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Tim Brown emerged as a Notre Dame football legend in the mid-1980s, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1987 as the Lou Holtz-led team went 8-4.
The college football landscape then is a far cry from what it is now. Name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, the transfer portal and conference realignment have been among the factors to grip the college football world over the last few years.
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Tim Brown of Notre Dame won the 1987 Heisman Trophy. (Getty Images/File)
Brown told Fox News Digital that he believes it’s turned into the “wild, Wild West.”
“It seems like they’ve broken away from the NCAA already and doing their own thing,” he said when asked whether he could see college football separating from the NCAA. “I don’t know what it would be if they didn’t have the little bit of ruling with the NCAA over their head at this particular point.
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Notre Dame’s Tim Brown (John Biever/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images/File)
“I think it’s a wild, Wild West out there. I don’t necessarily think it’s a good thing. Yeah, they talk about people getting paid and all this, but there’s no loyalty anymore. You got to recruit these guys every year, not just to get them to come to your college. You got to recruit them every year because if you don’t, they’re going to get in the portal. I just think it’s a mess, man, to be honest with you. Maybe if I was there and getting paid a couple hundred thousand dollars, maybe I wouldn’t think so. But from my standpoint, it seems like a mess.”
Brown had 137 catches for 2,493 yards and 12 touchdowns in four years with Notre Dame. He later turned pro and had a Hall of Fame career with the Raiders.
Notre Dame alumni and Pro Football Hall of Famers Tim Brown, left, and Jerome Bettis are shown on the Notre Dame sideline during the Shamrock Series game between the Fighting Irish and the Brigham Young Cougars at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Oct. 8, 2022. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
He spoke to Fox News Digital ahead of the Invited Celebrity Classic later this week, which runs from April 19 through April 21. It takes place at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas, and can be seen on the GOLF Channel.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
