Tim Brown may have been unique in that he might have been influenced by Notre Dame’s Bowl Appearances, which began after the ’69 season, with the ’70 Cotton Bowl.
When Notre Dame broke the 45 year self-imposed boycott of the bowls, it did so in Dallas. In the ’70 ,’71. ’78 and ’79 Cotton Bowls, when the Irish went a respectable 3-1, the Irish and their accompanying throng were all over Dallas and the Cotton Bowl located on its Fairgrounds. A young Tim Brown may have noticed. And when Gerry Faust’s staff came a-courtin’, Tim Brown was aware of the Fighting Irish and their fanatical followers.