Bulock is going to Bama as a walk-on with no tuition payment from a sponsor.
2020 3 Star DT Kyle Mann is attending Bama as a walk-on with no tuition payment from a sponsor.
2020 Punter Sam Rayborn, the #15 punter per Kohl’s, is attending Bama as a walk-on with no tuition payment from a sponsor.
ND has a scholarship long snapper. Bama has multiple preferred walk-on long snappers. One of them will be the starter this year.
These are just the guys I found from a quick google search. So how many average 3 star football players have the ability to enter without waivers? At least 2 for Alabama in the past 2 years? Why would a marginal recruit go to Bama instead of taking a guaranteed scholarship? I’m not sure, but it has happened at least 2 times in the past 2 years.
And to answer your final question: no, I don’t think that the sponsors will care about these players at all. I think at the first sign that they aren’t getting the access that Saban/the school promised, or the first time a player doesn’t do exactly what they ask them to do for advertising, they will just drop out of the sponsorship program, and it will suck for the player.
I think this discussion of “will a booster sponsor a scholarship for the 86th best player” misses the point and the opportunity that this creates. For ND the potential isn’t to beg a donor for one more three star to cap off a class, the potential is that you can take 23 guys, a few of them three stars, fill your class, and keep chasing the late deciding 4 and 5 stars really hard.
Then the booster steps up and pays the way for the highly ranked recruit who in the past we may have only half-heartedly pursued because of the number crunch it would cause. What would the roster look like with 91 scholarship players, but instead of adding 6 more three stars you’re picking up 3 extra late-committing top-100 players every 2 years? Would probably look good to me.
Yep that’s definitely going to be something that happens too; the way ND has handled that in the past is to say “dang, our class has filled up, we need to just stop pushing for the home runs.” The way Alabama has handled that in the past is to say “hey 3 star, you’re going to have to take a gap year because we found a 4 star. We have a spot for you in next year’s class. Either take that offer or go elsewhere.”
My point wasn’t so much a player has never chosen to walk on at a great school over a smaller program, that’s happened. Happened for Notre Dame with a 4 star JD Bertrand. Is that ND skirting the 85 player rule? Kinda, in a way. But they also didn’t move heaven and earth to fit him at first and would have been OK without him, which also kinda reinforces the point that coaches tend to get who and what they want already.
The BYU walk on situation is more of a unique anomaly and not a sign of a massive landscape shift that is going to get big programs paid walk ons enough to the point of reshaping the competitive balance or power structure any further than it already is.
This take is bold and correct. Another tangent from #3: the spring game is particularly terrible to watch when it’s a bunch of new guys (or guys with new numbers) and you have no idea who is doing what. I don’t like having to consult the ND football page website when I’m watching the game, which is invariably the case then and is often the case for at least the first few games of the season.
Who cares, just put the names on the jerseys. The bowl game jerseys look better anyways.
It’s even worse when you are trying to watch a game at a bar and can’t hear the announcers tell you who did what.
Yes! And not just at a bar! As anybody with young kids knows, you can’t hear the TV dialogue half the time over the normal house chaos. We can’t take a break from parenting to watch the game, it’s a full time gig. And that’s fine! I switched to subtitles when my first one hit noisy toddler age, but subtitles lag so much that trying to read them absolutely ruins any fast-paced sporting event on TV. I’ve been wishing for nameplates for years, and when NIL was announced my first thought was that I hope this pushes ND to go to nameplates. Strongly agree.
Nintendo Switch and Fire Tablets are your friend, man.
— Signed, Dad of the Year ’20
Point 4 (NIL) is the most important and crucial one. Names on the back enhances the player profile. Good for everyone, hurts no one. Like nd09 said, it’s a real pain in the ass not knowing who is who at times for the fans. But besides us, the more friendly it is for the player, the better it will be for the program. No brainer decision, IMO.
I really like the look of the NNOB but the NIL will really be enhanced if the players have their name on the back. I would think that the players would want their names on the back. Maybe let the team vote on it from year to year?
I’ve always found this branch of whining particularly funny and annoying. I think it was derived about my generation (geriatric millennial).
I just remember me and my 8 year old friends talking about our favorite trophy shops, how we’d spend hours on a Saturday afternoon gazing at the newest trophy magazines and always begging our parents for new trophies.
Uniform changes, don’tmove me. Case in point the Leftrechaun was not offensive, just meh. I like the NNOB look though.
But Yep, agree here.
NNOB was competitive differentiator for recruiting – ND was different a team with no names and an NBC contract. The competitive landscape has changed, all teams have all their games televised and now, with NIL, names are important.
And I failed 2/5 (Hinish & Patterson) on the jersey numbers.
Definitely need names for #3 reason. Sure I know the numbers of the top 15 guys returning, but the next 15-25 names takes a couple more games at least unless I sit down with a roster to look it up everytime X player makes a play.
And agree with NIL.
So get those names out there to help the fan and help the player.
To further support point #3, Cam Hart & Joe Wilkins are both #5. Chance Tucker is #18.
You beat me to it, I was going to mention this
I cheated and looked at the roster to figure out who is wearing #18 now. I was pretty certain it wasn’t Duval Kamara, but I still had to check to be sure.
This is a really good set of points and a interesting, underrated discussion to delve into.
I think points 1-3 are reasonable opinions but not sure I buy # 1. Probably a bit hyperbolic to say folks are fetishizing a blue collar mentality. The tone suggests it’s archaic or even regressive but one could equally say it promotes community and equity, both forward thinking ideals. Additionally, last time I saw USC play they didn’t have name plates. Southern cal doesn’t strike me as a blue collar place that fetishizes that mentality. In fact possibly the opposite. Sidepoint, There’s been a weird unexplainable backlash the past 5 years to anything Holtz liked or did during his years. Idk
Unprofessional?.I can see that. But Sometimes it looks tacky if long names are smashed together. A clean, plain look without too much going on has a classic appeal.
The last point is the primary reason and most trenchant. Players work hard and are asked so much of by the college. If they are to make any money from this, it seems only fair to give this option to help promote their likeness.
Here is my take:
(1) While you framed it as a blue collar mentality, I think that it is a small taste of tradition combined with a focus on the team (I don’t mind this at all)
(2) I actually think that the jerseys without names look cleaner and more professional
(3) I will admit to having to look up a name/number or two during the first couple of games each year
(4) To me, this is the main argument — if names on jerseys will help with recruiting due to NIL, then do it. However, is it really going to make that big of an impact?
We also have to wonder what the carbon footprint of adding more synthetic material to jerseys is. Silly question at first glance, but can we truly afford to cut corners here?
I don’t know what to make of this comment.
I second this, spider man.
As for Eric’s number 1, Chris Zorich must be shaking his head at him, wondering what the hell is that all about.
Could just be me growing up watching ND football, but no nameplates always seemed to me to be a cleaner, more collegiate look, as opposed to looking like a bad pro team.
I disagree that NOBs are needed, just because I think the uniforms actually do look better without them. I’m not very moved by the ‘no one knows who anybody is’ argument because if someone does something they’ll get mentioned on the broadcast anyway, and within a game and a half any fan of the team should have at least a working knowledge of the relevant players’ numbers.
However, it’s not something I feel strongly about at all and if they end up making the switch at some point, it’s fine.
Having a working knowledge of the relevant players’ numbers after a game and a half is a pretty low bar. Wouldn’t you rather immediately have a pretty good sense of who everyone on the field is?
I think a lack of NOB is worse for bigger fans. Average fans might not care as much about knowing who is making great plays (especially if not the ball carrier or tackler), they just care about the result of a play. I want to be able to figure out who did what on every play, especially when young backups are in the game.
ND also hasn’t exactly been loaded with great announcers over the years. Relying on them wasn’t ideal when Flutie would just say the wrong players name.
For some reason, I have zero memory for players numbers. Across all sports. Only two I can say off hand are Fedorov was 91 and Yzerman was 19 on the Red Wings. I was going to say that I also knew Mark Buehrle was 55 and Paul Konerko was 15, but they were 56 and 14, respectively. No clue why this is since I have no problem memorizing other stats, but iconic player number association I never had even for favorite teams.
Ahem… Joe Wilkins is now #5 also.
They keep changing!
Boo. Boo to all this. I don’t care if it makes me the youngest boomer, white knuckle gripping a Coors in my recliner yelling about Those Damn Kids, but I hate the idea of ND adding names to the jerseys permanently. Since apparently no ones care about an argument based on tradition or a team-first mentality, the jerseys look much cleaner and more streamlined without names, and adding them only for the post season makes it that much more of a special event.
I also don’t buy the NIL argument. If a player is going to make enough money off endorsements for it to matter, people will know what number he is. Does anyone think that, just because the names weren’t displayed, fans didn’t know when Michael Floyd, Jaylon Smith, or Ian Book were on the field? Keeping the status quo would in no way stop the bookstore from selling t shirt jerseys with a player’s name on the back; I just don’t see how that demands a change to the uniforms.
Names on jersey are a great idea and it should happen sooner than later. Screw tradition …. tradition is nothing more then peer pressure by a lot of dead people.
Could also be the wisdom of dead people, who knows
Looking for an image of G.K. Chesterton with glowing eyes.
here you go
I think in the NIL era–where the greatest visibility for players from the public comes during games–can we expect NNOB to continue?
We can debate if it will or not, but personally I have a hard time believing “it doesn’t look as good” will be a strong enough driving factor when there’s money and NIL rights involved.
You can also look up the team roster in a matter of seconds on your smart phone….
IMO, this just strengthens my point(s).
I mean based on the arguments put forth in the article, we should also get rid of the “play like a champion today” sign:
How does the PLACT sign embody blue-collar fetishism?
Also, ND wore nameplates years before that sign became a tradition, FWIW.
Well how do no names embody blue collar? They really don’t. But framing makes a difference because there’s enough ambiguity here that you can get away with it. Same with PLACT. It implies the idea of going to work everyday and doing your best no matter what. To be “tough”, etc… all these blue collar platitudes.
Holtz removed the player names in an effort to instill discipline and emphasize team effort over individual effort. The same type of thing lives on today throughout the country in coach’s wearing hard hats, team’s carrying lunch pals, knocking down concrete blocks, only giving out certain numbers, taking away numbers altogether, etc.
Yes, NNOB isn’t quite as silly or blue collar fetishizing as other things we see across the country, but it’s from the same tree. The PLACT sign isn’t similar, in my opinion.
NNOB to emphasize team over the individual infers that NOB is against playing as a team or that it’s more difficult to work hard as a team with names on your jerseys, which is incredibly dumb, and I think the culture in the country has changed where we tend to roll our eyes at (pretty silly) symbolic gestures toward the team over the individual with blue collar overtones.
Nick Saban on uniforms, after being taunted about Oregon having over 100 uniform combinations:
”We have two jerseys, red for home games, white for away. Here, we care more about who’s in them.”
I don’t think he has a fetish about what the uniforms look like, Eric.
Fact, since he became coach at Bama, he’s won 40% of the national championships. Guess he’s a credible voice?
But I’ve been told you need ghastly color combinations for to get The Kids These Days interested.
I didn’t write an article about ‘ghastly color combinations’ are nameplates included in this horror?
What’s that on the back of Alabama’s jerseys?
Of course, a similar quote could be found by the vast majority of Power 5 programs, including Brian Kelly, many of whom wear tradition-based uniforms.
I also didn’t write an article about multiple uniform combinations.
Further, if Alabama is like Notre Dame with traditional uniforms and yet they have nameplates….does this not strengthen my point?
It does indeed! I guess to some putting names on the back is in the same bucket as having 7 different neon colored helmets per season, but there’s a pretty reasonable level of difference and nuance in play.
Murt over here playing facts, getting all the old-timers and cold-takers riled up.
New idea: players allowed to have their names on their backs like 99% of D1 college + pro teams in exchange for replacing the field with real grass and ripping out the video board.
This is how WWIII starts.
I did not predict this level of controversy on this topic.
Some men just like to watch the world burn
OK, new proposal: players get their name on the back, but only if they can successfully complete the fight song.
https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/1429546740475211776
Oh dear.
The point is the uniforms don’t really matter one way or the other. Some want names, some don’t.
I don’t care if ND wears tutus if we win the NC. I’d even settle for a playoff game win at this point.
Okay, thanks kiwifan.
Yeah, too bad that Lou guy never amounted to anything more than a try-hard, right?
Holtz is a legend, why are you so sensitive about this??
Heck, I probably would’ve loved Holtz’ decision back in ’86 about taking the nameplates off. Time and place, etc.
I just think we’ve largely moved on as a culture, especially at Notre Dame in 2021, from such motivational tactics and when presented with my other points it’s clearly time for nameplates again.
Sorry for the late response. I work in a covid ICU, and it has been super busy as you all may know…anyway..
I suppose I was using the PLACT as just an example of how I can take these somewhat ambiguous ideals, frame them with a particular tone and then provide a seemingly cogent argument. Though the irony of names plates is that it does sorta embrace the individual, autonomous, deciding for yourself attitude (doing what’s best for you)- actually regressive ideals, I’m told, at the cultural level.
I think your reasoning was well intentioned and honest, so please don’t feel I am suggesting you presented in bad faith. I’m just not sure the whole blue collar, “culture”, ‘we’re like totally soooo past this as a society’ angle holds much water. And of course its incredibly dumb. I mean most of what football is, at its core, incredibly dumb. I appreciate your attempt to sort of be the progressive Irish fan who embraces forward thinking ideals. But dude. Its football. Its over the top. Its hyper masculine. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t have to. And that will probably never change.