Jack Swarbrick understands the opposing viewpoint here because he used to share it. Why does Notre Dame football, steeped in tradition as it is, ever need to wear something other than gold pants, a navy or white jersey and its iconic golden-domed helmets? The Fighting Irish brand should be too well-known and too powerful for that, even just for one or two games a year.
So why bother?
“I understand people who say you should never change the uniform,” says Swarbrick, who has been Notre Dame’s athletic director for 11 years and is a graduate of the university.