As any president of an NCAA Division I college or university will tell you, the biggest challenge facing higher education in 2024 has nothing to do with protecting free speech and promoting civil discourse, or dealing with student use of AI/ChatGPT technology, or grappling with DEI controversies, or even maintaining enrollment.
Nope, it’s none of the above.
The biggest challenge, by far, is raising the huge sums of NIL money needed to pay a school’s star athletes in high-profile sports such as football and basketball.
Well, the University of Notre Dame has found a way.
Beginning in January 2025, Notre Dame will launch Fighting Irish Sweepstakes (FIS), the nation’s first sports-betting enterprise owned and operated by a university.
FIS will offer a full range of gambling opportunities that will directly compete with franchises such as DraftKings and FanDuel. Students, faculty, and staff at Notre Dame will not be permitted to place bets with any franchise other than FIS.
Individuals not affiliated with Notre Dame will also be welcome to wager with FIS. As Father Robert Dowd, the school’s President, put it in his weekly press conference, “FIS welcomes all of God’s children…and adults. In fact, our Theology Department will be offering plenary indulgences for every wager of $50 or more you make, regardless of your religious affiliation. If you don’t know what a ‘plenary indulgence’ is, please visit the FIS website. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
“FIS will extend generous lines of credit to its customers, with collections being handled by undergraduates in our Criminal Justice Department who are majoring in Undercover Operations and Inquisitions. In addition, any customer who develops a gambling addiction will receive free counseling (up to five sessions) from an intern in our master’s program in social work.”
When asked by a reporter if diving into the deep end of the gambling industry was a bit “unseemly” for a Catholic institution, Father Dowd replied, “I assume you’ve heard of parish Bingo nights, right? What did you think those were? And let’s be honest. When you look at some of the other mischief that the Church has let slide over the past several decades, what we’re doing in South Bend is small potatoes.
“They say ‘The Lord works in mysterious ways’, but jumping into this pool is a no-brainer. Every Saturday in the fall, The Almighty will be wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt and betting on the Irish to cover the spread. We invite you to join Him.”