Irish Coming Home to Dallas?

In an attempt to return the school to its independent roots Notre Dame is going to schedule one home game a season at a neutral site beginning in 2009.

Athletic director Kevin White said that traveling to different parts of the country every year would help with recruiting and allow more Irish fans to have the opportunity to see the team play.

"I think over time we've really begun to behave like a wannabe conference member," White said. "I think it was real important for us to go back to our roots and behave more like an independent -- go back to the coach Rockne barnstorming era if you will."

White admitted that it won’t actually be a neutral site but a home game played away from South Bend against a soft opponent.

"We have enough heavyweights on the schedule," he said. "We need to have a schedule that's conducive to success."

The Irish aren’t trying to put together the most difficult schedule in the country but a successful one.

"We need to schedule in a way it puts us in a position to win national championships," he said. "We could have a great football team and schedule ourselves out of a championship. You can schedule yourself in, you can schedule yourself out. The last time I checked, the most important thing here is to try to win national championships."

Notre Dame is currently negotiating to play in Jacksonville and Orlando, FL, New Orleans and Dallas.