I will say with a straight face that ND is equal to or better than UI academically. The average ND grad makes 2X the UI grad in his/her lifetime. There is no comparison in the recruiting wars with itch on the wain and Paul Maineri now recognised as one of the best coaches/recruiters in the land. Simply put, the vast majority of Catholic kids in the U.S. grow up dreaming of playing at ND. ND is selling a super-regional probability while UI is close to the bottom of a very overrated conference.