Alleged mission. At some point, the question needs to be asked, "Why are we here and what is it that we are ultimately trying to do?"
Folks like you will rationalize any of ND's participation and complicity with this hideous system that becomes grosser every season because, "We gotta be competitive with (insert football factory here)." Why is that, again? It will be 40 years since ND won a national championship before you know it. It's entirely possible that it will never again win a national championship. Big deal. Of course, ND could bring admission requirements for jocks down to SEC level, create Mickey Mouse majors, and do a whole battery of things to become Alabama North. Why don't you guys just advocate that? It's more honest. It's all about winning football games. That's the most important thing. Just say it.