However South Bend is very small and very cold

Theres nothing Charlie Weis or anyone at Notre Dame can do about that. 2) AcademicsSure, the athletic directors at the University of Florida or Penn State University will undoubtedly tell you that athletes face the same admission requirements as everyone else.But once again, lets be honest with ourselves The coaches at Florida, Penn State, LSU, etc. are going to have a much easier time getting that top-ranked high school linebackerwho also happens to be a D studentinto their programs than Charlie Weis will at Notre Dame. Its one of those dirty little secrets that are well not really a secret at all.In terms of academics, Notre Dame is an excellent school, which at the end of the day is more important than how far a 19-year-old can throw a football. However, stringent academic requirements and big-time college football dont always mesh well together. 3) South Bend, IndianaWith only 8,000 undergraduate students, Notre Dame is a small school, and its located in an even smaller town.Lets think about this for a moment. The top running back in the country goes on a recruiting trip to Notre Dame. The football game that he attends is, of course, an experience like none hes ever had before.However, South Bend is very small and very cold. The student population is also small and Notre Dame is not what youd consider to be a big party school The next week, that same top running back visits LSU The game is also a great experience.

Maybe its not quite like attending a football game at Notre Dame, but its still awesome in his eyes. Additionally, he sees 18,000 girls walking around in shorts and tank-tops in November, hes brought to a series of parties that are larger and more wild than anything hes ever imagined, and he sees first hand how the 30,000-strong student population worship their athletes as if they were Greek Gods.Older readers of this article might be thinking that theyd rather attend a strong academic school with a legendary football program like Notre Dame.OK, thats great.But we are talking about 18-year-old athletes who have nothing on their mind other than girls, parties, and making millions of dollars in the NFL.Which recruiting visit do you think is going to have a larger impact on that 18-year-old running back's decision Exactly.And once again, theres nothing that Charlie Weis or anyone else at Notre Dame can do about that.Theres no denying that Charlie Weis has not done the best job while at Notre Dame. However, Notre Dame Football has some serious issues that run far deeper than just the coach . Basic rule of thumb for all athletes: Be careful what you do, because someone will see it. In this day of 24-hour sports news coverage, Flip cams, cell phones that take video, and the Internet and YouTube, nothing will go unseen. University of New Mexico womens soccer team player Elizabeth Lambert didnt get the memo During a Nov. 5, 2009 Mountain West Conference semifinal game against Brigham Young University, Lambert, a junior, was involved in incredibly unsportsmanlike plays , including elbowing a girl in the back and pulling another player down by her ponytail.While she was involved in a number of heinous incidents on the field, she only received a yellow card.

The video footage of her actions has resulted in further disciplinary action, though, and made her one of the most infamous athletes in the country. ESPN aired the game footage as part of a highlight segment on SportsCenter, and the video was then posted on its YouTube page. To date, the video has been viewed 1,275,126 times and generated 1,889 user comments. No video from that same day has been watched even 8,000 times.