It’s now been three years in a row without a trip to the NCAA Tournament for Notre Dame. That’s something that new GM Pat Garrity is hoping to quickly find a way to change.
One major challenge that Garrity knows he’s going to need to address if he wants to get the program back on track is NIL. It’s now massively important to how rosters are built in college athletics, and he knows Notre Dame needs a good approach to it to succeed.
“This summer, I think, is maybe a bad example to develop any thoughts on it,” Pat Garrity said. “Because it was probably the most unregulated that it’ll ever be. You had kind of the ending of the collective era and everyone preparing for the revenue-sharing era.”
Pat Garrity is referencing the House Settlement. Once that is approved, there will be revenue sharing with student-athletes coming to college athletics. NIL is likely going to morph again in some way at that point, though it will still exist alongside that revenue sharing.
This means there are more factors for athletes to consider when choosing a school. Garrity wants to emphasize those decisions and what someone puts value on. That means emphasizing long-term value besides the immediate financial value.
“I think the larger perspective that I have on it is there are a lot of student-athletes that are making good decisions for them, that they’re rewarded financially,” Garrity said. “But they’re also gonna get through college connected to a place and being remembered at a place. And I think there are a lot of people that are making short-term decisions that maybe financially look good now, but maybe looking back in 10 years, they’re asking, ‘What am I left with? Where was really my home? What am I remembered for?’”
Garrity acknowledged that the financial aspect is real and a part of how things are going to be dealt with moving forward. Still, he thinks that the best way to sell a program is still with what it can offer besides the money.
“So, I think that’s one of the big things that we gotta focus on here, just in terms of retention, is just selling the point that there’s the money aspect of this thing. It’s just a reality in college sports right now, but there’s more to that. Being remembered as an all-time great at a college means something when you hang it up, eventually,” Garrity said. “And, so I think that we have to be able to demonstrate to our student-athletes that we can get you there, and that’s ultimately the important thing. And that includes bringing the past all-time greats around to get that message across.”
Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Pat Garrity played at Notre Dame and in the NBA. He’d later go on to work in the Detroit Pistons front office, including as the assistant general manager. Now, he hopes to bring the Irish back to prominence.