Articles of Interest

Pac-10 Threats are Empty

Posted on 3 December 2000:

OK, bad news everybody: the Bowl Championship Series is in trouble. All the controversy surrounding the selection process could mean that the BCS will not exist past 2006.

No, I am not talking about Florida State being ranked higher than Miami - a team that beat the Seminoles in the regular season. I am talking about a much more pressing concern.

The Pac-10 may not re-sign the BCS contract after it expires in 2006.

Yes, the Pac-10, the conference that sent 8-3 Stanford to the Rose Bowl last year is upset with the BCS system.

In a Los Angeles Times article Wednesday, Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen said that if Oregon State were not chosen for the Fiesta Bowl, he would consider withdrawing the Pac-10 from the BCS.

"The Pac-10 may be better off going back to the Rose Bowl and forgetting the rest," Hansen said to the Los Angeles Times. "I wouldn't want to continually subject our teams to the anticipation of being selected and fairly considered when it just doesn't happen."

Hansen almost has a legitimate complaint this year. The Pac-10 has somehow managed to place three teams in the top 10 of the BCS.

Washington is ranked fourth and headed to the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10 champion. Oregon State is ranked sixth at 10-1 while Oregon is 10th with a 9-2 record.

Hansen is angry that Oregon State may not get a BCS bid despite being one of seven Div. 1-A teams with a 10-1 record. But look a little closer and you will see that Oregon State beat a couple of cupcakes, a few Twinkies and a cream puff this year.

There are three reasons why Oregon State does not deserve a BCS bid this year: 6-5 Eastern Washington, 3-8 San Diego State and 5-7 New Mexico.

Those were the three non-conference games that Oregon State chose to schedule. I'd call those three teams cupcakes but that would be an insult to the pastry. Scheduling those three teams is just pathetic. If you want to be a real football school, you have to schedule real opponents.

The Beavers don't have to stock their schedule with top 25 opponents. They just have to play opponents that at a very minimum might not be horrible this year. Rather than scheduling Eastern Washington, schedule Missouri. Missouri wasn't a good football team this year but at least the Tigers play in a real conference and had a chance to be good this year.

Scheduling 6-5 teams from the Big Sky conference does not help your bowl chances. It only pads your record with empty victories.

The Pac-10 schedule is no better. The only good team the Beavers played all year was Washington. And the Huskies beat the Beavers 33-30.

The rest of the Pac-10 teams on Oregon State's schedule were awful this year. USC was 5-7. Stanford was 5-6. Washington State was 4-7. California was 3-8. Arizona was 5-6.

Oregon State only played four teams with winning records and only three of those teams will be going to bowls - not even the insight.com bowl will select a 6-5 team from the Big Sky conference like Eastern Washington.

UCLA went 6-5 and is headed to the Sun Bowl. Washington is going to the Rose Bowl and Oregon finished 9-2 and will most likely head to the Aloha Bowl.

Oregon State's only quality win came against Oregon and Oregon is probably one of the softest 9-2 teams in the country. They beat 5-6 Big West power Idaho and Nevada who finished 2-10 in non-conference action but the Beavers also lost to Wisconsin. Although the Badgers are headed to the Sun Bowl this year, they are probably the most disappointing team in college football north of Alabama.

Oregon went on to tag Washington with its only defeat but other than the Huskies, the Ducks didn't beat anyone. Oregon only beat two other bowl teams: 6-5 UCLA and 6-5 Arizona State.

Not very impressive at all.

But Mr. Hansen, a 10-1 record is still a 10-1 record so maybe Oregon State deserves the Fiesta Bowl bid. So let's cut a deal.

Oregon State gets to go to the Fiesta Bowl this year, if you promise to decline your automatic bid for your conference champion when your conference champion is horrible - like last year when Stanford went the to Rose Bowl with an 8-3 record.

You don't think that is fair?

Fine. Quit the BCS. The BCS is better off without fraud teams from the Pac-10.

Supporting Notre Dame Fan in His Struggle Against Leukemia

Posted on 5 November 2000:

All of you that attended the Purdue pep rally last month had a chance to meet a special young man from San Diego, Calif., Scott Delgadillo. In my 25 years of coaching, I've been fortunate enough to meet some very remarkable people. None, however, has made a bigger impression on me than Scott.

Those of you who weren't at the pep rally missed a chance to meet a remarkable individual and witness this 14-year-old's courage and passion for life. Scott and his family were sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation for their trip to Notre Dame to experience the Purdue game weekend.

I'm saddened to say that we have received some unfortunate news about Scott. His leukemia has resurfaced in his bone marrow and he was admitted to the Children's Hospital of San Diego. His last round of chemotherapy treatments were harder to get through than others.

Scott's mother, Carmen, mentioned that Scott had received a copy of his talk at the pep rally and photos of him with the team, which inspired him to be strong through this most difficult time. Scott said to his mother, "This is like a football game; sometimes you get knocked down, but you just have to get back up and in the game."

Spread the Word

Posted on 9 October 2000:

Notre Dame suffered a loss last weekend greater than the one on the football field.

More than at any time in our collective memory, Notre Dame fans sold their loyalty last weekend. The sight of thousands upon thousands of Nebraska faithful filling every section of Notre Dame stadium was not only embarrassing, but truly disheartening to all loyal Notre Dame alumni and fans around the country. The sheer number of alumni who must have betrayed their school by selling out to the highest bidder is unparalleled in our history.

We realize that the events recent years have not made it easy to be a Notre Dame fan: an aimless athletic department; widely publicized scandals among students, coaches, and athletes; increasingly skeptical media coverage of Notre Dame's admissions policies.

But Notre Dame has come through similar challenges in the past. Critics railed against the "greed" of our television contract; the "tarnish" on our golden image; the "arrogance" of our decision not to join the Big Ten. But Notre Dame weathered these criticisms because of its knowledge that it was still committed to its core Catholic educational mission, its strong reputation, and most importantly, the unwavering support and dedication of its alumni (both academic and subway).

Sadly, this was not in evidence last weekend. The people and institutions which have until now been pillars of Irish tradition instead chose to take the money and run. They put green in their wallets instead of on their backs.

In a most egregious example, The Linebacker, one of the most popular Notre Dame off-campus hangouts, which generations of students and alumni have kept in business over the years, closed its doors to Irish faithful.

Instead, at the opening of the weekend, it chose to harbor a private party exclusively for Nebraska's entourage. For a hefty price, The Linebacker was willing to become the base of operations for the Big Red.

Rally sons of Notre Dame. Just not at The Linebacker.

Was it all some cruel trick? Some mistake by the bar's management? Certainly not. The Linebacker knew it was selling out. The welcome signs and decorations that we all saw on Route 23 and Edison prove that point amply enough.

The question now is this: will the Notre Dame community sit down and take it? Do we have enough pride in ourselves to refuse to associate with those who show no respect for our school? Or is we as much of a sellout as some in the media would like to brand us? Do we have any respect left for ourselves? Or will we continue to patronize the establishment that happens to be closest?

We still believe in Notre Dame pride. We have enough of it ourselves to resent this low point in Notre Dame spirit, and organize to make for ourselves a campus community of which we can all be proud. We call upon all ND students, faculty, staff, alumni, and all the other ND faithful, to imitate Notre Dame's recent efforts in rebuilding itself; Kevin White's energy; the basketball program's commitment; and the those football players whose courageous effort Saturday had all too few friendly witnesses.

We call upon the whole Notre Dame community to stop patronizing The Linebacker. Show no support to those who do not support us.

"Boycott the 'Backer."

LoVecchio Will Stay Cool: Coach

Posted on 1 October 2000:

Who is Matt LoVecchio?

All Notre Dame football fans know about the 6-foot-3, 200-pound freshman quarterback is from the 16 lines about his high school successes in the Notre Dame media guide and a handful of plays from Saturday's loss to Michigan State.

According to Fred Stengel, there's much, much more that makes up the guy who will likely direct the Notre Dame offense against Stanford Oct. 7.

"Matt's the kind of guy who will keep his head when people all around him are losing theirs,'' said Stengel. "He's got ice water in his veins.''

Stengel should know. The past two falls, LoVecchio led Stengel's Bergen Catholic High School football team (in Oradell, N.J.) to the New Jersey state championship. LoVecchio was the key part of Bergen Catholic's intricate "West Coast offense,'' an attack that focused on the passing game.

LoVecchio's leadership not only paved the way for two state crowns, but it also convinced Stengel that his pupil was ready to take the step to Notre Dame.

"We researched the situation,'' Stengel said. "Not everybody can be recommended to be the quarterback at Notre Dame. Those are very difficult shoes to fill. I never had any qualms about Matt making that move because of his emotional makeup. He is so unassuming. When you see a grin come to his face, it's like any other guy on the field doing cartwheels.''

Stengel watched LoVecchio closely Saturday when the youngster was brought in against the Spartans in the second half. He saw LoVecchio change the fullback's alignment, he watched him call a timeout when the Irish were in the wrong formation. Stengel saw LoVecchio complete a 43-yard pass to Javin Hunter and also rush four times for 21 yards.

"Saturday night, Matt called my quarterbacks coach Joe Haemmerle,'' Stengel said. "Joe, who's like a guru to Matt, asked him what it was like out there. Matt said, 'It was like standing on the top of a tall building -- you don't look down.' Joe asked him if he was nervous about the first snap. He said, 'I took 30 snaps on the sidelines before I came in because there was no way I was going to fumble that thing.'

"Matt has the God-given ability to be able to focus on the task at hand. He might look nonchalant, but the fire's burning. He might not be the biggest, he might not be the strongest, or he might not be the fastest, but he's in the top 95 percent of all those. That's what makes a great quarterback.''

While in high school, LoVecchio's assignment was to throw the football. He rushed for 302 yards as a senior, but never had any exposure to the option until he came to Notre Dame. Stengel accompanied LoVecchio on a visit to Notre Dame and sat down with Irish offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers (who was raised about 40 miles from LoVecchio's hometown) to make sure the fit would be good.

"Kevin and I sat down for about three hours on a Friday night,'' Stengel recalled. "Kevin was at the chalkboard the whole time, showing me the offense and how Matt would fit in. There's no question that Matt can run the option as part of the offense. He's very suited to the mobility it takes. I don't have any fears about that at all.''

The main concern Stengel had was for LoVecchio to maintain the proper temperament to handle the hype and the criticism that goes along with the position.

"I've seen plenty of guys with lots of talent try and fail at being the quarterback at Notre Dame,'' Stengel said. "What Matt has going for him is that he's so even-keel. You never see him get flustered. I've heard all about the pressure and the fish-bowl atmosphere that the quarterback at Notre Dame has to deal with. Matt's ready for all that. He's not going into it naive.''

He also doesn't seem to be going into it unprepared. With Stengel's guidance, LoVecchio didn't get to Notre Dame by accident.

Fans react to ND-Nebraska
Ticket holders sold out to red

Posted on 19 September 2000:

Embarassed. Humiliated. Betrayed. No, I'm not feeling this way because Notre Dame lost to the University of Nebraska in football. In fact, I thought we played a decent game. I'm feeling this way thanks to certain people who call themselves "alumni" and "fans" of our University.

Consider this: 4,000 tickets were made available to Nebraska fans for the football game. Call me crazy, but I estimated - along with announcers during the game - around 30,000 red shirts in the stands. How do 4,000 tickets become 30,000 tickets? I'll tell you.

Two-faced alumni and fans. Those who sold out, literally, the very University they claim to love and support. Those who sold a game ticket for a few hundred dollars to a Nebraskan. Those who didn't care if they were wearing green with the rest of the Notre Dame faithful. The guy on the corner asking $500 for the pair; the old man holding up two tickets at the tailgater; the young woman with the Notre Dame hat and the look of greed on her face. They sold out.

Even selling to other Notre Dame alums or fans would have been better than selling to red shirts and Husker hats. They sold to the opponent just to make a few hundred bucks that will most likely go towards a new Lazy Susan they can show off at their next tailgate party. Was that worth it? Is this what we've come to? Making money at all costs?

Maybe it's me, but Notre Dame stands for something. It stands for more than just football Saturdays, tailgate parties and winning a Championship. It stands for truth. It stands for loyalty and honor. It stands for respect. It stands for the backbone of everything that is great about college academics and athletics.

By selling your tickets to Husker fans, you robbed the University of the very tradition you claim to love and honor. You have decimated the true meaning of college athletics. And you have shown today's students that alumni at Notre Dame only care about the best way to make a buck. I am an alumnus. I am outraged. And I will not accept that attitude. And neither will any self-respecting student or graduate.

Take off your green hat, your Notre Dame shirt and put away the Irish flag. You have lost the right to call yourselves "alumni" and "fans." We lost to Nebraska. Maybe the number of red shirts was a factor. Maybe it wasn't. But one thing is certain. You embarassed me. You embarassed the team. You embarassed the students. And you embarassed the University of Notre Dame on national television.

I hope that few hundred dollars buys you something nice. You earned it.

Josh Quinn '96

I know that many of you are disappointed in the alumni and "sell-outs" that gave their tickets away to the loyal 'Husker fans drooling for their chance to witness a little piece of history. Anyone would be angered to see opposing colors outnumber the Blue-Gold. You need to realize that as a 'Husker fan, I was so embarassed that your fans kept our fans quiet! If you hadn't noticed, our fans were in awe of the tradition being brought before our eyes and those Irish fans that did attend the game, kept the 'Husker fans out of the game completely.

Jeff Guenin, junior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Last year, on a number of occasions, the alumni wrote to The Observer describing their contempt for the student body's lack of spirit and integrity. Last Saturday, the alumni who sold out their school showed the lack of spirit and integrity.

Lee Corso summed it all up the best when he said, "It was an embarrassment for Notre Dame to see their stadium in a sea of red. I can't believe it happened." Neither can we, Mr. Corso, neither can we.

And our hearts forever, love thee ... precious cash.

Robert Hutchison, Justin Szalanski, & Mike Siefring sophomores, Zahm Hall

On behalf of my fellow alumni, I would like to apologize to the football team and to all Notre Dame students, for the actions of a large portion of my fellow alumni (and, it would appear, season ticket holders) who scalped their tickets and contributed to the embarrassing sea of red which overwhelmed the campus. I was fortunate to have won three tickets to the game and was happy to have two of my three sons with me. I am sorry that the alumni failed to match the enthusiasm and school spirit expressed by the ND student body.

Stephen E. Hoey '81

Unfortunately, thousands of Irish fans who should have been in the stands giving the Nebraska offense fits were outside in parking lots or at home in their living rooms. Our alumni, most of whom are compensated quite nicely for their work at least partially because of their Notre Dame education and experience, opted to put green in their pockets instead of the stands. What a shame.

Greg Wright, junior, Morrissey Manor Tony Lusvardi, junior, Zahm Hall Brendan P. Harris, junior, Alumni Hall

Colleagues holding faculty/staff season football tickets who have, during either or both of this season's games, sold their tickets and particularly those who knowingly sold them to supporters of Texas A&M or Nebraska. I urge that each of them take just a few moments to write a short note to the team's student-athletes, student managers and coaching staff to acknowledge, in retrospect, their blatant lack of regard for each of the team member's daily efforts over the past months and moreover, their disregard for Notre Dame tradition.

In the longer term, this might also enable our Athletic Department to become aware of those individuals who may have violated the terms of the purchase agreement that such tickets are for "Faculty and Staff Use Only" and are "Not for Resale." Ultimately, the University may wish to decide whether such violations constitute grounds for revoking ticket privileges in future years.

A.L. Johnson, Professor of Physiology

Notre Dame fans are a lot less rare than tickets and I challenge any alum who won tickets to the Nebraska game to claim they couldn't find Domers or fans that would gladly use their tickets. It is obvious that some alumni were thinking a lot more about the money than they were about the Irish spirit when they sold their tickets to high-paying 'Huskers fans.

Theresa Higgins '98

Heading into Saturday's matchup against Nebraska, Notre Dame had lost seven consecutive games away from Notre Dame Stadium. Now they have lost eight.

The Nebraska fans embarrassed us on ESPN GameDay with their "'Husker, Home Game," chant. Notre Dame's reputation as a University is based largely on the perception that our students and alumni are rabidly loyal. In that respect, we took a major step backwards on Saturday.

Steven Reed, senior, Carroll Hall

God. Country. Cash. Notre Dame.

I hope you are happy, for you should be ashamed. You have taken the "house that Rockne built" and turned it into a den of thieves.

Patrick Grady '88

There has to be the technology to have a picture enlarged from film from the blimp to mark every red shirt in the stadium and relieve those ticket holders of their right to purchase tickets for at least five years if not longer.

This should never be allowed to happen again.

Patrick J. Foley, Illinois State University

Nun Wows Luncheon Crowd

Posted on 10 September 2000:

SOUTH BEND -- An unscheduled speaker stole the show Friday afternoon at Notre Dame's first Football Luncheon of the 2000 season.

A crowd of more than 1,000 that spilled over from the Joyce Center fieldhouse to the hockey arena stands was treated to a rousing motivational talk from a very unlikely source.

Sister Patricia Jean met Notre Dame coach Bob Davie recently when Davie and several Irish football players spoke to a gathering of about 150 Sisters of the Holy Cross.

Following the presentation, Sister Patricia Jean, a member of the order for 58 years, asked to address the entire team at a practice.

Her words so struck Davie that he asked her to come in front of Friday's crowd to be recognized. Rather than wave, Sister Patricia Jean ambled to the podium and ultimately brought the crowd to its feet.

She recounted the story she told to the team about her dealings with a young man who was about to make his first communion in 1964. A priest asked Sister Patricia Jean if she could see this young man. His name was Alan Page.

She talked of how Page, then a sophomore, was on the verge of being cut from the team by coach Ara Parseghian.

"We became very good friends," the nun said. "I think it was because all of the brownies I brought him over the years."

The friendship also may have been forged through the challenges she gave to Page as he vied for a spot on the team, let alone Irish history.

"One afternoon, we had a two-hour talk," she said. "I said to him, 'What is your problem? Do you realize that if you don't make that cut, you're throwing away your whole future? It's no skin off Parseghian's nose. He'll get somebody to replace you. But you are the one who has to decide.

'And it has to come from in here (touching her heart) if you're going to do it.'"

Sister Patricia Jean said she asked Page why he wasn't getting after the opposing players like Parseghian wanted him to do.

"He said, 'I'm afraid I'll hurt 'em,''' the nun said. "Hurt 'em?!' I said. He always turned around and helped them up. I said, 'You need to hit 'em so hard you have to help 'em up.' We got him a tutor and he made that cut."

Sister Patricia Jean recounted Page's honors both on the field at Notre Dame and now as a Superior Court Justice in Minnesota. Then, she compared his situation to that that faces the Irish now.

"I said to (the 2000 team), 'These coaches love you. They appreciate you. They care for you. They taught you everything you need to know," she said. "In the end, it has to come from you. You're going to go out there, and you're going to line up, and you're going to look eyeball to eyeball with the guy across from you, and I'm telling you, you're going to tell them, 'Boy, am I going to squash you!'"

Sister Patricia Jean brought the crowd to its feet with her sincere enthusiasm. She struck a chord with the crowd that the other speakers -- Davie, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and senior defensive end Grant Irons -- barely brushed.

She already put an exclamation point on today's season opener.

Posted on 10 September 2000:

It takes more than the average Joe to blow by All-American basketball player Troy Murphy.

Somebody like the 1998-99 NBA Rookie of the Year Vince Carter, for instance.

"I ended up covering him [Carter] in one of the scrimmages," Murphy said. "I've never felt so vulnerable in my life. It was kind of like pick your poison with him - he'll either pull up and shoot over you or go around you and dunk. Unfortunately he dunked on me a couple of times."

Murphy was one of 12 collegiate players picked to play on a U.S. Men's Select team that competed in Hawaii Saturday against the U.S. Olympic team.

The Olympic Dream Team III defeated the collegians squarely 111-74, leaving a big impression on its opponents.

Murphy, who scored four points and pulled down three rebounds in the exhibition game, found himself in awe of Carter's athleticism and Alonzo Mourning's size.

What impressed him even more was the NBA players' work ethic.

"These guys are making 14, 15 million dollars a year, and then at the end of practice they run sprints," Murphy said. "Ray Allen is making 8 million dollars a year and shooting jump shots at the end of practice. Alonzo Mourning is running sprints long after everybody else has gone home."

The constant dedication to improve and stay on top of their game struck Murphy as the biggest lesson of the trip.

"Those guys have made it," the junior power forward said. "Yet they continually want to get better. They're not satisfied. That sticks with me."

Dream Team III ran the gamut in its response to the NCAA players.

While some took time out of their schedule to pass on a few pointers to the collegians, others looked on it as their duty to put their younger counterparts in their places.

"Some of them kind of saw it as a rite of passage, to show us that they were still the guys that had to be beaten," Murphy said. "There were a couple guys, though, Ray Allen and Vin Baker, who went out of their way to get to know me and help me out."

Although guys like Murphy, Duke's Shane Battier and Jason Williams, Maryland's Terence Morris and Iowa State's Jamal Tinsley, all members of the Select team, are the elite among college players, they came in at a disadvantage.

Not only did they have less experience, they lacked time playing together to form a team and learn plays.

On the hardwood, the Select team couldn't compete with the NBA players yet. Off the court, the guys got to know each other and enjoy Hawaii at the same time.

"We went snorkeling one day," Murphy said. "But they gave us fish food to attract the fish, and we ended up throwing the fish food on each other instead of in the water. So that attracted the fish real close, and we didn't last too long."

Back on campus, Murphy values the chance to meet his childhood heroes face to face.

"It was great. I've got pictures up on my wall in my dorm room of those guys," Murphy said. "It's an experience that I'll cherish for a long, long time."

Wear green to the Nebraska game

As we all know, everyone has circled the Nebraska game as the most important game this season. A win against the Huskers will bring us back into the eye of the nation and vault us up the polls, where we rightfully belong.

As many of you also know, Husker fans travel very well and will be easy to spot in their bright red clothing. I have heard claims by Husker fans that they will "take over Notre Dame Stadium" or fill over 20,000 seats. While these claims are just the good natured ribbing of college football fans, we think that we should make a statement of our own.

We would like to push the idea for every Irish fan to wear green to the Nebraska game, and create a sea of green in the stands. We feel that green is the most logical color since "The Shirt" this year is green itself. A "green-out" would illustrate the love and support we have for our school.

While the idea is not all that complicated to create, the real challenge is getting as many fans in green as possible. This is why I am contacting everyone on this list. I am requesting your help in spreading the word throughout the Notre Dame family. Some of you may be able to provide e-mail addresses, while others may be in a position to help push the idea.

Whatever you can do would be greatly appreciated. We believe the best contact point will be alumni clubs across the nation. A simple blurb in the monthly newsletter could provide a notice for over 75% of fans that will attend the game.

We truly believe that flooding the stadium with ND fans clad in green apparel will bring the football team a big lift. At the very least it shows our unwavering support for ND athletics. At the very most it inspires the team to play at another level. Either way it would be a true success. In researching the idea for the green shirt, we found an old Irish poem that fits the idea perfectly (with a little tweaking for the NU game):

Wearin' the Green

"O Paddy dear, and did ye hear the news that's goin' round? The shamrock is forbid by law to grow on Irish ground! Saint Patrick's Day no more we'll keep, his color can't be seen For there's a bloody law ag'in the Wearin' o' the Green."

I met with Knute Rockne, and he took me by the hand And he said, "How's poor old Notre Dame, and how does she stand?" "She's the most distressful school that ever you have seen For they're hanging men and women there for the Wearin' o' the Green."

"So if the color we must wear be Husker's cruel red Let it remind us of the blood that Irishmen have shed And pull the shamrock from your hat, and throw it on the sod But never fear, 'twill take root there, though underfoot 'tis trod.

When laws can stop the blades of grass from growin' as they grow And when the leaves in summer-time their color dare not show Then I will change the color too I wear in my caubeen But till that day, please God, I'll stick to the Wearin' o' the Green."

I appreciate any advice or help you can give us with this endeavor. Thank you very much & Go Irish!! Eric Reichle
Class of 2001

GO IRISH!!

A Man of Substance

Posted on 6 August 2000:

Cynics need not be concerned with searching for the slightest slip in the private and public persona of new Notre Dame men's basketball coach Mike Brey.

Whether guiding his players through another successful season and possible NCAA Tournament bid, recruiting tomorrow's stars or answering the college basketball critics that are all too common today, Brey brings a familiar package to his presentation.

"What you see is what you get," said former Duke standout Jay Bilas, who served alongside Brey as a Duke University assistant coach for three years. "There is no false pretense with him. There's no flash. He's a man of substance."

During his five years as head coach at the University of Delaware, Brey helped the Blue Hens become the class of the America East, both on and off the court. His players were respectful of others and always in line to do what was right away from the game. On the court, the Hens played hard and played together.

For America East commissioner Chris Monasch, it was a daily pleasure to be associated with Brey.

"It made it easy, to have our premier basketball program with a coach who does the right thing and can give guys a benchmark for the ideal situation," Monasch said. "He's an absolute class act from every possible point you could evaluate a college coach."

Monasch knows how uncommon it is to have the Mike Breys in today's world of college basketball. Some head coaches talk a good game and put on the happiest of faces in front of the cameras and microphones, only to turn into unforgiving tyrants behind closed doors.

That is not, and will not, be Brey.

"There's always a fine line between saying and doing the right thing," Monasch said. "But Mike is also sincere and that's what's so classy about him. He just has the whole package."

Area Irish fans have yet to experience what Brey brings to the table, in part because he has spent many of the 17 days out of town since he was hired as the program's 17th head coach.

Brey has been busy on the high school recruiting trails, where he has kept in contact with Jordan Cornette and Chris Thomas, two players who have verbally committed to Notre Dame for the 2001-02 season. Both have met with Brey and hope to visit campus with their respective families in the next few weeks where they will finalize their commitments.

Brey has found time to cut short his summer recruiting circuit and return to campus at least once a week. He recently had All-America power forward Troy Murphy round up teammates so Brey could join them for pizza.

"It was great to get my introduction to Grape Road," joked Brey, who drove past the University Park Mall marquee welcoming him and his family to the area. "Certainly the current players are the most important to the program."

Brey will end his July tour Monday when he returns to the Irish basketball offices. He hopes to have his basketball support staff in place before returning to the East Coast for his father's 70th birthday celebration this weekend.

The day he was hired, Brey indicated that he hoped to bring with him from Delaware two of his three assistants -- Sean Kearney and Tyrone Perry, a former Blue Hen player.

While Kearney has been with Brey as his top Irish assistant since Day One, Perry will not be at Notre Dame.

"He just needs a little more experience," Brey said of Perry, a college coach for only one season. "I thought Ty would be better-suited to stay at Delaware and if it works out, join us here in two or three years."

By the time he sells his home in Delaware, moves his wife, Tish, and children -- Kyle and Callie -- out to South Bend, the Notre Dame fall semester will be set to commence.

A chance for Brey to catch his breath may not arrive until well into 2001.

"My mindset is let's kick it into gear and here we go until April," Brey said. "You really don't need sleep when you're working from passion and excitement and just a lot of juice."

There will be plenty of all to go around for the 2000-01 basketball season. Next up will be individual meetings with players, conferences with school administrators and alumni. Guest speaking appearances around town. Honoring media requests. Trips to the dorm rooms to pump up the pulse of the student body. Expect Brey to handle all with equal ease and excitement.

"Mike is just as comfortable in a suit and tie sitting in a meeting as he is with shorts on at a summer camp," said Bilas, an attorney for a Charlotte, N.C. law firm and color commentator for ESPN. "He's not only really bright, but he's incredibly personable and gets to know people on multiple levels."

A qualified coach

Come Oct. 15, those close to the Notre Dame community will learn what type of basketball coach Brey is when official practice opens. Brey will assemble a veteran group that day led by Murphy and fellow juniors David Graves, Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan along with senior point guard Martin Ingelsby.

Brey has told his team that they will be given a certain amount of freedom on the court. When they arrive at the Joyce Center each afternoon, the Irish know there is serious work to be done. And they'll know who will be in charge.

"He gets the most out of you in practices," said current Delaware sophomore Maurice Sessoms, who sat out Brey's final year in Newark after transferring from Wisconsin. "They're definitely hard practices. It's all structured and timed. They're intense."

On the odd occasion that a mental block will bounce Brey for a loop on the practice floor, he can return to his Joyce Center corner office and open the massive file folder from his days under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.

Brey saved each one of Coach K's practice plans during his five years with the Blue Devils.

"He filed all them away so when he remembers something from say, 1990, when things weren't going so well for us, he can analogize from that, go back to the practice plan and get ideas," Bilas said. "Mike's always been not only a quick study but there's a depth to his understanding of the game."

And an understanding of the moment. Though he worked eight years for one of the premier college basketball programs of the last decade, where he helped bring six Final Four appearances two national championships to Duke, expect Brey to leave all references to his days with Coach K and company in the closet.

While at Delaware, players seldom heard what it was like to coach, to win, to work at Duke.

"He's from the Duke system, but he's his own man," said Delaware swingman Greg Miller, who will be a fifth-year senior for the Blue Hens this season. "He has his own beliefs and it was great to know that we were never second-class citizens. We were always his choice."

Notre Dame opens the regular season in mid-November with a home game against Sacred Heart (Conn.) College. When the house lights come on for real, what type of team will Irish fans see?

Again, it depends on the depth of athleticism and versatility Murphy and his mates display in preseason. But if Brey's past is an indication, expect Notre Dame to play plenty of man-to-man defense, a switch from last season's heavy reliance on a 2-3 zone.

"That's what Mike believes in," Bilas said.

A revolving door may be installed at the scorer's table since Brey likes to use plenty of different combinations. It helps keep a player's legs fresh for the postseason sprint come March.

Look for Notre Dame to run a little more, which will help the likes of Murphy, Swanagan and sophomore center Ivan Kartelo to get out and secure easy transition hoops. An emphasis will also be placed on halfcourt execution if the break is not available.

"We would run when we had to run but when it came down to it, we would set up and run our regular motion offense," said Miller. "He was never any real pattern type of person. He gave his players the freedom to do what they wanted, but there was always structure to it."

Brey will be Murphy's third coach in as many years. It's something that could prove a setback for someone seemingly destined for the NBA Lottery. But Brey has coached talented big men before while at Duke.

"He was Christian Laettner's coach for four years," Bilas said of the player selected third by the Minnesota Timberwolves following his senior season. "Mike's the guy that worked with Christian to improve his game. That will help Murphy a great deal."

No Irish will have absolute autonomy to take over a game, but Brey will make it clear - if the open shot is there, and is within one's range, it better be taken.

"He definitely is very open-minded and will utilize the strengths of his players," Miller said. "He's a player's coach."

Focus on family

Brey also will stress the importance of family at Notre Dame. At Delaware, it was as if Brey had adopted 13 sons from all parts of the United States. His young son and daughter, as well as his wife, were integral parts of the Delaware program.

Such will be the case in South Bend.

"We want them to become a part of our family," Tish Brey said. "I want my kids to know the guys here at Notre Dame, just as the guys at Delaware have become part of our family."

It was that focus on family that may have been a driving force toward Delaware's ability to win at least 20 games with two conference titles the last three years. When times got tough, the Blue Hens were able to draw strength from one another where other teams might have started pointing fingers.

Close games brought out the camaraderie within the players, who felt they could accomplish anything as a group.

"Our teams have always been special," Miller said. "We would always kind of will a win out and find a way."

"When you watched his players play together, the kind of bond they created with each other and the community in Delaware, it was fun to watch," said Monasch.

Watch for Brey, often a study in composure as he chomps his gum on the sideline during contests, to let loose with plenty of enthusiasm following a big Irish win. Those are cause for all to celebrate, a reward for the hard work and long hours his kids contribute.

"He's a rah-rah guy," Sessoms said. "He's a lot of energy."

There will also be games that the Irish should win but don't. There will be no blame assessed individually, no locker rooms eruptions. It is, Brey knows, part of a business where no team goes undefeated.

"He's not going to get down and start going off on a tirade on people," Sessoms said. "He never looks to put the blame on people. He'd be sad, but he'd move on and not dwell on it."

Brey's pre-Notre Dame experiences will again serve him well. Having played and coached under high school legend Morgan Wooten at DeMatha, coupled with his days at Duke, has helped Brey understand all aspects of winning and losing.

There's always tomorrow, where success can be achieved.

"Mike's a pretty passionate guy, but he also understands being in control and he always is," said Bilas. "He'll put his arm around a kid when things aren't going well and get him through it, but he's not beyond getting in your face to get you going.

"He remembers what it's like to be a player and what works."

A recruiting whiz

Brey made a name for himself at Duke by being able to recruit some of the top talent in the country to Durham. He helped the Blue Devils secure the likes of Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley and Laettner, all key pieces to the team's two national championships.

Brey's secret to his recruiting success? Simple. Just be the person that he is. No use trying to slither his way into the home of some prep hot-shot, only to sweet-talk him with a bunch of worthless facts that will eventually come back to hurt your reputation.

When Brey first paid a visit to Miller's home in New Jersey five years ago, the family was floored by Brey's preparation.

"He knows the answer to the question before you even ask," Miller said. "Coaches have their own list with their own questions to ask, but it never seemed like he was reading from a profile or off the computer screen.

"He's very personable and took a great interest in the people he was recruiting."

"He's not a good recruiter because he can sell ice up in the arctic," Bilas said. "He's a good recruiter because he's real."

With the commitments of Cornette and Thomas, Brey will have one additional scholarship to offer prospects for the 2001-02 season, two depending on Murphy's decision following this season. One player atop the Irish wish list is 6-foot-10, 240-pound center Jordan Collins from DeMatha.

Brey would like to re-establish a pipeline from the Washington area into Notre Dame. He also wants to get back into the Chicago Public League. Wherever he goes, Brey will be convincing.

"Anyone he meets, he can relate to them," said Sessoms, who chose to play for Brey rather than transfer to St. Bonaventure. "It doesn't matter where they're from, what country.

"Aliens, coach Brey could relate to them."

Is Brey as good as advertised? Many insist so and cannot find at least one fault with the head coach who insists Notre Dame is the final stop of his coaching career.

Surely there's got to be something he can improve upon, right?

"I don't think so," said Monasch. "He does all the right things and it is sincere. There are a lot of guys that I might say, 'He's going to say the right thing, but do I think he believes it?'

"Mike does. It's impossible not to like him."

Miller has seen every side of Brey the last four years, and there's not one day he would take back and do over if given the chance.

"I'm not in the position to call anyone perfect, but he's a great guy," Miller said. "I'm definitely jealous of Notre Dame. They're lucky to have him."

Montana's Magic Passing into Hall History

Posted on 13 August 2000:

Joe "The Comeback Kid" Montana will be presented at the Pro Football Hall of Fame this afternoon. In less than two weeks, Joe's Notre Dame teammate, Ross Browner, will be honored at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Joe and Ross were key players in Notre Dame's national championship year. Five years later, they were on opposing teams when San Francisco defeated Cincinnati in the Super Bowl.

But they will never be joined together in either Hall of Fame

Each earned his Hall of Fame credentials, but Joe will never make the college hall in South Bend and Ross won't make to Canton. Montana was a superstar with the '49ers and Browner was a rather-ordinary player with the Bengals.

Despite his accomplishments at Notre Dame such as three comeback victories as a sophomore in 1975, a national championship in 1977 as a junior and then the incredible "Ice Bowl" finale over Houston in the Cotton Bowl, Joe didn't make first team All-American, one of the required credentials of the college Hall.

Four Super Bowl victories, three MVP trophies in the Super Bowl, and the many comeback victories as a pro make Montana the class the year 2000 Pro Hall of Fame group.

His outstanding Notre Dame feats pale be comparison.

The other day a sports announcer thought it unbelievable that Montana had once been No. 3 on the Notre Dame depth chart.

No. 3?

Would you believe No. 6 or 7?

Montana came to Notre Dame from Donora, Pa., in 1974. He was just another quarterback because Gary Forystek, Ross Christensen and Drew Schuett also were in that class. And in junior varsity games as a freshman, Joe was better known for his punting, a 36.5 yard average than his "1-for-6 and 35-yards" passing statistics.

What I did see on the practice field in that fall of 1974 was a slim quarterback with an amazingly-quick, but slightly inaccurate delivery. There was no doubt of his skill, but in 1974, the Irish varsity had Tom Clements, a tough schedule and no need for a small freshman. The depth chart was quite fluid but Montana surely was no higher than No. 6.

When Clements graduated and new coach Dan Devine took over, Montana naturally moved up, but he was behind Rick Slager and Frank Allocco and probably Forystek.

Allocco dropped out of the picture by choice.

In the home opener against Northwestern, Slager suddenly suffered and injury and the call went out: "Montana!"

Joe rushed onto the field, but was sent back quickly. He was without a helmet and had to dash about madly trying to find it. He did settle down to direct a tying touchdown drive. The Irish eventually won handily, 31-7. Montana completed 6-of-11 passes, one for a touchdown and also scored one himself.

The 3-0 Irish then started Montana against Michigan State but the Spartans scored a late touchdown to win, 10-3. The next week, Slager was back as No. 1 at North Carolina.

The Tar Heels led 14-7 late in the game but Montana came in to lead a tying drive and then completed a short "out"' pass to Ted Burgmeier, who legged it 80 yards to win the game.

Joe obviously was better coming off the bench. The next week, he proved it again at Air Force, bringing the Irish back from a 30-10 deficit with three fourth-quarter touchdowns in the 31-30 victory.

USC and Pitt defeated the Irish in the last half of the season; for only the second time in six seasons, there was no bowl game.

A shoulder separation kept Montana sidelined in 1976. After two weeks and a 1-1 Irish record, Montana came in to relieve Rusty Lisch and Forystek in the Purdue game.

Presto!

Another Irish comeback and this time they went all the way, defeating Michigan State, USC and Clemson and took a 10-1 record against No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl. The 38-10 rout of the Longhorns vaulted Notre Dame over Alabama, Arkansas and Texas into the national championship.

There were just as many memories of the defense (Browner, Luther Bradley, Bob Golic. Willie Fry & Co.) but Montana, Vagas Ferguson, Jerome Heavens and the rest of the offense were outstanding.

Joe's senior year started slowly with successive losses to Missouri and Michigan. Only an official's decision robbed Montana of a great comeback at USC.

At 8-3, Montana had saved the best for last, coming off a 95-degree chilled body temperature for his greatest comeback of all, a rally from 34-12 in the last seven minutes for a 0:00 winning strike to Kris Haines and a 35-34 victory.

First team All-American honors just weren't there but the '49ers found the answers. Joe may have been ignored in the 1970s, but he was the player of the 1980s, and really one of Notre Dame's greats.

Players Believe Brey Will Run a Well-oiled Machine

Posted on 23 July 2000:

SOUTH BEND -- Leave it to Notre Dame junior power forward Troy Murphy, touted as one of the nation's top five talents this coming season, to hear the big news from his mechanic.

While word of head coach Mike Brey's hiring was being spread to his teammates, Murphy decided against checking his phone and e-mail messages after rolling out of bed early Friday morning.

Only after he arrived to have his Jeep Cherokee serviced was Murphy informed that Brey would be introduced as the 17th head coach in Notre Dame history later that afternoon.

"I didn't know too much (but) I tried to play it off like I knew," said Murphy. "I'm not all there."

Brey accepted a long-term contract offer from Irish athletic director Kevin White early Friday morning after a whirlwind chain of events in the last 72 hours.

Despite White's relentless road trip in search of a new coach, which included an overseas trip to Europe for a chat with P.J. Carlesimo, the Irish athletic director made every attempt to keep the team informed -- something that was not the case a year ago.

Notre Dame players had no idea who Matt Doherty was when he walked into the team's locker room March 30, 1999. This time, the Irish were not left in the dark.

Lou Nanni, a special assistant to university president Rev. Edward Malloy, C.S.C., made sure to keep the players up to speed on White's search. Nanni never mentioned any candidate by name, choosing instead to refer to them as Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

"We talked to Dr. White about the search when Coach Doherty left," said junior David Graves. "It was tough last year because we didn't know what was going on. We were really relieved when he said he wanted to keep us involved."

White would have it no other way. As obligated as he felt toward the university hierarchy to identify a successor, White felt a special bond with the Irish players.

"We have a terrific team," White said. "We had to get this thing back on track because we have an excellent program."

Brey met with the Irish for about an hour before he was officially introduced at Friday's press conference on the floor of the Joyce Center. Sophomore guard Matt Carroll, who toyed with the idea of transferring after Doherty's departure, felt Brey was the right fit.

"It just felt like a connection with him as soon as I met him," said Carroll, whose younger brother, Patrick, had been recruited by Delaware prior to Brey leaving for Notre Dame. "He seems very genuine and an easy guy to get along with. I'm definitely staying, and I think everyone else will."

That includes sophomore center Ivan Kartelo, a native of Croatia. Kartelo was the first player recruited and signed last summer by Doherty. But the loss of the head coach helped the soft-spoken Kartelo cement a bond with his teammates, one that he isn't in a hurry to break and bolt back home.

"Coaches come and leave but players stay," said Kartelo. "It's tough but you've got to move on. That's life. It's helpful we're together with team."

Brey will be the third coach in as many seasons for the team's three juniors -- Graves, Murphy and Harold Swanagan. Having dealt with the adversity has not only made the trio stronger but has strengthened the bond of each player on the team.

For much of the past seven days, the Irish have had only themselves to rely on for support. The group spent almost every waking hour together, whether it was playing pickup games, lifting weights, eating meals or going out about town.

"We have guys here that have been through a lot," said Murphy, who bypassed the NBA Draft to return this season. "Coach Brey is going to be very loyal and he wants to be here. That's what we need."

Even before Brey was officially hired by White, he kept tabs on his future players through the Internet. Brey was buoyed earlier this week when he read of how the Irish talked of being a good basketball team this season, no matter their coach. That type of mindset may just help propel Notre Dame into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990.

"They circled the wagons and it's going to help them down the stretch," said Brey. "There's a heck of a basketball team here."

Kartelo indicated that he has spoken with fellow countryman Jere Macura, an Irish sophomore who has spent the summer playing for the Croatian national team. Many figured that without Doherty, instrumental in convincing Macura to come to America, the swingman would stay home to play professionally.

"Jere is coming back," Kartelo said. "I think we're going to have a great season."

Brey, All the Way

Posted on 23 July 2000:

Brey's bio sheet

NAME -- Mike Brey.

AGE -- 41.

EXPERIENCE -- Assistant coach at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., under Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten from 1982-87; assistant coach at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski from 1987-1995; head coach at Delaware 1995-2000, head coach at Notre Dame 2000.

HEAD COACHING RECORD -- 99-52 in five seasons at Delaware.

PLAYING EXPERIENCE -- Played at DeMatha High, three years at Northwestern Louisiana and a year at George Washington, where he was team captain and most valuable player for the Colonials.

FAMILY -- Wife, Tish, children, Kyle and Callie.

OTHER DETAILS -- A native of Rockville, Md. During Brey's tenure, every senior who has completed his eligibility at Delaware has graduated. America East co-coach of the year in 1998. Delaware had nine sellouts during the 1998-99 season and 12 sellouts during the 1999-2000 season.

SOUTH BEND -- Mike Brey still remembers his thoughts drifting toward the future as he headed out the back door of the Joyce Center years ago.

A former member of the Duke University coaching staff, Brey had just helped the Blue Devils to another victory. But as he boarded the team bus, Brey wondered what it might be like to one day be the head coach at the University of Notre Dame.

Early Friday evening, Brey found out.

The 41-year-old Brey was introduced as the 17th head coach in the history of the Irish program, and second in the last 17 months, during a press conference on the floor of the Joyce Center.

"All I can say is, 'Wow, we're here,'" said Brey, who entered the arena to a standing ovation offered by season-ticket holders, all of whom were extended offers by the university to attend. "You wonder, 'I wonder if I could ever be good enough to do it at a place like this.'"

Brey, who spent the five previous seasons as head coach of the University of Delaware, where he recently signed a contract extension through 2007, replaces Matt Doherty, who left Notre Dame three days earlier to coach the University of North Carolina.

Leaving Notre Dame for another school, Brey warned, will not be an option today, tomorrow or ever as he looks to lead the Irish back toward national prominence.

"I've been in love with two coaching jobs in my five years as a head coach, and that's Notre Dame twice," said Brey, who interviewed with former Irish athletic director Mike Wadsworth in March 1999 prior to Doherty's hiring. "I'll be very clear -- I'm happy here.

"This would be a place where I would love to come and do it for a long, long time."

How long? Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White reportedly signed Brey to a seven-year deal. Terms were not disclosed. It is against university policy to comment on such matters.

White, who spent the better part of the previous 72 hours fighting off sleep as he conducted an intense search for a new head coach, is confident he'll not have to hire another basketball coach for many years.

"We've contracted it that way; our contract with coach Brey is longer than a conventional contract," White said of the pact, which also includes a "penalty clause" if either side breaks the agreement. "We've got to do that to protect our interest, and really protect the welfare of our student-athletes."

White wasted little time in hiring Brey.

Long before Doherty's departure -- on July 5 -- White drafted a working list of possible successors knowing that "we might find ourselves in a position looking for a basketball coach."

For two days, White assembled a roster of 40-50 "college basketball experts," people he wished to speak with regarding a possible candidate. From there, White identified 10 coaches whom he felt were "strong prospects for this position."

During the final two days of Doherty's brief Notre Dame tenure, the wish list was trimmed to seven. By Wednesday, White had three finalists. Though White declined to identify them, they are believed to have been former Seton Hall and NBA coach P.J. Carlesimo, Oregon coach Ernie Kent and Brey, who won at least 20 games in each of his final three years with the Blue Hens. Each offseason, Brey's name would be linked to some opening somewhere around the country.

"He's been offered some pretty high-profile positions and has chosen to stay the course at Delaware," White said of Brey, who declined to pursue positions at Auburn, Georgia and Marshall the last few years. "He was looking for something real special and I think Notre Dame was at the top of that special list."

It was, but life in Delaware sure was sweet.

The Blue Hens won 99 games in Brey's five years and were a perennial power in the America East Conference.

The most recent contract Brey signed for school officials was structured to keep him around the program for the rest of his life. Following his days on the sideline, Brey figured he could move into a role as athletic director.

But would it ever answer the challenges that Brey craved in his life? Would working wonders at Delaware satisfy someone who helped coach the Blue Devils of Duke to six Final Four appearances with a pair of national championships?

Brey's wife, Tish, and their children, Callie and Kyle, listen to the new coach's introduction at the Joyce Center.

Brey and his wife, Tish, talked into many a late night about the future. Delaware was ideal, but if something truly special should come along...

Brey never dreamed that the one job he so coveted -- Notre Dame -- would open for the second time in just over a year. White would soon call Delaware officials asking permission to speak with Brey. Following an interview with Carlesimo, which was conducted in Rome, White met with Kent and Brey in Washington, D.C.

White brought the two head coaches to meet with a committee that consisted of university president Rev. Edward Malloy and his assistant, Lou Nanni, provost Dr. Nathan Hatch and Patrick McCarten, the new president of the school's Board of Trustees.

All were in the nation's capital as university president emeritus Rev. Theodore Hesburgh was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on Thursday.

Long after he had chatted with Carlesimo and Kent, White was sold on Brey's vision of what he could accomplish at Notre Dame without looking over his shoulder for the next "dream" job.

Though reports have circulated that both Carlesimo and Kent turned down the job, White insists only one person was ever offered the chance to become Notre Dame's basketball coach -- the man who arrived in South Bend via charter plane early Friday afternoon with his wife and two children -- Kyle, 13, and Callie, 10.

"He accepted instantaneously," White said of Brey, hired shortly before 1 a.m. Friday. "It was a pretty short courtship."

Brey joked to White about the number of years he was willing to give Notre Dame.

"I said, 'I think I can give you 15 great years. After that, I'm going to have to re-evaluate,'" Brey said. "This is a long-term situation. The surface has only been scratched here with how we can do things, who we can recruit and how we can get it going."

Kent, an Oregon alum who recently completed his third year with the Ducks, told The Register-Guard of Eugene, Ore., that he declined to take the job because of poor timing.

"What I found out is that they need someone in place now," Kent said. "I have family considerations, I have university considerations and there are too many things involved for me to do something like this so quickly."

White made it clear when his search commenced that he wanted a new coach in place as soon as possible. The summer evaluation period for college coaches opened seven days ago.

A thought would tug at White's emotions as he would proceed in his hiring -- was he moving too fast? Should he slow down? Before he could stop to think, he'd remember the looks on the faces of Irish players Matt Carroll, David Graves and Troy Murphy, who were back on the Notre Dame campus with no coach to call their own.

"Our biggest responsibility is to these guys here," White said of the Irish. "These guys are in limbo and they're fragile and they're brokenhearted. I felt a huge responsibility to do what we can do for our players as quick as possible but not carelessly."

As his search for a coach was expedited earlier this week, White contacted Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to serve as an adviser. Krzyzewski applauded his former assistant's decision to move on to Notre Dame.

"What a perfect fit!" Krzyzewski said through a Notre Dame press release. "Mike has the background which is totally suited for the level of success that Notre Dame wants and deserves."

Brey graduated from George Washington University in 1982 with a degree in physical education. Prior to his college coaching stints at Delaware and Duke, Brey spent five years at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., his alma mater. There he learned the game from Morgan Wooten, who has won more games than anyone in high school boys basketball history.

Brey coached the junior varsity and assisted Wooten's varsity for five years. He also taught history and monitored two study halls.

Wooten agrees. DeMatha not only helped Brey refine his coaching style, but taught him how to teach, educate, to relate to kids he wanted to see succeed.

"Mike Brey is a brilliant selection," Wooten said. "He is one of the great young head coaches in America. Mike is a winner in every respect."

Brey plans to bring his top assistant at Delaware -- Sean Kearney -- with him to South Bend. While Brey was introduced as the Irish head coach, Kearney was busy on the recruiting trail at a summer tournament in Las Vegas.

"He's a natural here," Brey said of Kearney, who has also worked with Rick Pitino at Providence, Bill Foster at Northwestern and is close friends with Irish women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw. "We've been pretty darn good together the last couple years."

Brey plans to hire one of his former players at Delaware -- Tyrone Perry -- as his No. 3 assistant. The final coaching vacancy, along with a director of basketball operations, will be filled sometime in August.

Brey hopes to speak soon with incoming freshmen Torrian Jones, Chris Markwood and Tom Timmermans.

High school seniors-to-be Jordan Cornette and Chris Thomas, both of whom committed to the previous Irish coaching staff, will also be contacted. Brey cannot publicly comment on recruits who have yet to sign binding letters of intent.

N.D.-Bound Thomas Impresses

Far from the central Indiana gymnasiums where he's expected to break down defenses and get teammates involved, Chris Thomas still operates with a point guard's mentality.

Thomas, who will be a senior at Indianapolis Pike High School this fall, verbally committed in mid-May to sign with Notre Dame come the first week of November. During Wednesday's exhibition basketball game at LaPorte High School between Indiana's Junior and Senior All-Stars, Thomas scored 24 points, including 16 in the first half.

His team ultimately ran out of steam in a 118-86 loss to a deeper, more talented group of seniors. But it was off the court, in the days leading up to the contest, where Thomas may have been even more impressive.

"He's a leader," said Andrean boys basketball coach Clint Swan, who directed the Junior squad through two exhibition games. "He's constantly talking and that's so unusual for a high school kid. To get him to communicate the way he does, it's really phenomenal."

Recently afforded some down time in their practice schedule, Thomas and his teammates spent the idle hours at the home of Jeffersonville head coach Mike Broughton. There, they played video games, gulped sodas and watched television. When it was time to head to the gym, Thomas made sure his teammates pitched in to clean up rather than leave a mess for the Broughton family.

"He got everybody rounded up and working," Swan said.

Prior to Wednesday's contest, Swan was shouldered with a dilemma. One of his players, Warren Central center Will Caudle, had no way to get to the game. Knowing he needed Caudle's size to offset the interior dominance of seniors Jared Jeffries and Zach Randolph, Swan called Thomas to see if he could help.

"He says, 'Coach, don't worry about it. I've got his phone number right here. I'll take care of it,'" Swan recalled. "It just makes my job so much easier when you have somebody like that."

Those leadership skills carried over to the basketball court Wednesday. Even when the Junior team's deficit climbed toward 30 points, Thomas remained calm and cool in offering encouragement and not getting worked up over certain situations that might have caused an emotional outburst in others.

"I like the way he plays," said Purdue-bound point guard Brandon McKnight, a senior at LaSalle this fall. "He's unselfish. He doesn't force his shots and he gets everybody into the game."

All-Star games often serve as opportunities for players to flash their offensive wares. Score more points, make magical moves, anything to wow the crowd. Thomas remained quietly efficient Wednesday, working within the offense to perfection. If a scoring chance was there, he pounced. If it wasn't, he passed.

"It's not difficult because it's my natural instinct to take the role of being a leader, to bring everyone together," said Thomas, who averaged 24.3 points per game at Pike last season. "I've grown to like people more when they do the little things, the nice things for me. So why not do the same for them?"

Such qualities made Thomas the top recruiting priority for Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty. Because of NCAA regulations, Doherty and his coaching staff were prohibited from attending Wednesday's game. But Thomas is spreading the Notre Dame word.

"I've talked with other people about my choice, coach Doherty, the system," Thomas said. "It's been a lot of help to other players. They've asked about what it feels like, the factors. I think it's been a real positive influence on them."

The commitment also has been a boost for Thomas. A year ago, he would get so worked up about worrying what college coach was grading his game that his play would suffer. Hustling through pre-game warmups on Wednesday, Thomas made sure to enjoy himself. He offered fans a glimpse of his dunking ability, with hops that would rival Notre Dame junior jumping-jack Ryan Humphrey.

"I'm real relaxed," said Thomas. "I've just been having fun working on my game."

Thomas plans to attend the NIKE camp in his hometown early next month. The rest of the summer circuit, an ideal recruiting time for college coaches, will press on without him.

"I'm going to work on my game rather than go to all the tournaments and try to prove myself," Thomas said. "I'll try to limit basketball as much as possible."

As Swan has watched Thomas, he is reminded of Arizona point guard Jason Gardner, an Indianapolis native.

"Whatever is called upon for him to do and wherever he's at, he does an excellent job," Swan said. "He's one of the best guards you're going to see in the state. He's going to be a great Division I player some day. He has all the tools."

Cornette Picks Irish; Kline to I.U.?

Posted on 8 June 2000:

There was no reason to wait another minute, not even until the conclusion of his younger brother's grade school graduation ceremony.

While his family shared the special moment Wednesday evening, St. Xavier junior forward Jordan Cornette wandered outside and, amid chiming church bells in Cincinnati, phoned Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty.

Doherty, in North Carolina for a charity golf tournament, listened as the 6-foot-8, 200-pound Cornette verbally committed to play for the Irish beginning in 2001-02.

"Notre Dame was an option that I couldn't pass up," said Cornette, who averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots his junior season as St. Xavier captured a state championship. "It was the best fit."

Cornette's commitment snatches any suspense from today's Sean Kline press conference, where the Huntington North High School power forward was expected to choose between Notre Dame and Indiana. With Cornette and Indianapolis Pike point guard Chris Thomas set to sign with the Irish in early November, Doherty does not have any remaining

scholarships to offer current high school juniors.

"Sean Kline has a bigger reputation right now, but Cornette has more of an upside to his game," said recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports. "Kline is very, very good, but Cornette has Troy Murphy potential."

Cornette fell in love with the campus when he first toured Notre Dame the weekend of April 29. He kept reminding himself that it was his first college experience, and that other visits should follow. Cornette returned to South Bend the weekend of May 19, where a scholarship was extended by Doherty.

"From the first time I went up there, I really liked the campus, the coaches and the school," said Cornette, who later toured Michigan State, but canceled a trip to Ohio State. "Notre Dame was a team that I could see myself playing for."

Cornette said that Doherty and the Irish coaching staff were consistently up front and honest about their recruiting plans. They explained that they were recruiting a power forward (Kline) who had given Notre Dame a June 2 deadline -- today -- to reveal his college choice. But if Cornette wanted to commit prior to Kline, so be it.

"They said they would give (the scholarship) to whoever decided first that they wanted to go to Notre Dame," Cornette said. "It finally hit me this week that I didn't want to wait and see what Sean decided."

Doherty apparently accepted Cornette's commitment with no knowledge of Kline's thinking. According to a source close to Notre Dame, Kline, as of late Thursday afternoon, had yet to phone the Irish basketball offices.

Cornette has grown over eight inches since his freshman year in high school. He may push toward 6-11 before his collegiate career concludes. His versatility may offer the Irish a chance to work at three positions -- small forward, power forward and center.

Thomas Opens Door for Irish in Indiana

Having devoted his life toward tracking the sometimes crazy world of college basketball recruiting, analyst Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports in Lenoir, N.C., thought he had seen it all.

Chris Thomas then penned a new paragraph under verbal commitments.

Thomas, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Indianapolis Pike High, declined scholarship offers from two established programs (Stanford and Michigan State) and committed Monday to a school that has not earned an NCAA Tournament bid in 10 years.

It all fell into place for a Notre Dame basketball program that saw its share of top-ranked prep players -- Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Elton Brand, Jason Collier and Raef LaFrentz to name a few -- flirt with the idea of attending college in South Bend only to look elsewhere.

"This is the big-time basketball recruit that the Irish have been looking for since the Digger Phelps era," Gibbons said of Thomas' decision to play for coach Matt Doherty and Notre Dame beginning in 2001.

Gibbons believes that Thomas' choice of Notre Dame sends overdue wake-up calls to the college basketball programs in Bloomington and West Lafayette.

"This is tremendous for Notre Dame's recruiting in Indiana," Gibbons said. "Matt Doherty is being blessed by the gods of recruiting. They have shined down upon him from the heavens. This will only open the door for more in-state players to follow."

Notre Dame has one scholarship remaining to offer the current high school junior class, and could land another of the state's top talents.

Huntington North power forward Sean Kline, an AAU teammate of Thomas, will soon decide between Indiana and Notre Dame.

"Sean's got to do what's best for him," said Huntington coach Eric Foister. "He may have a decision (this) week. He would like to have it done before Memorial Day."

By no means is the Notre Dame coaching staff sitting still while Kline decides. This weekend another current high school junior -- Jordan Cornette from St. Xavier High in Cincinnati -- is on campus for a second unofficial visit in a month.

Cornette, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward, averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots for a St. X state championship team that finished 25-2. An older brother, Joel, will be a sophomore forward at Butler University this fall.

Cornette, tabbed a "jack-of-all-trades in a recent Cincinnati Enquirer story, may visit Michigan State and Ohio State. He also lists Dayton and Virginia among his college choices. He first visited Notre Dame the weekend of April 29.

In Thomas, Gibbons guessed that not since the signing of LaPhonso Ellis has Notre Dame made such a national recruiting splash. Troy Murphy, now everyone's All-American, was a solid prospect coming out of high school, though not considered among the nation's elite.

Thomas, like Ellis during his prep days in East St. Louis, Ill., is ranked by Gibbons among the 10 best juniors in the nation. Should Thomas set the summer-league circuit on fire the next three months, there's a good chance Notre Dame will have landed the country's top high school senior when the 2000-01 recruiting season cranks into high gear this fall.

"I can't recall Notre Dame ever getting an early recruit of this magnitude," Gibbons said. "He would certainly be the most athletically-gifted point guard for Notre Dame since David Rivers."

An analysis of Thomas' overall game, where he averaged 24.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists last season, brought Gibbons to compare him to a former Indiana University standout.

"He has the offensive explosion of an Isiah Thomas," Gibbons said of the player who already holds the Pike school record with 336 career assists. "He has the ability to penetrate and put tremendous pressure on you defensively."

Say for argument's sake, Murphy returns for his senior year to play one season with Thomas. It would give the Irish a core of Matt Carroll, David Graves, Ryan Humphrey, Torrian Jones, Jere Macura, Murphy, Thomas and Harold Swanagan. Could that cast bump Notre Dame back among the nation's elite?

"That sounds like a Final Four team," Gibbons said. "This is an unprecedented era for Notre Dame basketball."

Whasssup? Try N.D. Basketball

Holding one phone was Notre Dame coach Matt Doherty. On the other end was Indianapolis Pike star guard Chris Thomas. Thomas remembers the exact dialogue.

"Whasssssssup?!"

"Whasssssup?!!!"

"Whaassssssuppp?!"

"Whassuuupppppppp?"

Before you start sending Doherty Miss Manners' Guide to Phone Etiquette, realize that this was not a real conversation. This was a picture.

Doherty had superimposed his and Thomas' faces in the famous Budweiser advertisement --masking out any mention of the beer distributor on the page -- and sent Thomas the spoof to playfully illustrate how comfortably the coach talks to his players.

They should give Doherty an honorary Ph.D in pop-culture at Sunday's Notre Dame graduation.

"He's got a great sense of humor ... There was another one he sent that had a guy pointing in the stands with his face and (the caption) said, 'I see you dog,' " said Thomas, who had every reason to smile Monday.

His surprise verbal commitment to Notre Dame represented perhaps the most significant Irish recruiting news since the Digger Phelps Era.

This was not a project picking Notre Dame over Hofstra, West Virginia and Siena. This was an elite McDonald's All-American caliber guard saying yes to Notre Dame and saying no to Final Four-caliber programs Michigan State, Stanford, Duke and Purdue.

This was stealing a prospect out of someone else's backyard the way the Irish football program used to.

This was a homegrown state product with every reason to pursue I.U. 40 miles away or explore a well-padded pipeline to Purdue. Especially given that Thomas' high school coach, Alan Darner, had a son, Linc, play for the Boilermakers.

Usually when you talk about a Pike product this big, it sounds like a typical fish story. But this is no exaggeration. The 6-foot-1-inch Thomas puts Notre Dame back on the Indiana recruiting map and someday just could put the Irish back in the Final Four.

Whasssup? Notre Dame basketball, that's what.

How interesting that while the Indiana University program outlined a basketball future of zero-tolerance Monday only a few miles away the Notre Dame program envisioned a future with zero limits.

The common thread? In each case the respective coaches created the stir.

"Coach Doherty's enthusiasm and love for the game sold me," Thomas said.

That and enough overnight letters to give the FedEx truck bald tires.

Every day for the last three months, Thomas estimates, at least one correspondence arrived from Doherty or another member of the Irish coaching staff. Some days it was five or six letters. One day, the deliveryman left eight.

"He would send letters and notes to my parents, my sisters, Brea and Paige, and to my little brother Kyle," Thomas said.

The letter to 6-year-old Kyle invited him to be a Notre Dame mascot next season, which should make the leprechaun a little nervous.

"Chris has bags and bags of mail from Notre Dame," said Tammy Thomas, Chris' mother.

Yet as personal and persuasive as the written words were, nothing touched Mrs. Thomas deeper than the words spoken by Doherty after the family's campus visit last week.

The No. 30 jersey with Thomas' name on it and the banners hanging from the fifth floor of a dormitory made a big enough impression, but Doherty left the biggest with what he told the Thomases as he walked them to their car.

"He looked me right in the eye and said, 'I know this is a very exciting time for you and I want you to know that you can trust me with

your son,' " Mrs. Thomas said. "He's a parent himself, so when he says he will take care of our son, he looked like he meant it."

Sincerity has helped Doherty succeed during his first year as a college head coach every bit as much as Troy Murphy. In a profession full of Formica, Doherty remains solid as oak, a quality that helped distinguish him to the Thomas family.

"Recruiting is such a big business that you can see that part of it with so many coaches, but coach Doherty just seemed more real than the others to me," Mrs. Thomas said. "By the time we visited, I knew everything about Matt Doherty but not the university."

A major concern of Mrs. Thomas' revolved around the touchy subject of religion. How would a non-Catholic but practicing Christian like her son fit into a college culture immersed so deeply in Catholicism?

"It was important to me and my parents, so when we went up there, coach had gotten a list of all the Christian churches so we would know where I could go to church," Chris said. "That helped a lot. That answered one of my mom's biggest questions."

It left the Thomases with fewer doubts. And it left Irish basketball fans with fewer doubting Thomases.

Can Matt Doherty recruit, some of them wondered? Seems like a silly question now.

Davie Denies Latest Rumors About Job

SOUTH BEND--June 1 has come and gone. The sky didn't fall and Bob Davie is still the head football coach at Notre Dame.

Contrary to the rumors that he would agree to a buyout and step down June 1, Davie said Thursday all the speculation fueled by Internet and talk radio reports has been completely false.

When asked if he intended to remain as the Irish head coach, Davie said, "There's absolutely no question I will remain.''

Davie refused to elaborate on any specifics of the rumor or his emotions regarding it.

"I don't even want to comment on it," Davie said. "If I commented on every rumor, that's all I would be doing."

Notre Dame sports information director John Heisler reiterated that several conversations he had with athletic director Kevin White confirmed that no part of the rumor had any foundation.

Davie on the way out?

Vermin,

Some of you may already have read this. The email is floating around very quickly. We can't back it up or confirm anything. The Bend is hush hush. Just read.....

***************************************************

Even if this one isn't true, it's value as fiction is still worth the read:

OK -- there's a guy I work with at Goldman here in Chicago who graduated a few years ahead of us and who has been feeding me information through his friend throughout this whole process. Not only does this guy have great connections, but the source of most of his info has been 100% accurate to date.

Roll your eyes if you will, but here's his track record (McKay/Doug/Walsh/Howie can all attest to this):

• he told me that Wadsworth was out a week ahead of time, and that what would prompt it was the Board of Trustees meeting in Florida. At that meeting, a letter to the Board signed by some 30 prominent alumni was to be presented to Malloy calling for new leadership at coach, AD, and the AD's boss (Fr. Beauchamp). I've got a copy of the letter if anyone wants one. Some of you have already seen it. I only have it in hardcopy, though, so I'll fax it to anyone who wants one. The result, obviously, was Wadsworth's removal. Who wrote the letter?

  This guy's source.

• he told me that some guy named Kevin White from ASU was going to be named the new AD the next day and gave me his bio for the press release ahead of time

• he told me the other week that on that Friday Davie's last champion in the administration, Fr. Beauchamp, would be pushed aside to make way for Frs. Scully, Mescamble, or Poorman to take over as Monk's #2 man....Scully was announced that Friday

So I took Doug's rumor to my ND co-worker, he expressed the same disbelief that I did, and called his guy. Here's the info he got, in no particular order:

Davie's contract is being renegotiated "quietly" right now, and he has 2 options:

1) on or by June 1st, resign, leave on his own terms, cite a change in leadership and in the direction of the program, and get paid out over the next 3 yrs. at only slightly less than the face value of his contract, or

2) stay.....but if he loses 4 or more games (hell, that could happen by game 5), he will be fired with no further pay at the end of the year

Meanwhile -- despite all textbook denials:

• Tom Coughlin is actively after the job
• Coughlin had a lawyer present at the Board of Trustees meeting
• money has already been discussed
• Coughlin or someone affiliated with him was the anonymous NFL source in the NFL article stating something to the effect of Sweet Bobby D "can't coach worth a sh-t."

The hope is that Davie takes the attitude that he's young, can bow out without getting canned, has a lot more coaching ahead of him (Akron?), and will take the money and run. The reason ND does not want to fire him is precisely b/c of things like the SI article, Kim Dunbar, etc. We don't want the additional negative press of ousting a coach, particularly at this time of the year. He gets the free option out of South Bend, we suddenly need a coach, and.....hey look, Tom Coughlin just raised his hand.

Other comments: supposedly Bobby D. has a ranch down near Houston (very close to College Station, for those not familiar with Texas geography) and tons of friends there. Coincidentally, he normally gets 50 tickets for home games that he allocates to friends/ND people/charity. It seems that all of that block of tickets is going to a mass of Texas A&M higher-ups for our season opener this year, thanks to Aggie boy. The rumor, of course, is that he wants to head back there and ingratiate himself with the Gig-em types. How does this "source" supposedly know this? He normally sits in that group of tickets.

So there you have it. If this proves to be a big, intricate headfake, don't come after me. I'm choosing to remain pessimistic and would rather be pleasantly surprised. Then again, this guy's track record gets me thinking...........

Coughlin and Doherty.....Doherty and Coughlin. Two New York Catholic disciplinarians who "get it", as we all like to say. If you all will excuse me, I think I need a little time alone, thanks........

Heilman Has Eye on Future

Posted on 14 May 2000:

Nobody tell Notre Dame pitcher Aaron Heilman how much his 6-foot-5, 210-pound born-to-toe-the-rubber body or his crystal blue eyes make him resemble Chicago Cubs phenom Kerry Wood, even before seeing the way his fastball pops dust from the catcher's mitt.

Nobody point out to Heilman that his favorite boyhood team, Wood's Cubs, owns the third pick in next month's amateur draft and that he just happens to be the third-rated college prospect by Baseball America.

Nobody remind him that Cubs general manager Ed Lynch found the confines at Eck Stadium friendlier last Saturday than at home in Wrigley Field, all because Heilman was pitching. Nobody ask Heilman if he would mind Steve Stone's cigar smoke during taping of the Leadoff Man.

And nobody mention that none of the first 18 players drafted in 1999 signed for less than a $1.59 million signing bonus.

No need to mention a thing to Heilman, really.

He knows all this after a spring of hearing draft talk drone on longer than "Take Me Out To The Ballgame.''

"It's hard not to think about (the draft),'' the Irish junior admitted after a workout in preparation for this weekend's Big East showdown series against Rutgers. Heilman, 10-1 with a 2.21 ERA and a slider that turns hitters' knees into noodles, pitches at noon Saturday.

"The draft stuff is there all the time but I try not to think about it,'' he added. "The whole process is erratic so I don't read too much into what people say. You can't worry about it.''

But ...

"I think I'm ready to make that next step,'' Heilman declared, "whoever the organization is.''

Do not expect Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri to make a pitch to keep his pitcher. He just feels lucky to have had an ace up his sleeve for this long.

"I think he's ready to make the jump to the majors right now,'' Mainieri said. "I've never seen the kid flustered in three years here. He's just unique.''

Mainieri first got that impression after watching Heilman in an Indiana Bulls game in Muncie, Ind., during the summer of 1997.

He had driven three hours to scout a team of 17-year-old unsigned prospects so when a schedule glitch brought a team full of 18-year-old players committed to colleges, Mainieri planned to head home. Until he found out Heilman was starting the 18-year-old game, giving the coach his first look at the future star in a game situation.

Seven innings later, Mainieri couldn't get to his car fast enough.

"I just had to call (pitching coach) Brian O'Connor right away to say, 'Hey, Brian, I think we've got something special here,' '' Mainieri recalled.

A few months later, Mainieri knew for sure, and it had nothing to do with Heilman's 95 mph fastball.

Heilman's control and location during that first fall mini-season, in fact, stunk. He started to pitch like the kid who once hit so many batters in Logansport's Little League that he earned the nickname "Wild Thing.'' The phenom began to look a phony.

"He was hit hard,'' Mainieri acknowledged.

But Heilman was hit even harder off the mound.

His dad underwent quintuple bypass surgery back home in Logansport, Ind., shortly after Heilman's freshman year started and spent a month in the hospital recovering. It's hard to put your own heart into something while worrying so much about someone else's. "It was a rough fall,'' Heilman said.

So rough that Mainieri offered to let Aaron skip practice and drive home whenever he wanted. Heilman stayed.

"How he handled that whole scenario,'' Mainieri said, "more than anything that happened on the mound, showed us that we had a different kind of kid here.''

As Mr. Heilman began to recover, that different kind of kid committed himself to developing into a different kind of pitcher.

That fall Heilman, with O'Connor's help, worked on a slider that could be thrown with the same release as his fastball, but had a sharper break than his curve.

"I finally got to the point where I could throw a slider instead of a slurve,'' Heilman said.

He first tested the new pitch on college hitters in the first game of his freshman season against Florida State. Notre Dame led 10-1 -- mop-up time -- and Mainieri thought the last inning represented a harmless time to debut his promising, young fireballer.

"The ball started exploding out of the mitt and we were like, 'uhhhhh,' '' Mainieri said, dropping his mouth to demonstrate his awe. "We thought we'd bring him along slowly, but not after that.''

Heilman quickly assumed the role of closer and saved nine games, won seven more and posted an NCAA-leading 1.61 ERA. He followed that up with a dominating 11-victory season as a sophomore before continuing his imitation of idol Nolan Ryan this year with 102 strikeouts in 85 innings.

Sometimes even Heilman gets a kick out his Ks.

"One of the greatest things as a pitcher is on an 0-2 or 1-2 count if you really cross him up and throw something he's not expecting, he just takes it and he knows he's out and just walks back to the dugout,'' Heilman said. "There aren't many things more satisfying than that.''

One thing will be: When Heilman finds time to finish the two semesters he needs to earn his degree in Management Information Systems and Philosophy.

The possibility of becoming the first Notre Dame athlete since Rick Mirer in 1993 to go in the first five picks of a professional draft has not hoodwinked Heilman into forgetting that every pitcher is only one fastball away from needing that education.

"My degree is one thing I definitely want,'' Heilman said, "and I'll get.''

Nobody needs to tell Heilman how easy the commute from Wrigleyville would be.

Doherty Scores Big with Students in Bookstore Basketball

Posted on 19 April 2000:

At most universities around the country, big time college basketball has come to a close for another year.

But Notre Dame is not most universities. Bookstore Basket-ball, the largest five-on-five basketball tournament in the world, tipped off for the 29th time earlier this week.

In the first two days of this year's tourney, the game that generated the most interest saw Shocker square off against Who's the Animal, complete with ESPN cameras rolling.

Why all the fuss over a first round game between two teams with pretty tame names, at least by Bookstore standards?

Taking the floor for Shocker was Notre Dame men's basketball coach Matt Doherty, making this the second straight year that he has suited up for the tournament.

As my elementary school soccer coach used to say, he came "dressed to sweat", wearing shorts and short sleeves despite the cold temperatures.

Coach D and his team looked to get rolling early against Who's the Animal, a club comprised of five ladies decked out in silver reflective shirts and wind pants with one leg rolled up, a la L.L. Cool J.

"That really caused them to disrupt their offense," said the coach, referring to his three blocked shots in the early going, with one sailing into the crowd on the sidelines.

But despite the tough inside play of Doherty early, the crowd, which probably would have been a sellout if the game had not been outdoors, quickly showed they were pulling for underdog Who's the Animal.

While Shocker players jogged back down the court after a basket pushed their lead to 8-1, a Powerade bottle was thrown onto their defensive end of the floor.

A laughing Doherty picked the bottle up and tossed it back to its owner under the backboard, temporarily getting the crowd behind his team.

That didn't last long, as a shot that missed everything a few possessions later at 9-1 brought back out the "air ball" chant that was heard earlier at 7-1.

That's the first time I've ever heard an "air ball" chant at an outdoor game.

The biggest reactions from the spectators, including many of Doherty's players, were still to come, though.

Trying to win over the tough audience, Coach D found himself in the open floor with chance to bring them all over to the Shocker side.

A few onlookers shouted "Dunk it," as he dribbled inside the three-point line, and it was clear that that was what he had in mind.

Unfortunately for Doherty and Shocker, the plan didn't work out quite the way he hoped, and the ball bounced off the rim.

Some members of the varsity basketball squad were laughing at their coach, but he just laughed himself.

Just to be safe, though, for their sake and mine, I'm not giving out any names.

Shocker went into the half leading 11-2. Who's the Animal played tough in the second half, matching their opponents almost basket for basket in the early going.

But Shocker went on a 4-0 run to end the game, with Doherty avenging some earlier near-misses by rattling home a dunk.

Even with all the excitement on the pavement, one of the best parts of this game came after the playing was done.

Both teams congratulated each other on a good game, and every player came away with a pretty awesome memory of their first round game in 2000.

Pictures were taken with the coach and everyone laughed with everyone else about some of the lighter moments from the past half hour.

At the end, ten players came off the court having had a great time playing a game of basketball.

Nine were students and one was a former national champion and the head coach of the NIT runners-up.

It was hard to tell who was who, though, because the best player on the floor just looked happy to be there.

Former Irish Quarterback Rice Seeks First Title

Posted on 16 April 2000:

In 1988, Tony Rice led Lou Holtz's Irish to a national championship.

Now, 12 years later, he's back on campus looking for another title, one that narrowly eluded him when he was a student - a Bookstore Basketball title.

Rice teamed up with Matt McKenna, Jeff Joseph, Steve Recepero and Jason Garza to form Four Chumps and a National Champion in the first day of Bookstore action Monday.

"Matt invited me and I had some free time so I thought it would be fun," said Rice. "I thought we did well. It was our first time playing together. It takes a total team effort and these guys were great. I guess they wanted an old guy like me out here, you know, it's just great to be playing."

McKenna followed Rice's career when Rice was a student at Notre Dame and thought it would be fun to team up with the former Irish quarterback. After running into him in an airport earlier this year, McKenna figured he'd go out on a limb and ask him to be part of the team.

"I just emailed him out of the blue," said McKenna. "I followed him as a football player and knew he was good at basketball too, so I thought I'd take a chance and see if he wanted to play with us."

Four Chumps and a National Champion easily advanced with a 21-11 win over Who Shot the Couch, with Brian Travers, Gregg Murray, Paul Stinson, Joe Loscudo and Dave Zachry.

Bookstore basketball success is nothing new to Rice - his teams finished in second place two years in a row when he was a student. But winning isn't the reason why Rice is back on the court.

"Bookstore is all about having a good time," said Rice. "If you can't play with a smile on your face then you might as well not be playing."

Having a good time was the focus of many games Monday, and the game featuring the Mushroom Tip Ins and the Hookers was no exception.

Led by its pimp Brick Maier, who doubled as a coach, the Hookers, with Julie Reising, Alison Healy, Jean Lantz, Stephanie Newcom and Molly O'Rourke tested its moves against the Mushroom Tip Ins' Brian Kolle, Dan Henn, Tim Keller, Joe Smith and Jim MacInerney.

"It was a hotly contested game," said Kolle. "It got real physical near the end."

The Hookers led for most of the game with cheap moves, but the Mushroom Tip Ins came from behind at the end for the preliminary-round win.

"We may play down and dirty," said O'Rourke. "But that's what we're paid for."

In more serious Bookstore action, Next Time bring Your Sister, You Hump with seniors Andy Meirose, Dave Whelan, Rich Bein, Sean Smith and Greg Eich just edged out Porter's Five Forces in a close 21-19 contest on the Stepan courts.

The two teams battled against each other, as neither team could come up with a substantial lead in the hour-long contest. Porter's Five Forces led 11-8 at the half, but clutch plays by Bien and Meirose gave Next Time bring Your Sister, You Hump the edge when it counted. Meirose came up with a key stuff and a steal when his team led 20-18 and Bien came up with a double-teamed lay up to secure the preliminary-round win.

Tournament action continues today as Irish men's head basketball coach Matt Doherty suits up for the 29th-ranked team Shocker at 6:15 p.m. on the McGlinn courts.

Murphy Expected to Stay at N.D.

Posted on 10 April 2000:

SOUTH BEND -- By day's end, Notre Dame sophomore power forward Troy Murphy will remain a college coed or be one step closer toward a multi-million dollar professional basketball contract.

Murphy, who led the Irish in scoring and rebounding each of his first two years, will hold a press conference today at the Joyce Center to announce whether to return for another year or enter his name into the June 28 NBA Draft.

Several sources close to Murphy indicated he will return for his junior season, but Murphy would not disclose his decision.

"I've made my decision and I'll definitely let everyone know (today)," Murphy said when contacted Thursday evening. "It's something that I feel really good about."

Murphy, who spent most of the evening answering a steady stream of phone calls to his dorm room, is ready to have this process end, and as soon as possible.

"I want to get it over with so people will stop calling, stop asking, stop wondering what I'm going to do," he said. "I want to be able to go on with my life."

Will Murphy have second thoughts once he reveals his plans?

"Nope," he said. "I made the decision that I'm going to stick with. I'm just going to show up when they tell me and where they tell me, and that's going to be the end of that."

Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty, reached Thursday evening while on the road recruiting, declined comment on his star player's impending announcement.

Not knowing when the press conference would be held, Doherty was unsure whether he would be able to return to campus in time the announcement.

Since the curtain closed on Notre Dame's season eight days ago, Murphy has met with his parents, Jim and Christine, his AAU coach, Tony Sagona, and Doherty to discuss the dilemma of turning pro, where he would likely be a first-round pick, or return to a team that won 22 games en route to an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament championship game.

It is believed that all four stressed that 19-year-old Murphy should stay in school for at least another year.

In the last 48 hours, Doherty has put Murphy in contact with NBA legend Michael Jordan. The former college teammate of Doherty's, who left school following his junior year at North Carolina, spoke with Murphy by telephone for some 15 minutes.

Murphy chose not to reveal the nature of the conversation he had with Jordan.

Notre Dame's first consensus first-team Associated Press All-America since Adrian Dantley in 1976, Murphy was the first player in Big East history to lead the league in scoring and rebounding this year.

Murphy scored 839 points this season, the fifth-highest in school history. His 1,358 career points rank 16th among Notre Dame's all-time scorers. The 6-foot-10, 237-pound native of Sparta, N.J., is more than halfway home toward breaking the all-time Irish scoring mark of 2,560, set by former Notre Dame standout Austin Carr.

In his first two years on campus, Murphy has scored in double figures in 63 of 64 games. Following a freshman season in which he earned Big East Rookie of the Year honors, Murphy tallied 20 double-doubles in points and rebounds while earning league Player of the Year honors as a sophomore.

Had Murphy decided to leave school early, he would have been the first Notre Dame basketball player to bypass his remaining eligibility since Dantley was a first-round pick of the Buffalo Braves following his junior year in 1976.

Will He Stay or Will He Go? Murphy's Time Frame Expands

Posted on 10 April 2000:

SOUTH BEND -- They stood amid the late-evening chill, chatting in a Joyce Center parking lot with the future of Notre Dame basketball likely hanging on every word.

As Irish sophomore power forward Troy Murphy made his way from the annual men's basketball banquet, where he was honored with six different awards Tuesday, he was accompanied to his late-model Jeep Cherokee by head coach Matt Doherty.

The two quietly talked as they walked, then stopped alongside Murphy's vehicle, possibly outlining the next steps in what could be the most important decision of Murphy's life, and the immediate future of the Irish program.

Go or stay?

Stay or go?

Seven days prior, after the Irish fell to Wake Forest in the National Invitation Tournament championship game, Murphy indicated that he wanted a quick decision, maybe even by the end of this week.

Now there is no timetable as Murphy tries to listen to his heart, and listen to the advice of those closest to him.

"It could be done in two days, it could be done in two weeks, it could be done in a month," said Murphy, who has until May 14 if he plants to file for the June 28 NBA Draft. "I don't know. I'm open."

Murphy has met with his parents --- his mom, Christine, arrived from her Scottsdale, Ariz., home for the banquet -- his AAU coach, Tony Sagona, and Doherty for advice. Doherty is out of town on a recruiting trip until early next week.

It's believed that all four advised Murphy to remain at Notre Dame at least another year, not only to continue work toward his degree, but to mature as a person and as a basketball player.

"You can't condemn a kid for leaving early," Doherty said. "That's America. You get that opportunity and want to take advantage of it. Is it good for college basketball? By no means."

Should Murphy decide to turn pro, he would be the first Irish basketball player to leave school early since Adrian Dantley was a first-round pick of the Buffalo Braves following his junior year.

Dantley was the sixth pick in the 1976 draft. Murphy has been projected anywhere from the fourth selection (Vancouver) to the mid-first round.

"In the end, it doesn't matter where you (are chosen)," he said. "It's how you play. There are guys that go in the second round that play real well, they're just not guaranteed the money.

"Once you get there you (just) have to work hard."

Murphy hopes to soon contact for advice the likes of Michael Jordan, a college teammate of Doherty's and Denver Nuggets forward Raef LaFrentz, who stayed all four years at Kansas, where he was recruited by Doherty.

"Coach is going to have me talk to some people this week," Murphy said. "I've spent a lot of time weighing options both ways and we'll see what happens."

Murphy has wondered what life might be like should he remain at Notre Dame not one year but the next two. That way, he and fellow classmates David Graves and Harold Swanagan, the three of whom made a personal pact to return Irish basketball to national glory, could try to cap their careers in a similar way as the seniors at Michigan State.

Murphy watched Monday as Mateen Cleaves, A.J. Granger and Morris Peterson brought the Spartans a national tittle with a win over Florida. Cleaves, considered a premier guard as a sophomore, remains a likely first-round pick this summer. Peterson, a relative unknown two years ago, also is a probable top selection following a special senior season.

"You see how somebody like Mateen Cleaves helps himself and Morris Peterson helps himself by staying," Murphy said. "It really worked out for them and it's what was best for them.

"I just have to figure out what's best for myself and my family."

However long that may take.

Determined Dillon

He tied a school record with 214 assists this past season, but the one "pass" senior point guard Jimmy Dillon secures this summer will be the most important of his college career.

A sociology major who has earned enough credits to participate in graduation exercises this May, Dillon will fall one class requirement short of officially securing his diploma. He plans to take a three-credit correspondence Spanish course back home in Philadelphia this summer to conclude his undergraduate work.

"You could make up all the excuses you want -- a lot of traveling, a lot of focus on finishing your career," Dillon said. "I needed 12 credit hours (this semester) to graduate and I got the 12. It's just the extra requirement that I need."

According to the team media guide, of the 104 varsity basketball players who have stayed at Notre Dame their entire career, all 104 have earned their degrees.

Dillon is determined to keep the streak intact.

" It's a huge priority," he said.

Murphy Should Stay for Last Two Years: Odom

Posted on 3 April 2000:

NEW YORK -- Strong emotions often stir within college coaches when asked if the players they nurture are ready for professional basketball before they exhaust four years of eligibility.

Pose the question to Wake Forest coach Dave Odom, who endured an annual guessing game as to the plans of former Demon Deacons All-American Tim Duncan, and watch out.

Duncan stayed all four years in Winston-Salem, N.C., received his undergraduate degree and still was the first selection three years ago in the NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.

On Wednesday, as Odom wrapped up a media session in preparation for tonight's National Invitation Tournament Championship against Notre Dame, he was asked what he thought of Irish super sophomore Troy Murphy.

Murphy, the Big East Player of the Year and first team Associated Press All-American, has been dogged during his Manhattan stay with questions about his future.

If Odom had his say, there'd be no debate when it comes to Murphy.

"Troy Murphy should stay not one more year but two more years," said Odom. "He'll be better prepared for the basketball part of the NBA, but he'll be also better prepared socially, mentally."

Odom drew a bleak picture of what early NBA entries face during their daily lives in the pros. Traveling some 45 nights a year with veteran players, some of them 10 years older, offers little opportunity to build the types of rock-solid relationships one could enjoy in college.

"You get a 19-year-old hot-shot rookie, who wants to hang out with him?" wondered Odom. "That's the hard part that nobody knows. It's tough. It gets my ire up."

As do sports agents, who often whisper to pro prospects about reaping the rewards of NBA riches. College standouts like Murphy are forced then to make a snap decision, worried that they better get as much money as they can while they can.

"The agents and everybody else just scare these kids to death," Odom said. "It's a bunch of bunk. Troy Murphy should stay, and I'm glad I don't have to play (Notre Dame) but one time."

While constantly quizzed about his future, Murphy has not wavered in his plans. Following tonight's final game of the Notre Dame season, Murphy wants to finish out the spring semester then return home to Sparta, N.J. He will meet with his parents and his AAU coach, Tony Sagona, to discuss his future before heading back to the Notre Dame campus, where he will consult with Irish coach Matt Doherty, sort out his options then come to a decision.

Discovering There is a 'Notre Dame Family'

Posted on 3 April 2000:

There are a lot of reasons to complain about Notre Dame. We can start with the reigning queen of complaints, parietals, and throw in single sex dorms, lack of diversity, ultra conservatism, gender relations in general, an administration that treats us like children, poor dining hall food and a lack luster football season.

Complaints like these appear in the opinions section of the Observer on a daily basis. They are things that I gripe about, too. Things that need to be changed. Things that may change in time. But, I complain less these days.

Lately, I love Notre Dame. I always liked the school, from when I got here freshman year - the beautiful campus, nice people, fun, if not always successful, football season. But now I can say, with all honesty, that I love it.

Along with the torturous forced interaction of freshman orientation, new students are bombarded with somewhat cheesy talk about the "Notre Dame family" and the "spirit of Notre Dame." To me, (I am, perhaps, a bit on the cynical side), this talk seemed rather hollow. That's nice that the administration wants us to feel welcome, I thought, but it's just a school. I had not yet been enveloped in the "spirit", as it was called. I would not be for almost two years, until three weeks ago, when we learned that my good friend Conor Murphy (a Zahm Hall resident) has leukemia.

Although my realization of the Notre Dame family is just one of many latent effects of this horrible news, it is an important and a comforting one. At home in Cleveland over spring break, I was able to visit Conor in the hospital and witness first hand the strength he draws from his connection to Notre Dame.

Letters and cards, many of them from people somehow connected with Notre Dame, brighten the walls of Conor's room. There are the obvious ones from those who are close to Conor: roommates, friends, his rector. But the ones that make me smile the most are from people that hardly know him: a former TA, Coach Doherty, among many, many others. There is even one from the mother of another sophomore. She writes that her daughter (who, herself, barely knows Conor) called to tell her about the terrible news. She sent along an inspirational tape that helped her when she fought her own battle with cancer.

Father Scully talks to Conor on the phone on a regular basis, has been to visit him and will go again. During his last visit, he relayed information from the doctor that Notre Dame arranged to give a second opinion for Conor's situation. Father Jim Lies, rector of Zahm Hall, has also made the trip to Cleveland several times. He says mass for Conor's family in his hospital room. Other priests whom Conor barely knows, call and give him advice and spiritual guidance. Even the student body, with attendance at the 24-hour grotto vigil held before break, messages in journals and banners and prayers, give Conor extra strength and support.

A friend of mine and Conor's, who attends the University of Virginia, remarked over break that, at times, she regrets not attending a Catholic school. She said, through all of this, she realized that Notre Dame has such community, such a bond of faith and common purpose. Realistically, she is probably much happier at UVa than she would be as a Notre Dame student. There are other aspects to a school, other reasons to attend, some benefits from diversity rather than the homogeneity here at Notre Dame. But, this community, this "spirit", has become an aspect that I value highly. An aspect from which I, too, can draw strength in hard times.

I realize that some people see my thoughts as hollow or cheesy. Once I mentioned the Notre Dame family, many people probably zoned out, moved onto the horoscopes or the goofy cartoons that poke fun at our school. But, coming from a borderline cynic, someone who used to roll her eyes at phrases like "spirit of Notre Dame", there is a sense of community and family at our school that is hard to find elsewhere. I hope you don't have to go through hard times to appreciate it. Maybe you will never find it. But know it's out there - if you ever need it.

Katie Sanders
Sophomore, Farley Hall

Stay With Us Troy Murphy

Posted on 27 March 2000:

Don't leave Murph

Somewhere David Haugh is laughing

And somewhere anti-Irish fans shout

But there is little joy at Notre Dame

For the Irish were left out

Rather than just pick the team whose credentials were the best

They chose a team that beat Princeton, but was in the Mountain West

So Cinderella's left at home, no Invite to the Dance

But fear not, Domers, next year is another chance

Don't wallow in your sorrow. Don't shed a single tear

Just dream of Murphy, Graves, and Humphrey and what may be next year

Of course before next year begins there's a battle to be fought

Will Murphy leave and go pro - or will he stay, as he ought?

So here's a little letter, some advice I hope you'll take

About the choice fans all hope that you decide to make

Stay in school Murphy, and shun instant fortune and fame

Make no mistake you should come back

to good ol'Notre Dame.

Dear Mr. Murphy,

Players of your caliber are rare, especially at schools where football mediocrity often outranks basketball success. It's been a pleasure for we who had to endure the MacLeod years to watch you play and return respect to a basketball program that sorely lacked it only two years ago.

As adept as your skill is though, it's the almost childlike love for the game that you display on the court that makes you enjoyable to watch. You capture the spirit of college basketball.

I know that you've never explicitly said that you're considering leaving us for the NBA after this season, but you have commented that it's not out of the question. I sincerely hope that you rid yourself of any consideration for your teammates, your fans, your school, the thousands of Domer kids that hope to be Troy Murphy some day and for Troy Murphy. Stay for yourself. You're one of the best players in the entire country right now. You're a front-runner for next year's awards. You potentially can achieve what only three players have previously in Big East history, winning player-of-the-year two years in a row.

You can establish yourself as one of the greats in Big East history.

Aside from simply personal achievement, you appear to have so much fun playing, a joy that's a rarity in the money-driven NBA. Ask Corey Maggette if he regrets giving up a chance to be the best player at Duke and enjoying March Madness for being a bench player in Orlando and enduring a losing season.

You can't go back to college. The NBA will be around for years to come. You could cost yourself millions. The rookie salary scale increases in value as your draft position becomes higher. While this year you look to be a mid-first-round pick, next year you could be a high-lottery pick. Thus, the riches of the NBA may be greater the longer you wait.

You certainly could succeed in the NBA. That doesn't take away the fact that you simply aren't ready. Another year of college will help you increase your size and strength, preventing opponents from brutalizing you on defense. Is it a coincidence that your worst games were against teams that had big, physical post players that could assault you each trip down the court?

Learn this lesson in college and still dominate the game or learn it inthe pros and try to shake the disappointment label. Would you rather be Antawn Jamison, who has become a good player only after struggling for a year, or Tim Duncan who immediately made an impact?

Stay for your teammates. You once said that one of the reasons you came here was because you and David Graves wanted to build something together. You've begun to do that. But just as an architect doesn't abandon his design in mid-form, you shouldn't abandon your program. Don't leave your teammates on the cusp of respectability.

Stay for the selection committee that shunned us. Give them no reason to be able to do so next year. Earn some redemption.

Stay for Ryan Humphrey who waited an entire year to play with you in hopes of alleviating the triple teams you draw. Stay for the Domer basketball fans who can smell the successes that our fathers enjoyed and now want to taste it.

Stay for Notre Dame. We haven't had a basketball player leave early for the draft since Adrian Dantly over 25 years ago. That's something that even Duke can't say anymore. We take pride in ourselves here for doing things the right way. Don't open the doors for future players to leave early.

Most importantly, stay for those kids that bounce in their chairs dreaming of being you. I can remember the despair I felt after Rocket Ismail announced he was leaving early for the draft. I urge you not to make anyone feel the same. Let the Dome continue to gleam brightly for kids, as a symbol of what should be, not what always is.

I know the risk of injury is great. Take out an insurance clause if you're too worried. Don't let fear make the decision for you. Decide what's best for Troy Murphy next year. And what's best for Troy Murphy is to stay in school.

Abuse of Power Shatters Public Trust

Posted on March 27, 2000:

Before I open up the floor to shameless name calling and finger wagging, let me be sure I've got this straight.

More than three weeks ago four black Notre Dame students were arrested by two white security guards at the local Denny's after much hullabaloo both inside and outside of the restaurant. The charges against them were dropped, but shortly thereafter the students understandably cried race. And now some knuckleheads ... um, Roseland Town Council members ... want to see the charges reinstated?

Did I miss something?

Not likely. After all, Denny's did find that the two arresting officers crossed the line in bringing the students into custody. According to restaurant managers, the "jailhouse four" as well as their five friends (all of whom are black) should have never been approached, let alone handcuffed and manhandled.

Notre Dame administrators rallied behind the students. Father Mark Poorman, University Vice President for Student Affairs, called the situation "a serious injustice." Poorman told The Observer earlier this month, "We all know this is more than an isolated incident. It is symptomatic of a problem that pervades our society and our community." Apparently he can smell a rat - or two.

So can local authorities. St. Joseph County Prosecutor Chris Toth concluded that the Terrible Two were well out of order. After reviewing arrest reports and surveillance tape of the incident, Toth said the arrests were "clearly unjustified."

To their credit, Denny's was quick in giving the officers the boot.

And now area newspapers and broadcasters are reporting that it wasn't the first time that at least one of the officers fell far short of his duties to protect and serve. One man was a former South Bend police officer who had been let go due to "unsatisfactory job performance."

So what is the town council trying to pull? Why the big stink over a pair of seemingly rotten apples? No, really, I'm baffled. Is the council naive or just a bunch of meanies?

Sure, they could be a group of modern-day idealists, magnificently content to see that everything's coming up roses in this happy world. Hey, ignorance is bliss, right?

So maybe they're busy believing in the colorblind society where nine young blacks can walk into a public place and be perceived merely as a band of friends - not as a gang. Or where the same nine can stroll into a restaurant looking for a meal - not trouble.

Of course in such a racially equal world when white officers scuffle with black patrons over knocking down small waiting area signs, it's completely warranted.

But it's almost as ridiculous for me to consider the town council naive as it is for them to pursue the charges against the students. Let's face it, we all know better. That's why what's happening alarms me. Roseland's elected governing body wants to support two men condemned by no less than nine students and countless university officials, community members, the county prosecutor and even their own employer.

One question comes to mind: Why?

Help me understand. What are they fighting for? For the positions of two men who conceivably aren't fit to police or secure anyone or anything? For Denny's and the sake of eating establishments everywhere? For the dignity of the five or six-mile stretch of Hoosier highway they call Roseland?

Perhaps, though, it's a matter of what they're fighting against. That's certainly more easily answered.

Let's see, given their stance on this situation, they must be utterly opposed to civil rights. That, then, means no venturing into any Roseland restaurant. At least not to sit down and eat. That is, if it's a Saturday night. And you're the wrong color.

By the way, no arguing with Roseland's finest either. Police brutality, what's that? Who cares on what grounds you're being arrested; shut up and go with the flow.

Man, they sure are setting us back a good 40 or 50 years. And just when I thought the days of being tossed from the lunch counter were over. Leave it to Roseland to give blacks not only a hard time but also a blast from the past.

Now if I seem angry and sarcastic, it's because I don't want to be sad. Sad that college students had to resort to biting, scratching and spitting to avoid being steamrolled by some dirty cops' brand of justice. Sad that they are so much worse for the wear and that this ordeal will, if it hasn't already, leave them more harsh, cynical observers of and participants in life.

It's more than a little distressing to think that they face the endless dilemma of being expected to respect the law while finding that the law in many instances does not work for them.

Want to bring tears to my eyes? Find me some intelligent prominent citizens willing to go out of their way to shatter the normalcy of a group of young adults' lives. Shouldn't be too difficult; I hear the Roseland Town Council meetings are open to the public.

Bottom line: What two errant officers lost doesn't begin to compare to what nine college students surrendered three weeks ago - their innocence.

Holding Out Hope in Students and Alumni

Posted on 13 March 2000:

Our Notre Dame Family, we address you as members of our family. Our brothers, sisters, friends; we came to this school in the pursuit of more than an education - we came in pursuit of a community in which we could all feel accepted. Hand picked by the admissions office, each one of us worked hard to get here and work harder each day to stay an integral part of this community. But we are not perfect. We make mistakes, piss off friends, get ejected from football games for doing pushups in the stands and even get thrown out of Reckers for spilling things. We are human, what can you expect?

We expected a Catholic community, a caring community, to look at the wrong of a fellow student and while not condoning it, forgive it. We are just as frustrated as anyone else is at the outcome of the Syracuse game. We are even more upset, however, with the reactions of our fellow students and alumni - the name-calling, finger pointing and threatening gestures - towards one of their own. We wonder if you would react the same if it was your roommate, your friend - you? We ponder what words you could find to say to your parents if your fellow students wouldn't stop threatening you, just for the sake of a game?

Our expectations have not been completely disregarded, however, for we find some solace in the "class act" of the basketball team. We have discovered in them a source of inspiration, and we hope that you, our family, can do the same. We have not given up on you, in hopes that you will give back to the Notre Dame community a little of the respect it has lost in the past few days, we say to the him: Although we believe what you did lacked a bit of common sense, we still support you wholeheartedly.

Kristin Corcoran
Sophomore, McGlinn Hall

Gretchen Danysh
Sophomore, Pasquerilla East Hall

Kathy Gerschutz
Sophomore, Pasquerilla East Hall

Libby Kaufman
Sophomore,Pasquerilla East Hall

Reaction to 'Waterboy' is Shameful

Posted on 13 March 2000:

Never before have we been so appalled by wanton stupidity as by that which the students have recently displayed. We are personally ashamed of the recent behavior exhibited by the students of this wonderful university. Not because they are the most tenacious smack-talkers this side of New York. Not because they create cartoons that are funny while being absolutely, positively NOT racist in any way, shape or form. Not even because they change the possible outcomes of games by hurling refuse on to the field of play.

No, not even the latter. What makes us ashamed of the student body is its reaction to one student's rash decision to throw an empty water bottle on to the court during Wednesday night's basketball game against Syracuse. The students have blamed the loss exclusively on the thrower - and he has suffered for it.

First of all, blaming the loss entirely on the thrower is completely asinine, as he only changed the possible outcome. What if the foul had not occurred? Murphy may not get a chance at a three and we'd still lose. One can't attribute final outcomes in reality to "what-if" scenarios that could radically change the path of the outcome.

Does the thrower's rash act of civil disobedience warrant death threats? Does it warrant perpetual threats of being beaten? Does it warrant threats and harassing phone calls made to his parents? His parents, for God's sake! (Rumor has it they had to shut down their phone to escape the calls.) The thrower can't go to his room anymore; he's staying elsewhere to avoid being harassed. His roommates no longer have the use of a phone due to the inability to escape the perpetual stream of malevolent solicitations. Stanford locked its doors early this week to avoid lynchers coming and snooping. NDToday.com decided to temporarily take down its Voting Booth due to the stream of personal negativity. The list goes on and on. It's disgusting.

Everyone seems to be overlooking the fact that the thrower is a person and he didn't intend to cause such a ruckus. He made a simple mistake; he didn't consider the consequences of his action. Sure, he deserves some verbal berating in jest and perhaps a few harsh words, but nothing on the level to which the students have responded. It is quite honestly sickening to watch how quickly the students can turn on one of their own. Have a little class.

And a word to the "outraged" alumni. Get off your high horse already. Notre Dame isn't the place where you went to school; it has changed. Get over it. It won't forever be exactly as you remember it. Just because the face of the University changes that doesn't mean we are no longer "a cut above." The students are still great fans ^W we just have a few "Leave-It-On-The-Court" issues to deal with.

The thrower is not a bad person. The students have not done anything on the court that deserves the scrutiny that they have received recently. Just remember to act with a little more class after the game has ended. It is, after all, just a game.

Ryan Moodie
Sophomore
St. Edward's Hall

Anhtuan Do
Sophomore
Keough Hall

Community Thanks Students at Book Fair

Posted on 6 March 2000:

On Saturday, Feb. 12, Barnes & Noble Booksellers on Grape Road hosted a Book Fair in conjunction with Liberty Elementary School in Mishawaka. Many volunteers from the school and community helped to make it a great success.

Three Notre Dame football players donated a part of their Saturday to read and speak to the kids on the importance of reading. Grant Irons, Gerald Morgan and Jabari Holloway encouraged a crowd of kids and stayed for pictures and autographs.

Too often we hear only the negative of today's student-athletes. However, these young men represented their university well with their politeness, enthusiasm and humor. Their willingness to participate was a positive example and we truly appreciate them.

Liberty Elementary School PTA
Mishawaka, Ind.

Students' Behavior Unacceptable

Posted on 6 March 2000:

When Notre Dame's men's basketball team recorded a homecourt win over top-ranked San Francisco in 1977, NBC Sports named the Notre Dame student body as the MVP of the game. That's the sort of positive reputation our students have earned over the years.

Unfortunately, the actions of a small number of students in recent home basketball games have tainted that reputation. These incidents have been embarrassing for the University and have received extensive national media exposure.

There's a fine line between what's appropriate and what's not appropriate when it comes to fans supporting their team. In these instances, a few Notre Dame students have crossed the line and conducted themselves in a manner that cannot and will not be tolerated.

The athletic department and everyone associated with the men's basketball program have worked to encourage attendance and interest from students, who can play a key role in helping to create the kind of atmosphere everyone wants to see in the Joyce Center. But there are standards of behavior that must be adhered to, and the behavior of this small number of students is simply unacceptable.

As the season winds down and we hope our team qualifies for postseason play, please help us encourage the sort of behavior that we must come to expect from our students and fans. There's no reason that those in attendance at games cannot enjoy themselves, make noise and support the team without engaging in the sort of conduct that gives all of us a black eye and can even penalize our team.

We must insist on nothing less.

Classy Sportsmanship Needed

Posted on 6 March 2000:

In March of 1977, in a televised basketball game between Notre Dame and San Francisco, NBC selected the Notre Dame student body as the game's MVP.

How times have changed.

Win or lose, Notre Dame has always been synonymous with class and sportsmanship.

Based on the actions demonstrated at the UConn and Syracuse basketball games, the University should be embarrassed.

The Alumni are.

Throwing the Game

Posted on 6 March 2000:

What part of "Don't throw things on the court" don't you understand?

Do you have so little respect for Coach Matt Doherty and the Irish seniors that you needed to take the game out of their hands?

But the most important question is: Why would you ever throw something onto the court?

When Jimmy Dillon, Skylard Owens and Todd Palmer walked off the court for the last time in their Irish careers, they should have saluted the students for their support.

Instead, they, like the rest of the team, walked off in disgust.

Can anyone blame them?

Dillon had left everything on the court. He picked up his fifth foul diving on the floor for a loose ball. His hustle and heart should have played a pivotal role in the game. Instead, a fan in the stands decided the Irish fate.

For the first time in years, the Notre Dame student body is a vocal presence at basketball games. Unfortunately, it has been known more for its stupidity and not for its cheering.

Thanks to the action of three fans who threw trash on the court, the media will once again blast the Notre Dame student body. Sports columnists around the area will call the Irish students "classless" or "immature."

In front of a national television audience, Notre Dame fans looked like a bunch of children.

"Maybe they shouldn't throw balls into the stands any more," Doherty said after the game. "It's too tempting to have a ball in your hands and not to throw it."

It's too tempting for a 6-year-old not to throw a ball. A college student should have enough self-control to refrain from throwing things.

All three people who threw items should hang their heads in shame. The first item tossed on the court was met with a warning directly from Doherty.

For some reason, two fans felt that warning did not apply to them.

The second thrower was lucky. Martin Ingelsby threw the foam ball tossed from the stands off the court before a ref saw it.

But the last item to fall from the stands was the most inexcusable and stupid event of the year for Irish fans.

Because some fan felt the need to ignore a direct request from Doherty, the game was taken out of the players' hands and put into a water bottle.

If the Irish find themselves NIT-bound, don't blame the ref who called the technical.

Blame the guy who threw the water bottle.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after the game that his team would have won the game with or without the technical.

Many Irish fans would love to be able to settle that question. But thanks to a fan who felt that he was bigger than the team, that question will never be answered.

For Dillon, Owens, Palmer and every senior in the student section, that student threw away much more than a basketball game; he threw away a proud ending to their home career.

"It's unfortunate that it had to come down to that," Dillon said. "But that's basketball."

That's basketball?

No. Basketball is played on the court by the players, not some guy in the stands.

Adios, Wadsworth

Posted on 29 February 2000:

Regarding Wadsworth's firing, I say "HURRAY!" and so do many of my Charlotte Club fellow alums. Despite his many accomplisments for the Title IX sports, and the overall Big East record, he was a total flop in the two sports which REALLY matter - varsity football and men's basketball. Both teams have become an ND embarassment, to say nothing of the Dunbar and Joe Moore fiascoes, so much so that Monk had to step in and personally start cleaning up the poop that Mike left all over campus!

Here's hoping Monk has the guts to finish his rehab job, fires that Faustian-fool Bob Davie and hires a REAL football coach before the football program goes brain-dead!

Peter W. Murray, '64
Notre Dame Parent, '89 and '93

Search Committee Forms for AD

Posted on 29 February 2000:

University President Father Edward Malloy announced Wednesday the formation of the committee that will conduct the search for the University's new athletic director.

This comes after the resignation of former athletic director Michael Wadsworth on Feb. 7.

Father Malloy will chair the search committee, and its members will be Nathan Hatch, the University's provost; Carol Ann Mooney, vice president and associate provost; Scott Malpass, vice president for finance and the University's chief investment officer; Alexander Hahn, chair and professor of mathematics and a member of the University's Faculty Board on Athletics; and Kevin Bradford, assistant professor of marketing and a former Division I-A student-athlete. Louis Nanni, executive assistant to the president, will serve as staff assistant to the committee.

The executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles will assist the committee in the search, which will be national in scope and will focus on experienced athletic administrators.

"We are beginning this search with no list of candidates and without any preconceived notions concerning individuals," Malloy said. "Heidrick & Struggles is a highly regarded organization, and the firm's independence and expertise will be invaluable in helping the committee identify the best candidates to become Notre Dame's athletic director."

The search follows the announcement last week by Malloy that the University's athletic administration will be restructured and that the new athletic director will report directly to him.

Alumni Support Resignation

Posted on 29 February 2000:

Days before their Feb. 4 meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., members of Notre Dame's Board of Trustees received a letter from more than 50 Notre Dame alumni criticizing the structure of the athletic department - specifically the leadership of athletic director Michael Wadsworth and executive vice president Father William Beauchamp.

Three days after that meeting, the University announced Wadsworth's resignation and relinquished Beauchamp of all athletic responsibilities.

While a University official said the timing of the letter and the restructuring of the athletic department was just a coincidence, at least one trustee took seriously the views expressed in the letter.

"It was an intelligent and well-written letter," an anonymous member of the Board of Trustees told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It chastised the University for the management of the athletic department."

For the authors of the letter, however, the extent of their influence over the Board of Trustees is irrelevant. The actions taken by University president Father Edward Malloy are exactly what they desired.

"I think it would be presumptuous for us to say that this letter brought about the events of Monday," said Michael Cash, a member of the Class of 1994 and one of three principle authors of the letter. "There was at least a group of trustees, if not the whole board, that was concerned with what was happening, and I think that what we wrote resonated with them. But I think the wheels were in motion long before this letter ever was sent."

In fact, Malloy convened an external review board of the athletic department shortly after the NCAA placed Notre Dame on probation as a result of the activities of football players and Kim Dunbar. Malloy considered the committee's report and appointed trustees to an ad hoc committee, which simultaneously considered the committee's findings.

While the letters' authors sent the letter to each individual trustee, it allegedly had no influence over the trustees' decision, said Dennis Moore, director of Public Relations and Information.

"Some individual, like whoever that anonymous trustee was who shouldn't have opened his mouth to [the Sun-Times], seemed to be impressed by it," he said. "But it had absolutely nothing to do with any decision that was made."

The actions taken by the Board of Trustees and Malloy, however, were what the authors of the letter hoped to accomplish. By removing Beauchamp from his role within the athletic department, Malloy accomplished the main goal of the letter.

Malloy restructured the organization of the athletic department and made the athletic director directly responsible to him in the future. In the past, Beauchamp served as an overseer of the athletic department and Malloy was removed from most athletic department decisions.

"It is our opinion that the current management structure [of the athletic department] does not provide a sound basis for Notre Dame ..." the letter stated. "[The athletic director's] responsibilities are so important to the well-being of the University that his office needs to remain outside the power base established by the vice president. ... [A]mend the organizational chart so that the athletic director reports directly to the president and has unfettered discretion and authority regarding the selection and removal of coaches."

The letters' writers of the letter hope that this restructuring will end the public relations problems they observed in regards to the Kim Dunbar situation, the Joe Moore lawsuit and the selection of new football and basketball coaches.

"It seemed to be a circus, at least from a PR standpoint," Cash said Tuesday about the athletic department.

This circus-like atmosphere led to an erosion of confidence in the leadership of Wadsworth and Beauchamp.

"I go back to Father Hesburgh," said Joe Vannie a member of the Class of 1975 and another principle author of the letter. "Back then there was a general confidence that the right decisions were being made and that the right people were being put into the positions of power to make decisions in regards to the running of the University. We saw that flipping and flipping badly. We're not supporters of the powers that were given to Father Beauchamp and Mike Wadsworth."

This eroding confidence and perceived lack of proper decisions disserved thousands of Irish fans and student-athletes, according to Andrew Cross.

"It was unfair to football players to be at Notre Dame during this time," said the '94 graduate and third author of the letter. "They didn't get the direction that they deserved."

While football was the only sport directly addressed in the letter and was the "impetus for the letter," Vannie stressed that reasons for the letter went beyond the 5-7 record.

"It mainly focused on athletics and the background for the letter was our concern for the University at large and just pointing out some aspects of it that we believed needed fixing," Vannie said "It wasn't a short-term demand to fix a 5-7 football record that would be thrown out [by the Board of Trustees]."

The more than 50 who signed the letter represent alumni from the Class of 1959 through future alumni in the Class of 2001. The writers believed their views were shared by most alumni and that the University was still a great place despite problems in the athletic department.

"Overall we are still pretty proud of Notre Dame," Vannie said. "This is not a band of renegades. We are all friends who love Notre Dame. We don't want to stand here and throw rocks at Notre Dame.

"The Beauchamp/ Wadsworth formula did not work as far back as the whole Lou Holtz dismissal, the [Rick] Majerus incident and the Joe Moore trial," he continued. "The various stamps that they put on the athletic departments were causes of embarrassments."

Fans Aren't Only Ones Out of Line

Posted on 21 February 2000:

Over the past few days, I have read with interest letters, e-mails and columns that surfaced in regard to Saturday's "bastard children" chant at the Conn-ecticut game.

I'll be the first to admit the chant was wrong from a moral standpoint and my column that appeared in The Observer on Feb. 14 didn't intend to justify it. It simply stated that Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun needs to stop worrying about chants and foul calls and be more concerned with coaching his team. That is what he is paid for. Not to be a Connecticut spokesperson.

One of the columns that caught my eye and the attention of students on campus was David Haugh's commentary that appeared in Tuesday's South Bend Tribune.

Apparently Haugh is so knowledgeable on the topic that he knows when coach Matt Doherty intends to write a letter to the students and what it is going to say. He must have received our faxed copy of it by accident because no letter from Coach D appeared in The Observer on Tuesday as Haugh predicted. And if you read it in today's edition of The Observer, you'll see that he didn't "fire it" over. In fact, it wasn't very fiery at all.

My favorite part of Haugh's column was when he went on to say "imagine how many kids under 10 heard [the chant]. Imagine how many parents had to turn to their kids and explain what that horrible, slang word for illegitimate child meant."

Well Mr. Haugh, now that you just wrote a column that appeared on the cover of the sports section of a "family newspaper" and included the chant verbatim, you exposed it to many more children under 10 than were present at the Joyce Center Saturday. That is the pot calling the kettle black, my friend.

Yeah, and it must have been the "communication arts" majors who started the chants during the game. Communication arts? I think that's something the football players at Ball State major in.

Finally, I think calling the pre-game pep rally a "hate rally" is just a little bit of an overreaction. I'm sure the other harmless signs and comments would never happen at Indiana, Purdue or Duke - esteemed institutions who do no wrong according to Haugh. If he really wanted to get dirt on those schools' fans I'm pretty sure athletic public relations directors and sports information directors aren't the people to call. Ten years from now, I don't think Notre Dame sports information director John Heisler will be very quick to tell reporters how students used to chant "bastard children" at Khalid El-Amin back in 2000. Of course they are going to try to make the program and fans look as clean as possible. And I would never consider a program with Bobby Knight as a head coach to have a respectable moral standard.

As far as the people who claim that people chanted "Does Allah like Bastard children?" that is too long and therefore pretty much impossible to chant.

Another letter I received was from a woman who had given up hope on Notre Dame as a whole based on the 20 people who decided to create an offensive chant. She had never been to Notre Dame but apparently has now decided to find a new team to support because of the students' behavior at the game. Never mind the countless students who dedicate themselves to volunteering for programs like ACE, Holy Cross Associates, Appalachia Seminar or Urban Plunge. They don't count. It must be those 20 students who establish the moral fabric of this campus. Nice try, but I'm not going to be that ignorant. I am a Notre Dame student. Don't judge me based on what 20 people do at a school of 10,000 students. I'm not a statistics major, but I think that is .2 percent of the campus.

It's a shame that people can be so unreasonable.

Coach D Applauds Student Enthusiasm, Encourages Respect

Posted on 21 February 2000:

WOW! I cannot thank you enough for all the support you have given our team this year. The energy and enthusiasm that you demonstrated at the UConn game was unbelievable. Without your support, we could not have beaten the defending national champions. We were dog-tired at the end of the game, and you all gave us the energy to fight through fatigue and come away with a big-time win at the Joyce Center.

The Joyce Center was truly rocking. It was like a dream for me. When I took this job, I had hoped that there would be days like Saturday. I never imagined it would come in my first year on the job. I have asked you to come out and support our team, and you have.

One thing that I would like to ask you is this: As you show your support for our program, please continue to do so in a classy manner that represents this fine University. I love it when you all go nuts and create terrific chants.

However, some of the chants and displays on Saturday were out of character for Notre Dame. Anything that is vulgar or is a personal slur has no place in the Joyce Center. We need to make sure we avoid that kind of activity in the future. We can get the same effect by being a wild and crazy M.O.B.!

Again, thanks for your tremendous support! I hope to see you all at our Providence game on Wednesday, Feb. 23!

Go Irish!

"Coach D"

UConn Chants Were Not That Bad

Posted on 21 February 2000:

I sent the following message to David Haugh regarding his column in Tuesday's South Bend Tribune:

You might tell Frank Morock to look at the TV replay of the 1987 Notre Dame-Duke basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devil mascot wore a large headband that read "Buckwheat" and the Duke students chanted "Buckwheat" every time that David Rivers touched the ball. There was no racist outrage from the media and no apology from Duke.

At the 1989 Notre Dame-Miami football game in the Orange Bowl, the Miami students in the upper deck urinated on the Notre Dame fans in the lower deck. After the game, cars with Notre Dame decals were vandalized in the parking lots. I was there. I was president of the Notre Dame Club in Palm Beach. Again, there was no outrage from the media and no apology from Miami.

I have dozens of other examples from the past 30 years when Notre Dame has been the target of far worse incidents than the UConn game chant. Get off of your high horse and get a life!

(Editor's note: Vermin, I did not clip and post Haugh's article that is being referred to here. It was pointless. I think you can tell what his piece (of garbage) was about.)

Officials Respond to Rude Behavior

Posted on 21 February 2000:

SOUTH BEND -- The University of Notre Dame Athletic Department has undertaken a series of steps to raise the behavior level of student body members.

The announcement comes in response to the inappropriate "chant" heard from the Notre Dame student section aimed at Connecticut guard Khalid El-Amin during the Irish basketball game last Saturday.

Notre Dame Director of Athletics Mike Wadsworth said in a statement Tuesday "that this is an area of great concern to all of us in intercollegiate athletics."

Irish men's basketball coach Matt Doherty said he did not hear the chants during Saturday's contest and was not informed of the students' behavior until the following day.

"These incidents are, unfortunately, commonplace around the country," said Doherty, who was out of town Tuesday recruiting on the East Coast. "Any chants or taunts containing personal slurs are not appropriate in the Joyce Center."

Members of the athletic department administration will directly address the students prior to the two remaining men's home basketball games -- on Feb. 23 vs. Providence and March 1 vs. Syracuse. The athletic department will continue to work through various student government groups to ensure the emphasis on sportsmanship at the athletic contests.

Doherty has written a letter to the student body that is expected to appear in the Observer today. He also sent a letter of apology to Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun and El-Amin, a player he recruited while at the University of Kansas.

Doherty spoke with Calhoun on Tuesday.

"I felt the need to write to him and Khalid," he said. "Coach Calhoun thanked me for the call."

Doherty and Wadsworth acknowledged that the fan support at the Joyce Center this season has been a boost.

"We couldn't have won the UConn game without them," Doherty said. "The fans and the students in particular have been awesome."

"We are tremendously happy with the interest our students have shown in the men's basketball program," Wadsworth said. "However, we must insist on a level of decorum by our students and fans, and we're going to draw the line at personal slurs.

"What occurred on Saturday was wrong -- it was embarrassing to everyone associated with the University. If we find individuals participating in this sort of behavior in the future, we have no alternative but to escort them out of the arena.

"We wouldn't want our student-athletes to be subject to that level of conduct anywhere else, and we certainly will not tolerate it here when it involves our own students. We've always taken great pride in the interest of the fans at Notre Dame athletic events, and there's no reason we cannot expect to play host to those events within a positive environments," Wadsworth concluded.

Connecticut's Calhoun needs to stop complaining

Posted on 21 February 2000:

Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun intends to send a letter to Notre Dame officials for the inapropriate treatment of his star player Khalid El-Amin.

Apparently Calhoun took notice of the Notre Dame student section's "bastard children" chant which was directed at El-Amin, a Muslim who has fathered two children with two different women.

And he made a point to let the fans know he was displeased. After a timeout with nine minutes left in the first half, Calhoun stepped out of his team's huddle and gave an icy stare at the student section and then complained to Notre Dame officials seated at the scorer's table.

"Schools have to put an end to that," Calhoun told the New London Day.

"If they want to say `Calhoun sucks,' that's fine. I did today. But the other stuff, that's uncalled for. Someone has to say to them that you just can't say those kinds of things. I'm appalled that anyone will allow that. It's so inappropriate. There's no place for that in sport. ... If I went out there and said 'Jesus,' everybody here would say blasphemy. I'm writing a letter to the University just to let them know I don't appreciate that."

It's a good thing he didn't see the "El-Amin 4:20" sign - a sarcastic reference to the John 3:16 signs held up at sporting events and El-Amin's run in with the law last year for marijuana possession. Or he might have been offended by the "Troy Murphy: All American, Jake Voskuhl: Fairy Princess" banner.

But if Calhoun wants to write a letter to Notre Dame officials for bashing El-Amin, head coach Matt Doherty should write a letter to Calhoun for letting his players beat up Murphy. That could have been considered assault and the blood on his jersey was an indication.

But it seems Jim Calhoun likes to complain. And he's very good at it.

His hands must be tired after waving them at the officials all afternoon in disgust. And he's probably hoarse from yelling at them throughout the game.

But I guess he saved his vocal cords enough to make subtle comments about the officiating after the game.

He was most displeased with the 28-3 discrepancy in foul shots, joking that Notre Dame should have carried official John Cahill off the court instead of Doherty.

Doherty also agreed someone else should have been lifted up on the students shoulders, but he didn't mean the officials.

"As neat as it was to have to have the students lift me up, they should have lifted those 13 guys up," Doherty said referring to his players. "But I guess that's a lot more poundage."

Calhoun also made it a point to say that he thought his team did a good job defending Murphy, "but there were three guys who didn't."

Surely he was referring to three guys in pinstripes.

Doherty had a simple solution to the discrepancy in fouls.

"That's the beauty of playing a zone," he said. "The other team is going to take a lot of 3s. If they're making them, you're in trouble, but you're not fouling them. If you press and play aggressive man-to-man you're going to commit a lot of fouls. I think that's where we won the game [on the foul line]."

Calhoun, however, doesn't follow logic and I'm sure he wouldn't have had a problem if his team had the foul shot advantage or if they won. He also didn't have a problem with El-Amin's arrogance last season when he stood on the scorer's table at Pittsburgh after knocking down the game-winning shot.

Go figure.

Events Under Wadsworth

Posted on 14 February 2000:

Significant events in the tenure of Notre Dame athletic director Michael Wadsworth, who resigned Monday.

Aug. 1, 1994: Michael Wadsworth named to succeed Dick Rosenthal as Notre Dame athletic director in the summer of 1995.

April 1, 1995: Wadsworth officially takes over earlier than expected.

November 1996: Lou Holtz abruptly resigns at head football coach and Wadsworth names Bob Davie his replacement after a one-week search.

May 6, 1997: Notre Dame and NBC extend their contract through the 2005 season.

Summer 1997: Notre Dame's once-formidable power base in the Bowl Championship Series begins to erode.

Sept. 6, 1997: Notre Dame plays its first game in the newly expanded 80,012-seat stadium.

March 1998: Notre Dame reports itself to the NCAA for violations involving Kim Dunbar.

June 1998: Notre Dame loses age-discrimination trial to former coach Joe Moore.

Summer 1998: Notre Dame gains more access to second-tier bowls.

February 1999: Notre Dame announces it will remain independent rather than join the Big Ten.

March 1999: Irish basketball John MacLeod resigns under pressure, replaced by Matt Doherty. Wadsworth reportedly had recommended Rick Majerus.

December 1999: The NCAA places Notre Dame on probation for the first time in its history.

Wadsworth Resigns

Posted on 14 February 2000:

Michael Wadsworth's five-year reign as athletic director at Notre Dame will soon end, Wadsworth and University president Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C. announced yesterday.

"We have come through the NCAA matter," Wadsworth said. "We are reaching the end of the current five-year plan in the athletic department, and my personal five-year commitment to the University also is about to end."

Malloy said the University is restructuring the administration of the athletic department in response to the violations found by the NCAA in the Kimberly Dunbar investigation. Notre Dame lost two scholarships and received probation due to the improper gifts given to Irish football players by Dunbar, a former booster, who embezzled more than $1.2 million from her employer.

"Mike Wadsworth and I have reached this agreement based on a number of factors," Malloy said. "I stated in December that the University's response to the recent problems in our football program had included a comprehensive external review of our athletic policies and procedures.

"As a result of that review, I have decided to institute a substantial restructuring of administrative responsibilities in athletics," he continued. "In light of this restructuring, Mike's five-year commitment, and the conclusion of the current five-year plan in athletics, he and I agree that now is the time for a fresh start for us both."

"Reflecting on the timing of all these events with the restructuring that Father Malloy intends to carry out," Wadsworth said, "I believe it's in both the University's and my best interests to end my tenure this year."

Wadsworth met with coaches and staff of the athletic department to announce his resignation Monday. The news was unexpected, according to members of the athletic department.

"I think we're all saddened that we're losing a great boss and a great leader for the department," associate athletic director Melissa Conboy said.

Head track and field coach Joe Piane added his surprise at the announcement of Wadsworth's departure.

"Probably a little bit of surprise," Piane said. "He's done a fine job. Too much has been made of one or two small incidents, but under his five years, the athletic department certainly has flourished. Restructuring is upon us."

Wadsworth's role as athletic director was questioned last year when University officials rejected Wadsworth's endorsement of Utah coach Rick Majerus to replace men's basketball coach John MacLeod.

Some Notre Dame fans also criticized Wadsworth when legendary football coach Lou Holtz resigned in 1996, to be replaced by Bob Davie. Davie has a 21-16 record during his three years at the helm for the Fighting Irish football team.

But perhaps the biggest complaints came when Notre Dame's commitment to ethical standards was questioned. The University received probation from the NCAA for violations in the Dunbar case, and was found guilty of age discrimination in the firing of former assistant football coach Joe Moore.

"There is no denying that problems often lead to accomplishments being overlooked, and that certainly has been true with respect to Mike Wadsworth, whose contributions to Notre Dame have been substantial," Malloy said. "As I said in December, Mike and Father Beauchamp and I all are committed to doing everything we can to uphold Notre Dame's high standards for the conduct of athletics."

Wadsworth, a former Notre Dame football player, laid out a five-year plan for Irish athletics upon taking the position of athletic director.

During Wadsworth's tenure, Notre Dame made its debut in the Big East conference. Notre Dame has won the Big East commissioner's trophy for men's athletics every year since joining the league, as well as the women's trophy each of the past three years.

Wadsworth helped strengthen women's athletics at Notre Dame, adding lacrosse and crew to the list of varsity sports. Since Wadsworth took over at athletic director, the women's soccer and women's basketball teams advanced to the final four, with the soccer team qualifying for the finals twice. The University also increased the number of scholarships for women's sports by 22.

Notre Dame continued its commitment to athletics and academics, with 35 athletes earning Academic All-American status since Wadsworth became athletic director. Notre Dame shared the distinction with Stanford of being the only universities to rank in the top 20 of the U.S. News & World Report survey of educational excellence and average at least a top 20 finish in the Sears Directors' Cup standings for all-sports accomplishments.

No names have been released as possible Wadsworth replacements.

"I will soon appoint and chair a committee to conduct a search for a new athletic director, who will report to me," Malloy said.

Starting From Scratch

Posted on 14 February 2000:

SOUTH BEND --- While the high-profile shortcomings of the Notre Dame football program will likely be his legacy, it's the day-to-day successes of the overall athletic program that have earned Irish athletic director Mike Wadsworth respect among his coaches.

Monday's announcement that Wadsworth would be leaving his post after five years caught many head coaches by surprise.

An attempt to speak to Wadsworth, who hurriedly rushed into his office after meeting with the coaches, was met with a hastily-closed door. He is not expected to be available to the media until today via telephone from a Philadelphia hotel. Associate athletic director Bubba Cunningham refused to comment on the situation.

"It's an extremely demanding job," Notre Dame lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan said of the athletic director position. Corrigan has a keen insight into the particulars of the job since his father, Gene, was athletic director at Notre Dame before Dick Rosenthal. Wadsworth succeeded Rosenthal in the summer of 1995.

"It's also a job in which you're a lightning rod for a lot of things over which you have no control," Corrigan said. "I think Mike was that in the time he was here."

The most thunderous bolts came early in his tenure, late in the fall of 1996, where Wadsworth was painted as the villian in football coach Lou Holtz's departure, even though Holtz had a good deal to do with the orchestration.

Holtz's leaving, Bob Davie's hiring and subsequent frustration on the field, the Joe Moore age-discrimination trial, the "mis-hiring" of basketball coach Rick Majerus and, ultimately, the NCAA problems have all tarnished Wadsworth's public image.

Davie was out of town and unavailable for comment.

But internally, according to several coaches, the Irish athletic program is on solid ground and heading in a positive direction.

"The coaches from different sports are pretty supportive of each other," volleyball coach Debbie Brown said. "(The new athletic director) will be coming into a situation... It's not like... I don't think they're coming into a sinking ship, at all. I think they're coming into a pretty good program, good coaches, a cohesive department. We're not fragmented by any stretch of the imagination."

For the second time in just a couple weeks, Notre Dame head coaches were dealt some alarming news in a meeting. First it was the sudden death of men's soccer coach Mike Berticelli, now it was Wadsworth's leaving.

"Everybody in the room was pretty shocked when he made the announcement," baseball coach Paul Mainieri said. "The bottom line is you work for the university and they have the right to make those decisions. Whoever makes those decisions, we work for them. We're going to roll with the punches and we'll do our job.

"What went through my mind? This was the second coaches meeting in a row where we were given some pretty major news. The first thing I thought of was how much Mike has done for the baseball program."

Women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw was hired by Gene Corrigan in May of 1987, one month before Corrigan yielded to Rosenthal. She has seen Notre Dame's Olympic sports programs grow to be very competitive nationally.

"I felt Mike was a great administrator," McGraw said. "He was someone I could always talk to. In our program, in terms of gender equity, I think things have grown tremendously. He really listened. He could really hear what you were saying. He wanted to do whatever he could for you."

Men's basketball coach Matt Doherty was surprised at the announcement. Wadsworth and his wife accompanied the team on their flight to Pittsburgh on Saturday and they attended the game at Pittsburgh on Sunday. Doherty was not informed of the decision until Monday.

"I owe a lot to Mike Wadsworth for bringing me to this great University," said Doherty. "It's a sad day for me personally but at the same time I wish he and his wife all the best in the future."

All the coaches agreed that the restructuring of the athletic heirarchy, which bypasses executive vice-president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., and has the athletic director reporting directly to university president Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., won't have a trickle-down impact.

"That's way beyond us," Corrigan said. "I don't think that will be a factor on our level."

Athletic Department Shake-up Includes Beauchamp's Role

Posted on 14 February 2000:

SOUTH BEND -- No one knows yet whether Michael Wadsworth saw the end coming.

No one knows whether he could sense one of the most seismic athletic department shake-ups in memory at th. Presidene University of Notre Dame, manifesting itself in conversations and in whispers to which he wasn't privy.

The university release Monday, announcing the impending resignation of Wadsworth as N.D.'s athletic director, offered only a manufactured good-bye.

That's more than what was afforded to Rev. E. William Beauchamp, university executive vice president, who will retain his title but will move out of athletics for good in the coming weeks.

"My theory about top management positions in academic situations is that they shouldn't have tenure," N.D. President Edward A. Malloy said Monday. "I think the same is true of coaches and athletic directors and people who are in positions of leadership in which the rewards are great and the challenges are great.

"I think it's important that I am reviewed on a periodic basis. ... I think anyone who pursues this profession realizes it has a certain precariousness to it."

Wadsworth's nearly five-year span of athletic director, which is expected to end soon after Notre Dame names his successor in late spring in or early summer, was filled with precarious moments. None of them were bigger than the 21-month-long NCAA investigation into the Irish football program that carried more sting than the resulting probation.

The process didn't stir Malloy to reconsider a restructuring of the athletic department, but it gave the notion much more urgency. Malloy said Monday that Notre Dame had been pondering a change since the Knight Commission and its findings in the early '90s began to change the face of college athletics.

Notre Dame was one of the few schools at the time that did not adopt the commission's recommendations, at the center of which was control and accountability for college athletics at the level of the university president as opposed to coaches and athletic directors.

The new power structure at Notre Dame will see an athletic director reporting directory to Malloy, with the N.D. president involved in every fundamental decision, including hirings and firings of coaches.

"I've always been involved in most major decisions," Malloy said. "But it will be a clearer line of reporting."

The new athletic department model was proposed and adopted at a meeting with Malloy and the university's board of trustees this past weekend in Orlando, Fla. Malloy approached Wadsworth following the meeting and said he gave Wadsworth a choice as to whether he wanted to be a part of the new structure. The two men made a mutual decision Monday that it was best to part company.

"We've had to face a series of issues that we haven't had to face in our history," Malloy said, and we simply wanted to figure out now what we can do to make sure, in as far as humanly possible, that we don't have to deal with these kinds of instances in the future.

"There was not a lot of attention on Mike Wadsworth as a person. It really had to do with the structuring of athletics and looking to the future. There was almost no analysis of the past or personalities, or anything like that."

Malloy said the search for a new A.D. would commence as soon as possible and that experience in the athletic director's role would be given the greatest emphasis.

"I think it's unfortunate that Mike has had to deal with some very complicated and difficult issues," Malloy said. "In the midst of sometimes unpleasant situations, I have an absolute sense that Mike has always tried to be a person of integrity.

"Sometimes you get credit for things you have no responsibility for. Sometimes you get blamed for things you have no responsibility for. That happens on occasion for all of us. Life isn't always fair."

Capsule Looks at Irish Recruits

Posted on 6 February 2000:

Garron Bible, RB/DB, 5-11, 186, Kingwood, Texas. Bible was an All-District performer who rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. He didn't play defense this season but could in college. He was an all-district cornerback his junior year. Runs the 40-yard dash in 4.43. Chose Notre Dame over Oklahoma, Texas Christian and Texas Tech.

Kyle Budinscak, DL, 6-4, 250, Bridgewater, N.J. (Raritan). Budinscak was relatively unknown until he verbally committed to the Irish on Dec. 14. Budinscak was recruited by several Big Ten schools and almost chose Minnesota over Notre Dame. He registered 68 tackles and 10 sacks playing defensive end this past season. Aspires to be an Academic All-American and has the grades to do so (has 3.0 grade-point average and 1,250 SAT score).

Jared Clark, QB, 6-4, 225, Sarasota, Fla. (Cardinal Mooney). Clark could end up being Notre Dame's quarterback of the future, if not the present. Already a strong candidate to possibly challenge Arnaz Battle in the fall. This past season, Clark threw for 1,372 yards (89-of-151) and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 741 yards on 109 carries and 10 more scores. Strong runner who also possesses great speed (runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6). Ranked 62nd on recruiting analyst Tom Lemming's Top 100 list of prep prospects.

Jerome Collins, WR, 6-4, 218, Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton-Warrenville South). Collins is an imposing physical specimen who could play any of a number of positions, including tight end and outside linebacker. Didn't have a spectacular year, with just 35 catches for 446 yards in an offense that produced two, 1,000-yard receivers in Collins' junior year. Has great potential, according to recruiting gurus. Is ranked No. 94 on Tom Lemming's Top 100 list.

Lorenzo Crawford, WR, 5-11, 185, Prospect Park, N.J. (Paterson Catholic). Crawford committed to North Carolina in the summer but changed his mind after Tar Heels offensive coordinator Steve Marshall was fired. The all-state selection caught 37 passes for 858 yards and 14 touchdowns, He rushed for 362 yards and six more scores for Paterson Catholic this past season. Played in the defensive backfield and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4.

Derek Curry, LB, 6-3, 230, Sealy, Texas. Curry was named the Houston-area Defensive Player of the Year by several publications. Notched an amazing 140 tackles, along with four interceptions and three fumble recoveries from his middle linebacker spot. Well-rounded individual who is a semifinalist for Texas' Christian Athlete of the Year award. Could end up being a spiritual leader for the Irish in the future. Also wants to play baseball at Notre Dame.

Vontez Duff, RB/DB, 5-11, 186, Copperas Cove, Texas. Duff wants to run the ball but is willing to play defense, if necessary. He rushed for 1,204 yards and 13 touchdowns this season after running for more than 2,000 yards as a junior. For his career, the two-time all-state selection had 733 carries for 5,011 yards and 51 touchdowns. Duff also passed for 412 yards and totaled 515 receiving yards at Copperas Cove. Duff is rated No. 61 on Tom Lemming's list of Top 100 prospects.

Mike Goolsby, LB, 6-4, 228, Elwood, Ill. (Joliet Catholic Academy). Goolsby was rated one of the top five linebackers in the nation heading into the season and ended up the 20th-ranked player on recruiting analyst Tom Lemming's Top 100 list of prep prospects. Finished the season with 74 tackles for a state championship team that boasted four Division I players. Comes from the same school that produced former Irish standout Tom Thayer and storied walk-on Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger.

Preston Jackson, CB, 5-10, 175, Brandon, Fla. (Tampa Hillsborough). Jackson played at one of Florida's most successful prep football schools. He tallied 60 tackles and five interceptions for a 12-1 team. He also played well on special teams, returning several kicks for scores. One of four talented, Div. I football players to come out of that school this season. Hillsborough also produced baseball greats Dwight Gooden and Gary Sheffield.

Omar Jenkins, WR, 6-2, 183, Dallas, Texas (Jesuit Prep). Jenkins was the surprise find for the Irish. Notre Dame was looking at three other receivers in Texas but ended up taking Jenkins. He excelled at a small private school, catching 45 passes for 811 yards and nine touchdowns. Jenkins runs the 40-yard dash in 4.48. He chose Notre Dame, despite favoring Stanford most of the recruiting season. Wants to study mechanical engineering.

Matt LoVecchio, QB 6-3, 195, Oradell, N.J. (Bergen Catholic). LoVecchio was the first player to commit to the Irish in this class. LoVecchio committed in the summer, following his strong showing at Notre Dame's football camp. This past season, LoVecchio led Bergen to the state Parochial 4 championship, the second in a row for the school. He passed for 1,503 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for more than 500 yards for a 10-1 squad. For his career, LoVecchio threw for 3,267 yards and 48 touchdowns.

Billy Palmer, TE, 6-4, 255, Heathrow, Fla. (Orlando Lake Highland Prep). Palmer was used primarily as a blocker in a triple-option offense, Palmer caught eight passes, one of which went for a touchdown. Also played defensive end, compiling more than 50 tackles. His brother, Jesse, will likely start at quarterback for the University of Florida next season and his father, Bill Sr., played in the CFL and is friends with Notre Dame athletic director Michael Wadsworth. Was a teammate of Max Starks, a star offensive lineman and the son of former Notre Dame All-American Ross Browner who turned down the Irish in favor of Florida or Florida State.

Greg Pauly, DL, 6-5, 275, Waukesha, Wis. (South). Pauly is the most celebrated athlete of this recruiting class. Pauly was a first-team, USA Today All-American and the Gatorade Player of the Year in Wisconsin. His 17 sacks this past season were one fewer than Notre Dame had as a team in 1999. Pauly also registered 39 solo tackles, 20 tackles for losses, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Pauly is rated No. 17 on Tom Lemming's Top 100 list. Pauly's plan is to join the FBI after football ends.

Ron Rodamer, WR, 6-4, 190, Morgantown, W.Va. Rodamer has drawn comparisons to another star receiver from the state of West Virginia, Minnesota Vikings All-Pro Randy Moss. Rodamer caught 35 passes for 660 yards and 15 touchdowns this past season before separating his shoulder last in the season. A first-team all-state selection who chose Notre Dame over Clemson. Rodamer was a high school teammate of Notre Dame tailback Chris Yura.

Jason Sapp, LB, 6-4, 230, Bridgeport, Conn. (Notre Dame). Sapp, a speedy linebacker, chose the Irish over Virginia Tech and Miami (Fla.). Runs the 40-yard dash in 4.55 and used that speed to register 92 tackles, eight sacks and three interceptions. Also played tight end, where he caught 28 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns. Bench presses 315 pounds. Is the second cousin of Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro defensive lineman Warren Sapp .

Jovan Witherspoon, WR, 6-4, 200, Fort Wayne, Ind. (Bishop Luers). Witherspoon could end up being the premier catch out of this crop of recruits. The all-state selection caught 70 passes for 1,240 yards and 12 touchdowns, aiding Luers to the Class 2-A state title. He also led the state on defense with 11 interceptions, playing safety. Rated No. 25 on Tom Lemming's Top 100 list. Also a standout basketball player who ranks among the top 100 hoops prospects in the Midwest. Witherspoon's father is sports agent Roosevelt Barnes, a former football/basketball standout at Purdue.

'Power Box' Needs to Cheer on Irish Basketball Team

Posted on 1 February 2000:

Once upon a time there was a king and his jester. This king had power over a vast empire of students, alumni, and rabid fans. And wherever the king went, his jester was by his side.

The king and his jester enjoyed being entertained and thus attended many sporting events.

If at all possible, such as at football games, the king stayed far from the townspeople in the comfort of luxury boxes with other members of the aristocracy, sipping the finest drinks and dining on the best food. Most importantly, he was protected from the masses by tinted windows and locked doors.

Not all sports offered these luxuries though. The king enjoyed basketball very much, stemming from his days as a player. If he was to enjoy a basketball game, though, he would have to grace his subjects with his presence. And so he attended his beloved game sitting near the court in the finest seats in the building. His loyal subjects sat behind him with his jester by his side.

And so the king and his jester came faithfully to nearly every game.

One would think that this sort of enthusiasm and support would be appreciated by his subjects for it isn't often that a king would lower himself to being that close in proximity to the proletariat.

But there was something wrong with the king and there was something wrong with the jester. At least it appeared as if there was something wrong.

For the king and his jester simply sat and stared, arms folded, eyes glazed, looking as if they didn't want to be at the game. Looking as if they didn't want to be near their subjects.

The team competed, occasionally looking unbeatable, occasionally looking incompetent. The subjects cheered, celebrating the good times and roaring their encouragement through the bad times. But the king and his jester refrained and simply stared ahead.

After the game, the loyal subjects filed out of the arena, some days smiling, some days shaking their heads in disapproval. But the king and his jester didn't change their expressions, they just picked up their coats and left. They didn't even clap.

OK, so storytelling isn't my cup of tea. I'll spare you the sequel.

In case the metaphor wasn't clear enough for you, I'll explain. Something strange happens at every Irish men's basketball game. To the left of the remarkably loud student section and in front of a group of children loyal to the Dome, who scream for their heroes, is what has affectionately become known as "the power box."

"The power box" is filled with a majority of the decision-making power on campus - Father Mark Poorman, Father William Beauchamp and even Father Edward Malloy. While Poorman, the newest member of "the power box," showed signs of life, cheering as a real fan does, the other two prominent figures, Malloy (our king) and Beauchamp (his jester) appeared less lively than the statue of Moose Krause lounging outside of the Joyce Center.

They just sat there staring ahead, arms folded, chins tucked down, nearly asleep.

Troy Murphy threw down a thunderous dunk and they sat there in silence.

Ted Valentine made a "Ted Valentine" call and they sat there.

The results of the game didn't matter. They just sat there.

It baffles me that two such prominent Notre Dame figures could sit and be so apathetic toward their team. No, they weren't just apathetic. They were rude.

At one point, Beauchamp pushed the leprechaun, who was trying to rouse the aforementioned youngsters, out of the way because the leprechaun stood in Beauchamp's line of sight. No "excuse me," just a shove.

Malloy refused to acknowledge a group of students chanting for him to stand up and join them in rooting for the school he runs. He just ignored them.

As a player for Notre Dame from 1961-1963, Malloy should have an idea what the players are enduring on the court and how beneficial a loud crowd is to creating a tough atmosphere for opponents to play in. He should also know what it's like to play before a crowd that looks as bored as he and his executive vice president have looked this year.

Beauchamp, on the other hand, should know the importance of success of our teams.

His primary responsibility is to act as a link between Malloy and the athletic department. Their success reflects upon the quality of his job. Why would he act so catatonically at the game?

At what point in becoming important did these two men forget how to have fun? The games are played so that spectators can enjoy them, not endure them.

We can all agree that it's admirable for the two of them to attend games with the regularity that they do. But attendance is not enough. Anyone can attend class, but it is only those who listen that get anything out of it.

Don't simply attend the games. Be a fan. It's OK for important people to smile and have fun.

If acting like you're enjoying the game is too much of a chore, then I urge you to stay home. Leave those seats open for the kids behind you. At least they look like they're alive.

Ferrer's Style Points Don't Add Up

Posted on 23 January 2000:

To hear Joe Ferrer tell it, Notre Dame football was one good stylist away from cutting into the Top 10 last season.

Ferrer, in case you've already forgotten him, observed that coach Bob Davie's refusal to let him braid his hair in corn rows represented just one of the ways he felt stifled at Notre Dame.

He apparently believed the team was not only poorly coached, but also poorly coifed.

So the starting defensive end left the Irish, pursuing a more liberal Division 1-AA program where Ferrer can worry about hair today and not be gone tomorrow.

Talk about your bad hair days for Davie.

He did not need this, does not deserve this, but cannot avoid this.

A starter who would have been a fifth-year senior publicly blasts his policy decisions in the middle of recruiting season and says that Irish teammates share his unhappiness. The lice of dissension, Ferrer implies, threatens to infect the locker room.

The implication probably merits more Davie attention than his snide dismissal of Ferrer's leaving, but not much. Any football player preoccupied with spending time in the hair salon needs more enforced time in the weight room.

This borders on the ridiculous. Ferrer leaving has nothing to do with hair styles or individuality.

It has everything to do with winning -- or lack thereof.

When coaches of winning teams institute appearance guidelines that players adhere to, they become known as sticklers to detail. Taskmasters. Tough guys who take no bull. Winners who leave no doubt which road -- my way or the highway -- leads to success.

But when coaches of losing teams try to instill the same standards of decorum, they earn reputations as guys who do not allow their players to have fun. Bores. Small men with big thumbprints. Losers who drive away potential stars over pettiness.

Coaches who lose football games also lose the benefit of the doubt, not only from the public but from the players, too.

Bet that if Notre Dame were coming off a 10-2 record instead of a 5-7 one, Ferrer would have found a way to harness all that burgeoning independence he speaks of for one more season. If the Irish were coming off an undefeated season, he probably would shave his head if Davie asked.

The swagger Ferrer claims Notre Dame takes away from its players did not disappear because the coaching staff stifled their step. It disappeared because Tennessee and Boston College and Pittsburgh and Stanford, among others, knocked it out of them. You have to win big before you walk big, otherwise your strut just seems like selfish grandstanding.

"I like to let my personality flow when I play ... I'm a wild guy, I like to talk trash,'' Ferrer said. "You can't do that at Notre Dame.''

Sure you can. Ask Bobby Brown. He celebrated all the fun right out of Notre Dame's season last September in Ann Arbor. That little bit of individuality after a two-point conversion cost the Irish 15 yards, a victory on the road against a team that would win 10 games, and any semblance of September's greatest resource -- momentum.

Two seconds of expression led to two months of excruciating disappointment.

You could even make the argument, if Notre Dame had had a little less fun and been a little more serious that day and all season, maybe the Irish would have been one of those bowl teams that Ferrer saw frolicking on TV.

Yes, Florida State lets its hair down. Miami looks cavalier. Even Nebraska seems to be one happy bunch of Huskers, despite their coach, Frank Solich, looking like he swallowed a lemon.

But the minute those teams lose by 10 or suffer through one of those 6-5 or 5-7 years, all of a sudden the word will be they are undisciplined.

Uncoachable. Out of control. As much abuse as the NCAA's intercollegiate system receives for using student-athletes to make millions -- and the abuse is often deserved -- it is only fair to point out a case when a student-athlete uses the system.

This is one of those cases.

Ferrer obtained a $100,000 Notre Dame degree for free and now will complete his fifth year elsewhere rather than sticking it out to help the institution that provided his education.

Cry not for the Irish defense. The bad news is they are losing a defensive starter. The good news is that starter played on a defense that was so bad last year it couldn't stop a clock.

It made many an Irish fan want to pull out their hair, grayer by the game.

University-imposed rules and coaching-staff policies represent two different things entirely. While Notre Dame could use some modern-day revisions to the former, the latter do not seem unreasonable nor worthy of the bashing Ferrer gave them.

To leave a program because the coaches did not let you taunt to your pleasing sounds frivolous. To complain publicly because they did not let you style your hair a certain way is just silly.

Football, as all sports, comes down to what's between the ears much more than what lays on top of them.

Sanctions Change Nothing

Posted on 23 January 2000:

Any Notre Dame student who read the media coverage of the NCAA sanctions placed on the Irish football team must have been shocked when they returned to campus and found that everything was continuing normally and the Dome hadnot collapsed.

With the NCAA announcement that Notre Dame would lose one football scholarship each year for the next two years and be placed on probation for two years, almost every sports columnist in the country suddenly felt compelled to condemn the University and declare its downfall. Many led the American public to believe that, due to the sanctions, Notre Dame would practically cease to exist.

According to most sports columnists, the actions of certain football players intertwined in the Dunbar saga forever destroyed the University and its image.

"If there was any lingering question whether the Notre Dame of grainy black and white newsreels still existed, whether the Fighting Irish of the earnest days from Rockne to Rudy somehow could have endured, that issue was officially, eternally closed Friday," Malcolm Moran wrote in the Chicago Tribune (Dec. 18, 1999).

But as every Notre Dame student learned upon returning for this semester, probation changed nothing.

Students still go to class, rectors continue to enforce parietals and most students are more concerned with class schedules than Kim Dunbar's bank records.

Students at Notre Dame know an important fact that seems to be beyond the grasp of most sports writers: Notre Dame is more than a football team, and the football team is much greater than the actions of a few players who let their greed and libido control their actions.

"Now, [Notre Dame] is just another college that plays football ... And, worst of all, without much honor either," Mike Vaccaro wrote in New Jersey's Star-Ledger (Dec. 19, 1999).

While sports columnists rant and rave about probation stealing away the football team's honor, Grant Irons, Bobby Brown and Jabari Holloway will continue to make every Notre Dame supporter proud with their athletic ability, scholastic success and overall integrity.

In most cases, without ever having spoken to a Notre Dame football player or spending any time on this campus, sports columnists across the country declared themselves experts on what Notre Dame stands for.

One writer for the Washington Post was so knowledgeable on Notre Dame that he did not even feel it was necessary to spell the football head coach's name correctly (it's Bob Davie, not Bob Davies).

The perception of most of the media is that Notre Dame has never committed an NCAA violation and spends all of its time bragging how great it is.

According to Vaccaro, "Notre Dame has been tsk-tsk-tsking others for the past 80 years."

This is completely ridiculous. Only the most ignorant Irish fan could possibly believe an Irish athlete has never violated an NCAA rule in some manner.

What Notre Dame has always prided itself on was swift and immediate action taken against any student who broke a rule, whether that rule is an NCAA, University or state law. Since athletes at Notre Dame are students, they fall under the same rules and regulations as any other student.

When Brock Williams, Tony Driver and Lee Lafayette broke rules, they were appropriately punished. But the national media ignore these University actions.

Instead, the media point at the poor decision-making of Eric Chapell who tried to sell his complementary tickets, and at Darcy Levy, who a Chicago Tribune source has revealed to be the player who paid a friend to write a paper for him. The media ignore the fact that Chapell was kicked off the team for abusing his privileges as a football player and Levy left school. The University will tell you that Levy transferred, but if you believe that his transfer wasn't highly encouraged by Student Affairs, then there is a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in purchasing.

With the Kim Dunbar situation finally at a close, Notre Dame can still feel proud. While the actions of a few individuals shamed the University, the actions of the University should be commended. The NCAA concluded that members of the coaching staff and administration were not involved in any scandal and took the appropriate steps to investigate and turn over all information related to the investigation.

Unlike Alabama and Wisconsin, who have been put on probation in the past year, the Irish coaching staff had nothing to do with the scandal.

No one ever said that Notre Dame was perfect, but even when problems arise, the Irish still do things the right way.

So for the moment, members of the administration must hang their heads and turn the other cheek as Notre Dame detractors have their day in the sun. But when the leaves turn from green to gold and a blue, gray sky blankets northern Indiana, the stadium will fill and the band will strike up the fight song. When the football team rushes from the tunnel, no one will notice the loss of one scholarship and the Irish will still have their honor.

N.D.'s Ferrer Says Farewell

Posted on 23 January 2000:

SOUTH BEND -- Football used to be fun for Joey Ferrer.

Then he came to Notre Dame.

"Whenever you put on the gold helmet, there's an image that goes with it,'' the outside linebacker said Monday. "There's an image that goes with the school. You take on a lot when you put on the gold helmet.''

Ferrer, who has one year of college eligibility left, has put on the gold helmet for the last time. He said he has left the program and will transfer from Notre Dame after the spring semester. He will head to an undetermined Division I-AA school, where he won't have to sit out a year, with degrees in sociology and computer applications already in hand.

"Joey Ferrer has been at Notre Dame for four years and has had the opportunity to play football for four years," Irish coach Bob Davie said. "We appreciate the contributions he made to the program in his role as a defensive player.

"If he feels after receiving his degree he wants to play at a lower level, we wish him nothing but the best."

"A lot of guys come to Notre Dame playing with a swagger,'' the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Ferrer said. "But that's taken away. There's no room for that on this team. I like to let my personality flow when I play. I'm a wild guy, I like to talk trash, to celebrate. You can't do that at Notre Dame. That's not part of the image.''

Ferrer even had a problem with the hairstyle constraints at Notre Dame.

"You can't have corn rows at Notre Dame,'' Ferrer said. "Why? What do corn rows have to do

with the image of Notre Dame? Why can't you be the person you really are?''

"I've never seen anywhere where the way you wear your hair correlates to success," Davie said. "With success comes fun. I've been a part of a lot of great defenses and I never thought you had to trash talk and point fingers to play harder or project an image. It's a team game."

Ferrer, from Casselberry, Fla., emphasized that his departure had nothing to do with playing time, and he had nothing against the coaching staff. This past season, the drop linebacker started the last six games of the season after slipping past sophomore Rocky Boiman on the depth chart. He made 27 tackles and three tackles for loss. A big game against Arizona State, which included a quarterback sack, lifted him into a starting role.

"Every year everybody talks about how next year is going to be so much more fun,'' Ferrer said. "Every year, it's the same thing. I'm tired of that. I've got my degrees now. I couldn't see coming back and going through another year of this. Next year is for me. It will be fun, a chance to go out on the field and be myself.''

Ferrer said his sentiment is shared by several other players, but they aren't in a situation where they could make a similar move.

"So many guys are scared to make a mistake,'' Ferrer said. "For me, if I made a mistake, I'd get pulled right away. When you're scared of making a mistake, you don't take chances. When you don't take chances, you don't make big plays.

"I watched the defenses play in those bowl games. They weren't worried about making mistakes. They were out there having fun and making plays. You could see the difference between them and us right away.''

"Notre Dame is a place where we do things with class," Davie said. "Notre Dame is not for everyone. Maybe we do have a higher standard."

Ferrer said his decision had no basis on the team's 5-7 record this past season or on anything else associated with the campus, academically or socially. It was rooted in a personal desire to enjoy himself more on the field.

Ferrer, who did not play as a freshman, got his first career start as a sophomore in the Independence Bowl against LSU when Lamont Bryant, ahead of him at rush linebacker, sustained a knee injury in the final regular season game in Hawaii. Ferrer played in every game that year, recording 14 tackles and three tackles for loss. In his junior season, Ferrer appeared in 10 games and the Gator Bowl, recording 26 tackles, three for loss.

Ferrer's 27 stops ranked 11th on the team this season.

Boiman will likely move into the starting role at drop linebacker with Justin Thomas backing him up.

Seven Irish Selected to All-Century Team

Posted on 18 January 2000:

NEW HAVEN, Conn.-- Seven Notre Dame football players are among 83 college football greats named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-Century team.

Quarterback John Lujack, receivers Tim Brown and Raghib Ismail, defensive linemen Ross Browner, Leon Hart and Chris Zorich, and defensive back John Lattner are the Irish players who were honored. Browner and Hart were designated as first-team selections.

Michigan was also well-represented with receiver Bernie Oosterbaan, offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf and cornerback Charles Woodson. Michigan State placed defensive tackle Bubba Smith and kicker Morten Anderson.

The team was chosen by a survey of current and retired college football head coaches, sports information directors and selected members of the sports media.

"The selection of the All-Century Team was strictly based on the players' college performances and their selection to a Walter Camp All-American Team," said Stanley W. Konesky, Jr., President of the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

ALL-CENTURY TEAM

*First Team Selections

OFFENSE

Quarterback

*Roger Staubach, Navy, Doug Flutie, Boston College, Tommie Frazier, Nebraska, John Lujack, Notre Dame, Peyton Manning, Tennessee, Davey O'Brien, Texas Christian

Running Backs

*Red Grange, Illinois, *O.J. Simpson, Southern California, *Herschel Walker, Georgia, Doc Blanchard, Army, Jim Brown, Syracuse, Glenn Davis, Army, Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh, Archie Griffin, Ohio State, Bo Jackson, Auburn, Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State, Doak Walker, Southern Methodist, Ricky Williams, Texas

Receivers

*Don Hutson, Alabama *Johnny Rogers, Nebraska

Fred Biletnikoff, Florida State, Tim Brown, Notre Dame, Raghib Ismail, Notre Dame, Keith Jackson, Oklahoma, Larry Kelley, Yale, Bernie Oosterbaan, Michigan, Howard Twilley, Tulsa

Center

*Dave Rimington, Nebraska, Mel Hein, Washington State, Jim Ritcher, North Carolina State

Guards

*John Hannah, Alabama, *Dean Steinkuhler, Nebraska, Brad Budde, Southern California, Jim Parker, Ohio State, Aaron Taylor, Nebraska, Will Shields, Nebraska

Tackles

*Orlando Pace, Ohio State, *Ron Yary, Southern California, Dan Dierdorf, Michigan, Bill Fralic, Pittsburgh, John Hicks, Ohio State, Bob Gain, Kentucky

DEFENSE

Defensive Line

*Ross Browner, Notre Dame, *Hugh Green, Pittsburgh, *Steve Emtman, Washington, *Leon Hart, Notre Dame, Bruiser Kinard, Mississippi, Bob Lilly, Texas Christian, Merlin Olsen, Utah State, Mike Reid, Penn State, Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma, Bubba Smith, Michigan State, Randy White, Maryland, Chris Zorich, Notre Dame,

Linebackers

*Dick Butkus, Illinois, *Tommy Nobis, Texas, *Chris Spielman, Ohio State, Chuck Bednarik, Pennsylvania, Cornelius Bennett, Alabama, Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma, Lee Roy Jordan, Alabama Jerry Robinson, UCLA, Mike Singletary, Baylor

Safeties

*Kenny Easley, UCLA, *Ronnie Lott, Southern California, Tommy Casanova, LSU, Terry Hoage, Georgia, Tim McDonald, Southern California, Jack Tatum, Ohio State

Cornerbacks

*Deion Sanders, Florida State, *Jim Thorpe, Carlisle, Dre Bly, North Carolina, Nile Kinnick, Iowa, John Lattner, Notre Dame, Charles Woodson, Michigan

SPECIALISTS

Placekickers

*Morten Anderson, Michigan State, Kevin Butler, Georgia, Sebastian Janikowski, Florida State, John Lee, UCLA

Punters

*Ray Guy, Southern Mississippi, Reggie Roby, Iowa, Todd Sauerbrun, West Virginia

Dunbar Clarifications

Posted on 19 December 1999:

Very soon the NCAA is expected to render its decision on possible rules violations by the University of Notre Dame regarding the interactions of Kimberly Dunbar with members of the school's football team. To date, the media have been derelict in their reporting of the issues and proceedings, failing to describe accurately even the most basic core of facts. This fact sheet is intended to provide members of the media with an accurate synopsis of the events and proceedings in order that they can responsibly inform the public. The information contained herein can be independently substantiated. It is our hope that you take seriously the integrity of your position and will research these facts before you form your opinion and write or broadcast this very important college football story.

The preponderance of the media reports on the subject have been inadequate in their description of Ms. Dunbar, simply terming her a "booster" when in fact her relationship with the University did not resemble the common connotation of the word. Without proper perspective, the story becomes unfairly distorted and readers are deprived a true understanding of the circumstances of the case.

Kimberly Dunbar was a girlfriend who had serial sexual relationships with various players. Her interests were prurient and not athletic. NCAA rules and regulations at issue were intended to prevent those with a vicarious interest in the success of a college's athletic programs from buying a competitive advantage for their team. The very word "booster" conjures images not of a libidinous twenty-something, but of a cigar-chomping, glad-handing wealthy alumnus purchasing automobiles for players and giving $100.00 handshakes to recruits. There is no evidence that Ms. Dunbar had any interest in the success of the Notre Dame football team, nor is there evidence that her actions advanced those interests. She was not an alumna; no one from her family was an alumnus; she was not employed by the University; she rarely if ever attended a football game at the University of Notre Dame. She was merely a local girl who had a manifest and aggressive attraction to athletes. The NCAA's rules are simply not germane, and it will be navigating uncharted waters if it chooses to police personal sexual relationships, however unsavory they may seem.

The basis upon which the NCAA found Ms. Dunbar to be a "booster" is quite dubious. The NCAA has focused on her $25 donation to the Notre Dame Quarterback Club, but this club did not, in fact, raise money for the football program. Rather, it used the good will of Notre Dame's football program to raise money for a local charitable organization. Members received no tickets, no memorabilia, no benefits whatsoever except a discount on a luncheon each Friday before home games to hear the coach speak.

The extraordinary procedural history of this case sheds light on the weakness of the NCAA's determination. This weakness is illustrated by the split vote of the NCAA Enforcement Committee, which, during its deliberations to determine whether Dunbar was ever a booster, needed three separate votes to render a decision. Even the final vote was deadlocked, requiring a tiebreaker for resolution. The intense media scrutiny surrounding Dunbar's trial and conviction of embezzlement from her employer cannot be dismissed as possibly contributory to the committee's final judgment. Clearly the NCAA felt pressure to appear firm with such a high profile program and failure to find Dunbar a booster would have ended the investigation altogether.

Recognizing the uniqueness of the facts, and that Notre Dame gained no competitive advantage from Dunbar's actions, the NCAA enforcement committee, made up of NCAA employees with no association or allegiance to member institutions, ruled the affair a minor violation. This is where the procedural irregularities become more vexing, if not suspicious. The NCAA Infractions Committee, made up not of NCAA employees but of representatives of member institutions, took the highly unusual step of overruling the findings of the neutral Enforcement Committee, and ordered further investigation into the matter. It merits mentioning that the representatives on the infractions committee included representatives from universities that have incurred severe sanctions at the hands of the NCAA. Their motivations are certainly open to scrutiny.

In summary, the Dunbar affair itself and the flagrant distortions of this story that have surfaced in the media have already brought considerable embarrassment to the University of Notre Dame and its football program. This reality dwarfs the loss of football scholarships or other potential NCAA-imposed penalties. The actions and poor judgment of the players involved sully the reputation of the University. However, it is irresponsible and inappropriate for journalists to gloss over the salient facts of this matter in their haste to sensationalize the story. The public is quite capable of understanding the unvarnished and undistorted truth of Ms. Dunbar's association with the players and forming their own opinions regarding Notre Dame's culpability and the reasonableness of the NCAA investigation into this matter. It is your duty to provide your readers with sufficient, objective and accurate information to make such a judgment now that this matter is about to fill the airwaves for what we hope is the final time.

Decline the Penalty

Posted on 19 December 1999:

The end of the century may finally bring about an end to the Notre Dame scandal. The NCAA is expected to hand out its ruling on whether any violations were committed by supposed booster Kimberly Dunbar in her relationship with several Irish players. Now let me be the first to say that I am no big fan of Notre Dame. I have complete respect for everything the school has accomplished on the field. I am just not a big fan.

With that being said, I think that any action the NCAA takes against the Irish is completely unfair. The fact that they are calling Dunbar a booster borders on ridiculous.

Just because she pays $25 to be a member of the quarterback club, she isn't a booster. That membership entitles her to go to a luncheon once a year for the football team, but I hardly think it qualifies her as a booster.

I realize that rules are rules, and if she was a booster of any sort, there has to be some form of punishment. But there also has to be some common sense in the application of those rules.

If she is not found to be a booster, as I think it should be, her only violation is being a young woman who was looking for affection. I know that she embezzled over $1 million, but that is completely unrelated to the football team. Yes, the money she embezzled did go toward paying for football players to take trips and giving them gifts, but they were not responsible to know where that money came from.

The problem that the NCAA has with the situation is, it needs to know if Notre Dame knew what was going on, when it happened. If they didn't know, the NCAA thinks that they are wrong for not knowing, and if they did know, the NCAA thinks they should have reported it.

I strongly disagree with this stance. It is none of the team's business who the players are dating. No school should get involved in the personal affairs of its players. It is too "big brother," and it is unfair to expect Notre Dame to be that involved.

The next question is, what will the punishment for the Irish be? Well, I think that they will probably lose a couple of scholarships and maybe a recruiting visit or two.

There is no way that NBC, which has a contract with Notre Dame, will allow the NCAA to pull any games off television. I also don't believe that the school will get barred from any bowl games.

The coach at the time of the incident was Lou Holtz, and he admits that the biggest problem facing college athletics is agents and not boosters. So he says he was not aware of the situation at the time. He was too busy making sure that no agents got their meat hooks into any of his players, so he had no time to delve into their personal lives.

So to the NCAA I say, hand down your punishment if you must, but anything more than a slap on the wrist will be a miscarriage of justice.

Division I Committee on Infractions Assesses Penalties Against University of Notre Dame for Violations in Football Program

Posted on 19 December 1999:

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA---The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions has placed the University of Notre Dame on two years of probation and reduced athletic grants-in-aid in the football program by one each for the next two years for NCAA violations involving the provision of extra benefits to student-athletes.

The committee considered two series of events in the case, which occurred between the summer of 1994 and summer of 1999. The first series of violations primarily concerned the provision of extra benefits to football student-athletes by a representative of the university's athletics interests. The second involved attempts by a student-athlete to sell complimentary tickets, the provision of extra benefits to student-athletes by a university employee, and academic fraud.

The university and the NCAA's enforcement staff contended that the violations in this case were secondary in nature. Through its deliberations, the committee concluded that the violations in both sets of violations were major.

A secondary violation is one that provides only a limited recruiting or competitive advantage and that is isolated or inadvertent in nature. All other violations, specifically including those that provide an extensive recruiting or competitive advantage, are major violations.

In the first set of events, a representative of the university's athletics interests provided numerous extra benefits to several football student- athletes with whom she was romantically involved and their student-athlete friends from June 1995 to January 1998. Some of the extra benefits provided included airfare, accommodations, meals and tickets to various events in such locations as Las Vegas, New York and Chicago. The representative also provided gifts, such as a ring, a charm and camcorder to student-athletes and in one case, to one of their relatives.

The individual provided other gifts before June 1995; however, the individual was not considered a representative of the university's athletics interests at that time and those activities were not considered to be NCAA violations by the committee. The provision of gifts became violations subsequent to the individual joining a university booster club in June 1995.

The committee said it concluded the violations were major because of the length of time over which they occurred, the extravagant nature of gifts and benefits that were provided to the football student-athletes, the competitive advantage gained by the university in as much as the university continued to use student-athletes who were later declared ineligible, and the fact the violations were neither isolated nor inadvertent.

In its deliberations, the committee considered exchanges between the university and the NCAA's membership services group regarding an interpretation of bylaws regarding provision of benefits from an individual who is "romantically involved" with a student-athlete. The committee determined that in this specific situation, gifts provided to a student- athlete during a romantic relationship were not a violation of NCAA bylaws. The committee believes, however, there are occasions when relationships are developed specifically to allow for the provision of gifts and stressed the importance of considering each situation on a case-by-case basis.

In considering whether the woman involved in the case became a representative of the university's athletics interests by joining a university football booster club, the committee said actions taken by the university made it clear that the university was aware that members of booster clubs were representatives of athletics interests.

The university said it previously had notified members of its booster clubs that they were representatives of Notre Dame's athletics interests. However, from the evidence presented, it appeared to the committee that the individual in this case was not notified of her status as a representative of the institution's athletics interests when she first joined the club. She also reported she was unaware she had attained this status.

A third issue deliberated by the committee was the level of seriousness of the violations. The committee concluded the violations were major because Notre Dame gained a competitive advantage by allowing a number of football student-athletes to compete while ineligible, because a number of student-athletes received a large number of gifts, and the violations were not isolated in time but occurred over a period of years.

In the second series of violations, a student-athlete attempted to sell complimentary tickets to a football game and attempted to exchange complimentary tickets for the repayment of a loan. The student-athlete also was romantically involved with a woman employed as a part-time tutor by the university who completed academic coursework for another student-athlete in exchange for a small fee, and provided various student-athletes with meals, lodging and gifts. These violations also were determined by the committee to be major in nature.

The violations found by the committee were:

• On numerous occasions from June 1995 through January 1998, a representative of the institution's athletics interests provided extra benefits to several football student-athletes and their friends that were contrary to NCAA extra-benefits legislation.

• During the fall of 1998 and summer of 1999, a university employee provided extra benefits to seven student-athletes.

• During the 1998 football season, a football student-athlete provided his girlfriend, who was a university employee, and her friend, complimentary admissions to three football games to repay a loan.

• On one occasion, a student-athlete paid a university employee to prepare an academic paper for a course in which the student-athlete was enrolled.

• A secondary violation resulting from the use of long distance telephone services by student-athletes while at a bowl game.

On June 4, 1999, representatives of the enforcement staff and the institution appeared before the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions. Subsequent to the hearing, the university provided additional information to the committee about the first series of violations, and also self- reported a second series of violations. The committee agreed to merge the two cases and issue one infractions report.

As it determined penalties in the case, the committee considered corrective actions taken by the university:

• Declared five football student-athletes ineligible for receiving unauthorized benefits. The university petitioned to restore their eligibility, and it was granted.

• Disbanded the Quarterback Club and returned all pre-paid club dues for the 1998-99 academic year.

• Informed all former club members by letter that disbanding the club did not mean they were no longer governed by NCAA legislation.

• Dissolved all of the university's smaller but similar fan organizations supporting other sports.

• Required the director of athletics to meet with the football team and staff regarding the acceptance of gifts.

• Issued a memorandum from the director of athletics to all coaches and athletic department administrators about the importance of attempting to know about the relationships their players establish and inquiring about benefits of any kind should they learn one was received.

• Convened a meeting of the athletics director and head coaches to review the memorandum.

• Conducted a meeting among the athletics director, football coaching staff and football team regarding compliance matters.

• Disassociated the representative of the institution's athletics interests involved in the first series of violations formally and irrevocably from the university.

• Revised the performance evaluation procedures for football coaches, to hold them accountable for player progress off the field, including academics and personal matters.

• Developed a mandatory core life skills program geared towarddeveloping good decision-making skills.

• Accepted the resignation of a young woman who was a university employee and involved in the second series of violations.

• Dismissed the student-athlete from the football team who had used complimentary tickets to cancel a loan.

The committee did not impose all of the presumptive penalties available, acknowledging the actions taken by the university to institute corrective measures and the fact that only one representative of the university's athletics interests and one university employee were involved in providing extra benefits.

The additional penalties imposed by the committee are:

• Public reprimand and censure.

• Two years of probation from December 17, 1999, the date of the release of the report.

• The maximum number of athletically related financial aid awards in football will be reduced by one each during the 2000-01 and 2001-02 academic years. The institution will have a total of 84 scholarships available each of those years.

During the period of probation, the university will continue to implement an educational program on NCAA legislation; submit a preliminary report establishing the compliance and education program to the NCAA; and file an annual compliance report.

The university president will recertify in a letter to the committee that all of the university's current athletics policies and practices conform to all requirements of NCAA regulations.

As required by NCAA legislation for any institution involved in a major infractions case, the University of Notre Dame is subject to the NCAA's repeat-violator provisions for a five-year period beginning on the effective date of the penalties in this case, December 17, 1999.

The members of the Division I Committee on Infractions who heard this case are: Jack H. Friedenthal, committee chair and professor law, George Washington University; Frederick B. Lacey, attorney and retired judge, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, Newark, New Jersey; James Park, Jr., attorney and retired judge, Brown, Todd & Heyburn, Lexington, Kentucky; Yvonne (Bonnie) Slatton, former committee member and chair, department of physical education and sports studies, University of Iowa; David Swank, former committee chair and professor of law, University of Oklahoma; and Thomas E. Yeager, commissioner, Colonial Athletic Association.

Posting on a Message Board of an ND football website

Posted on 12 December 1999:

My family is good friends with one of the most prominent wide receivers in the South Florida area. This wide receiver is being recruited by all the big guys. Recently Ohio State came and visited him and his family. When asked what other schools he was interested in, he told them that he might also be interested in Notre Dame. Supposedly, (and this is coming right from the family), one of the coaches then pulled out a printed statistic showing that only 48% of Notre Dame football players graduate. If that doesn't piss you off...listen to this. The WR's mother then explained that their financial situation and expressed concern about expensive airfares they would have to pay if they wanted to go watch their son play. The Ohio State coach told her not to worry about it because things could be arranged. These coaches can manipulate statistics and make uninformed recruits, and their families believe anything they want. These big time recruits are hearing a thousand different things and its hard for them to differentiate the truth from complete lies.

Please understand that I have not exaggerated anything and this comes directly from the family.

Top 20 Moments in ND Football History

Posted on 12 December 1999:

Throughout the month of August, Notre Dame football fans had an opportunity to vote for the 20 greatest moments of the 20th century. Host Communications, in conjunction with the university and Meijer, compiled the fans' choices.

No. 1: Notre Dame 31, Miami 30, Oct. 15, 1988: It was more than Pat Terrell's last-minute defensive play. It went beyond Tony Rice-to-Ricky Watters for a 44-yard touchdown.

It was about electricity. The Notre Dame student body caught football fever and carried it through the mid-'90s.

Knocking off the top-ranked Hurricanes was a major step in the national title run and in building the legacy that became Irish lore with head coach Lou Holtz.

No. 2: Notre Dame 35, Houston 34, Jan. 1, 1979: Chicken Soup became part of Notre Dame legend in this Cotton Bowl matchup.

Quarterback Joe Montana, battling the frustration of a bad first half and early stages of hypothermia from the 16-degree temperature (minus 10 wind chill) used chicken soup to regain his strength.

A blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and a quick scoring drive by Montana closed a 34-12 deficit to 34-28. It came down to one play -- an eight-yard pass to tight end Kris Haines -- that "iced" the victory on the game's final play.

No. 3: Notre Dame 31, Florida State 24, Nov. 13, 1993: The hype for this game was as good as it gets.

No. 1 vs. No. 2.

Notre Dame issued a record 732 press credentials, dozens more were turned down. The top-ranked Seminoles swaggered into South Bend on top of the world. The Irish were determined to make their mark.

Adrian Jarrell's 32-yard touchdown run on a reverse and a pair of interceptions from Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward that were turned into touchdown runs by Lee Becton and Jeff Burris allowed the Irish to lead 21-7 by halftime.

As the Seminoles mounted a desperate run at a tie, cornerback Shawn Wooden swatted away Ward's 50th pass of the day to ice the outcome and elevate Notre Dame to the No. 1 spot in the country.

No. 4: Notre Dame 12, Army 6, Nov. 10, 1928: "The Gipper" made his presence felt in this famous ploy of coach Knute Rockne.

After a scoreless tie at halftime, the Irish went into the Yankee Stadium locker room and were treated to a dramatic speech by Rockne imploring the boys to "win one for The Gipper."

The Cadets scored first after the kickoff, but N.D. halfback Jack Chevigny scored to even the score. Johnny O'Brien caught a pass from Johnny Niemiec from the Army 32 and split several tacklers to dive into the end zone for the game-winner.

No. 5: Notre Dame 49, USC 19, Oct. 22, 1977: Coach Dan Devine unveiled the now-fabled "green jerseys" for what turned out to be an epic performance against Notre Dame's most hated rival.

After conducting warmups in the normal blue jerseys, the Irish emerged through the tunnel with bright green jerseys and were greeted by a thunderous ovation.

That momentum carried over into a sound thrashing, leading 22-7 by halftime and coasting to the victory. While quarterback Joe Montana led the offense, the Irish defense had a star-studded crew including Willie Fry, Ross Browner and Luther Bradley.

No. 6: Notre Dame 18, Ohio State 13, Nov. 2, 1935: Notre Dame's first "Game of the Century" didn't start out that way.

Ohio State, an offensive machine that ruled the nation, appeared well on its way to another destruction. The Buckeyes steamrolled the Irish in the first half, gained a 13-0 lead and gave coach Elmer Layden reason to pull his starters out of frustration and send in his second unit.

The ploy worked. The Irish responded with new enthusiasm and cut the Ohio State lead to 13-12. That's when Jim McKenna, a youngster who had been cut from the team twice but sneaked aboard the team train, caught a key pass from Bill Shakespeare to set up a game-winning toss to Wayne Millner.

No. 7: Notre Dame 24, Michigan 19, Sept. 16, 1989: "Rocket" Ismail stole the show.

The speedster from Wilkes Barre, Pa., returned two kickoffs for touchdowns to allow the top-ranked Irish to escape No. 2 Michigan.

Notre Dame managed a 7-6 halftime lead when Ismail caught the opening kickoff of the second half on the 12-yard line and served notice that he was a force to be reckoned with.

No. 8: Notre Dame 13, Army 7, Oct. 18, 1924: Notre Dame's "Four Horsemen" rode into history thanks to sportswriter Grantland Rice.

Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley and Elmer Layden were immortalized after this monumental collision at the Polo Grounds in New York City.

Layden scored the first touchdown and Crowley ran for the second to send the Cadets to their only loss of the season.

No. 9: Notre Dame 10, Michigan State 10, Nov. 19, 1966: Notre Dame came into the game at 8-0, ranked No. 1 in the country. The Spartans were second at 9-0.

Coley O'Brien, a week after he was diagnosed with severe diabetes, replaced quarterback Terry Hanratty and responded to the challenge. He led the Irish back from a 10-0 deficit to tie the game late.

Irish coach Ara Parseghian was widely criticized for what was perceived as his decision to settle for a tie and run out the clock rather than going for the win with a long pass on the game's final play.

No. 10: Notre Dame 24, Alabama 23, Dec. 31, 1973: Former assistant coach Tom Clements gained his spot in Notre Dame history as a player in this Sugar Bowl matchup.

Clements engineered the victory, then preserved it in the final seconds with a gutsy 38-yard pass from his own end zone to tight end Robin Weber. The crucial pass deflated last-ditch hopes of the Crimson Tide.

No. 11: Notre Dame 7, Oklahoma 0, Nov. 16, 1957: Oklahoma had won an NCAA-record 47 consecutive games, not having lost since the opening game of the '53 season when Notre Dame prevailed. Included in that streak were a pair of national championships.

The Irish came into the game with a 4-2 record as well as a determined spirit. The two teams battled in a scoreless tie until late in the fourth quarter when, with less than five minutes to play, Dick Lynch ran three yards on fourth down for the score that ended the Sooners' streak.

No. 12: Notre Dame 31, Michigan State 8, Sept. 19, 1987: This game belonged to Tim Brown -- and may have ultimately catapulted the receiver/kick return standout to the Heisman Trophy.

In a strange game in which there were two safeties, Brown ran back a pair of punts for touchdowns and accounted for 231 all-purpose yards. In all he returned four punts for 156 yards.

No. 13: Notre Dame 17, Penn State 16, Nov. 14, 1992: Every impact player at Notre Dame has his defining moment. This one was quarterback Rick Mirer's time to shine.

The Irish trailed, 16-9, with 4:25 left, but the former Goshen High quarterback was confident. On the final drive, Mirer hit Jerome Bettis for a 21-yard pass play, scrambled twice for 22 yards and hit Ray Griggs with a 17-yard completion.

As a snow squall swirled around Notre Dame Stadium, Mirer was faced with fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line. On a broken play, Mirer found Bettis in the end zone for a touchdown. On the conversion, Mirer's first three options were covered, but Reggie Brooks, who was generally regarded as having "hands of stone," was open in the right corner and caught the pass for the winner.

No. 14: Notre Dame 35, Army 13, Nov. 1, 1913: College football was revolutionized forever by the Notre Dame passing combination of Gus Dorais and Knute Rockne.

Up until this game, which was given as much attention as any college football game of its time, passes were only thrown to stationary receivers. Coach Jesse Harper devised a plan to have the receivers thrown to while they were running at full speed. The ploy resulted in the Irish completing 13 of 17 passes for a then-unheard-of 243 yards. A 40-yard hookup between Dorais and Rockne was the longest completion in the seven years since the forward pass was legalized.

No. 15: Notre Dame 0, Army 0, Nov. 9, 1946: As "Games of the Century" go, this one was pretty good.

Top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Army had fantastic running backs Doc Blanchard, the 1945 Heisman Trophy winner, and Glenn Davis. Notre Dame came into Yankee Stadium led by quarterback John Lujack, who had suffered a sprained ankle earlier in the week in practice.

The game came down to a breakaway run by Blanchard. Lujack tripped him up with a game-saving ankle tackle that kept the Cadets scoreless.

No. 16: Notre Dame 38, Texas 10, Jan. 2, 1978: Notre Dame came back from a very unspectacular 2-1 start of the season, which included a loss to Mississippi, to win the national championship by pounding top-ranked Texas. The Irish jumped from No. 5 in the poll with the convincing win.

Six Longhorn turnovers allowed Notre Dame to have scoring drives of 50 yards or fewer four times. Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell rushed 29 times for 116 yards, but Texas could do little else.

No. 17: Notre Dame 34, West Virginia 21, Jan. 1, 1989: Notre Dame's most recent national championship was manufactured by a host of personalities.

>From quarterback Tony Rice, to backs Mark Green, Anthony Johnson and Rodney Culver, to tight end Derek Brown and speedy receiver "Rocket'' Ismail, to defensive standouts Chris Zorich, Mike Stonebreaker, Wes Pritchett, Frank Stams, Todd Lyght and Stan Smagala -- the Irish were loaded with talent.

Rice just relaxed and did his job. Four big pass plays to Brown, Ismail, Ricky Watters and Green staked the Irish to a 26-6 third quarter lead that allowed them to coast to the crown.

No. 18: Notre Dame 13, Alabama 11, Jan. 1, 1975: The "Era of Ara"' came to an end on a happy note.

Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian announced he was stepping down at the end of the 1974 season after 94 victories and two national championships.

Wayne Bullock scored on a short run after a Crimson Tide fumble and Mark McLane scored from nine yards out to give the Irish a 13-0 second-quarter lead. John Dubenetzky and Reggie Barnett had key interceptions in the fourth quarter to save the victory.

No. 19: Notre Dame 29, Michigan 27, Sept. 20, 1980: Harry Oliver became an unlikely piece of Notre Dame history.

The junior kicker, who struggled through most of his career, connected on a 51-yard field goal --- after having missed a key extra point earlier in the game -- to allow the Irish to beat eighth-ranked Michigan.

What made the story even better was that, as Oliver lined up for the kick, a stiff 20 mph wind in his face completely subsided to allow him to boot his way into Irish lore.

No. 20: Notre Dame 39, Florida 28, Jan. 1, 1992: In the buildup before the Sugar Bowl, Irish coach Lou Holtz allegedly was at home in Orlando, Fla., dining in a restaurant. As the story goes, Holtz said a waiter told him a joke: "What's the difference between Notre Dame and Cheerios? Cheerios belongs in a bowl."

The indignant Irish, No 18 with three losses, were spurred by that joke to beat the No. 3 Gators.

Trailing 16-7 at halftime, the Irish -- in white jerseys with green numbers --relied on 250-pound fullback Jerome Bettis. The bruising runner battered his way into the national spotlight by scoring two touchdowns in the final five minutes to help Notre Dame get the last laugh.

'Shirt' Off Manager's Back is a Great Guest Gift

Posted on 12 December 1999:

Hi, my name is Peter Fratoni, my girlfriend Vickie Mooty and I went to the Navy game this year and of course had a great time visiting as many places on and off campus as possible.

We drove up from Mocksville, N.C., on the Wednesday before the game, rested at a nearby motel then ventured over to the bookstore for our souvenirs. We then had some dinner and off to meet the players after practice for pictures and autographs.

Trying to get as many as we could, we found ourselves at the stadium waiting for the rest of the players to come out after they changed for more autographs and pictures.

All the while we were conversing with the student managers. I noticed that one manager was wearing "The Shirt."

I asked him where he got the shirt, he responded, "At the bookstore." I told him I have all of the previous years' shirts, but the employees at the bookstore told me that they were all out of them and did not expect to get any more in. I was very disappointed because my collection was in jeopardy.

As time went by that Thursday evening and the players were filtering out and off to their destinations, Vickie and I continued talking with Mr. Dan Cooley, about Notre Dame football of course.

Mr. Cooley was preparing to lock up the facility, and as he did so he walked with us part way around the stadium. He asked if we would be coming back this year. I replied, not this year, but we will be back next year.

Mr. Cooley, then, without hesitation, literally gave me "The Shirt" off his back so I can continue my collection.

The spirit at Notre Dame lives on, now and forever. Yes, folks, it's not just a University, it's the University of Notre Dame.

Peter Fratoni
Mocksville, North Carolina

Classic Notre Dame Story

Posted on 28 November 1999:

For my own sake, I wanted to get this written down before I forget all of the details. This is a classic story about how being associated with Notre Dame can benefit you in the most surprising ways. It is a true story. How do I know? Because it happened to me yesterday. Most of the quotes are pretty close to word for word, I remember this event so well right now. Hope you enjoy it at my expense....

I joined my Dad and a friend of the family in South Bend this past weekend to see what would eventually turn out to be an exciting Notre Dame win over Navy. Having enjoyed a leisurely Sunday morning following gameday, we were driving into Chicago early in the afternoon. I was driving and my Dad and his friend were reading the game recaps and editorials of the South Bend tribune. All three of us were in some heated discussions about the game, so much so that I was essentially driving on auto-pilot, not paying much attention to the road.

We had just entered the Chicago Skyway, when before I had even seen him coming, all of a sudden my rear-view mirror was full of flashing red and blue lights. I was indeed going about 75mph on the 55mph Skyway. I made my way over to the shoulder and of course the cop followed me over. "Sh!t, busted."

Of course I sit there in my car and roll down the window and wait for the cop to come over.

"Good morning. I got you speeding," was all he said as he approached. "Can I see your license?"

I gave him my license and he immediately asked me to step out of the car and come back behind the car. This freaked me out because I have never had a cop ask me to exit the car before. So I put the car in park and get out of the car. His car is still mostly in the right lane so that it is blocking traffic from coming close to my car.

"Mr. Owens, where are you coming from?" "South Bend," I say. At this point, I should mention that I am wearing a Notre Dame cap, a Notre Dame shirt, and there is a Notre Dame sticker on my car.

"That was quite a game yesterday," he says, "Are you football player, did you play in the game?"

"No," I say, "but we were there cheering them on."

"Who's in the car there with you?"

"My Dad, and a friend of his."

At this point I really can't figure out what in the heck is going on. This is the most bizarre pullover I have ever heard of. But then it gets even more weird.

"Well, Mr. Owens, I am going to give you a chance to get out of this ticket. Would you like to get out of this ticket?" And let me say that this guy had one of the thickest South Side Chicago accents that I have heard in quite awhile.

"Sure," I say, with no hesitation whatsoever (knowing that 20mph over is gonna cause me to lose my license for a significant time).

"Well, Mr. Owens, nothing makes my happier on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon like we got here today, than to hear the Notre Dame fight song. Would you be willing to sing that song for me in order to get out of this ticket." I just start laughing. He doesn't change his expression. I think I said something to the affect of, "Are you serious?" before readily agreeing to do so.

"Wait right here Mr. Owens, I am going to pull my car up onto the shoulder to get it out of traffic, and then you are going to sing the Notre Dame fight song for me."

So he gets in his car and pulls it completely onto the shoulder while I am left standing there behind my car. At this point, my Dad and friend have not left the car and have heard none of this exchange. They still think I am getting ticketed and cannot figure out why the policeman is pulling his car off the road.

I was expecting for the guy to get out of his car and come back over so that I could sing it for him, but that's not what he did. He stayed in his car and motioned for me to come over. I walked over to the passenger side of the car and he promptly told me to get in the back seat. I am confused by this, but let me tell you that my Dad became really concerned at this point. He later told me that he thought he would be driving my car the rest of the way home and that I wouldn't be with him. He thought that maybe I had a few priors that I hadn't told him about.

So I get in the back seat and the cop picks up the handset to his radio. I think, "Oh, sh!t! He is going to make me sing this to all of his buddies on the radio." But instead, he turns on the car's loudspeaker and says, "Mr. Owens!" My dad turns around in my car and looks back at us. "Mr. Owens. Is this your son in the back seat of my car?" My dad, with a bewildered look on his face, nods. "Mr. Owens. Your son is now going to sing for us the Notre Dame fight song." At this point my Dad and his friend start laughing, because for the first time they know what is going on.

The guy hands me the handset and tells me to press the button and go ahead. I am laughing so hard at the fact that I am about to belt the fight song over a police car loudspeaker over the entire Chicago Skyway on a Sunday afternoon, that I have trouble starting. But eventually, I get it going and start singing. My dad is dying with laughter, the policeman is so excited that at one point he starts waving his hands to the song like a conductor, and I am laughing so much that I screw up a couple of the lyrics.

I finish up with a resounding "...onward to victory." and when I am finished, he takes the handset from my hand and with a big smile on his face shouts, "One more time!" and hands it back to me. Not even putting up a fight at this point, I get right back into it and, to give myself credit, nail every single verse perfectly this time.

Once finished, I hand him back the handset, and say, "So, I take it you're a fan?"

He says, "Absolutely. You did good. Get out of here and keep the speed down."

Laughing the whole way, I get out of the police car and get back in my car and drive away.

True story. You never know when that Notre Dame education is going to pay off.

"Coach D" Thanks Student Fans

Posted on 2 December 1999:

I want to thank those that came out to support our program during "Friday Night Live." I thought it was a great event that gave everyone an opportunity to see the energy that our basketball program wants to inject into the Notre Dame community. We need your support, and you showed us that you are willing to take a step forward by showing up and making a lot of noise that night.

I need a favor from you! I need you to be our sixth man! By showing up at games in force, with your high level of energy and creativity, you can help raise the level of our play, while making it a difficult place for our opponents to compete. This will greatly aid in giving us that home court advantage that Digger Phelps' teams used to enjoy back in the '70's and early '80's. You make a difference. You also make a difference in recruiting. When we bring prospects on campus for games and they see a rowdy student section, it excites them to think about being a part of such a fun environment.

Again, you make a difference. You can make a big difference in Notre Dame basketball. I ask that you take another step closer in supporting our program. I promise we will not let you down.

"Coach D"
Matt Doherty
Head Basketball Coach

Bowls Still Want Irish

Posted on 19 November 1999:

George Perles didn't care how many sacks the young Notre Dame offensive line had surrendered this season.

He wasn't concerned that Irish football coach Bob Davie's reservoir of after-dinner jokes might not be any deeper than, say, Father Beauchamp's.

He was willing to overlook the stigma that a chronic NCAA probe has brought, a near loss to Navy, an ugly loss to Tennessee, a crushing loss to Pittsburgh.

The CEO of the Motor City Bowl embraces Notre Dame, warts and all.

"The question is, are they up to the challenge?" puffed Perles, the former longtime Michigan State head coach before moving into the bowl business.

"Notre Dame has always said they wanted to play the highest ranked team available," Perles continued. "Well, Marshall should be in the top 10 by the time our game is played. I'm not sure what their deal is with the Big East. I guess I better do my homework. But we'd love to have them, whatever their record is."

So would the four other bowls with the proper language in their contracts to land the Irish -- Gator, Insight.com, Music City and Aloha.

It's all up to Notre Dame (5-5).

With their 37-27 stumbling at Pittsburgh Saturday, the Irish need to win out against Boston College next Saturday and at Stanford on Nov. 27 to qualify for any bowl, per NCAA rules, even though Perles' group would probably accept an 0-11 Irish team if given the chance.

"Notre Dame is our top choice," Perles said. "But you've got to have a Plan B."

It will come in handy. The Motor City Bowl, set for Dec. 27 in Detroit, is the most unlikely destination for a bowl-eligible Irish team. The fledgling bowl pits the Mid-American Conference champion against an at-large team.

For starters, Notre Dame is obligated first to its agreement to the Big East bowls -- Gator, Insight.com and Music City -- if any of those games invite the Irish.

In the unlikely event they all snubbed Notre Dame, the Irish could chose to stay home, figuring they have nothing to gain and everything to lose by playing a Mid-American Conference program -- even one that is unbeaten and ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Notre Dame's most likely bowl scenario would land the Irish in the Insight.com Bowl on Dec. 31, opposite the Big XII's fifth-place team.

Teams that might fit that profile to meet the Irish in Tucson, Ariz., are Colorado, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and the Oklahoma team the Irish rallied to beat, 34-30, on Oct. 2.

"Oh gosh, we'd love to have Notre Dame," gushed Jill Conway, associate executive director of the game that reincarnated out of the old Copper Bowl.

"There are no guarantees in the bowl business, but we're very high on them. We don't care who they've lost to."

But the Big East has written rules about numbers of losses. The Big East-affiliated bowls can only bump a Big East school for Notre Dame if the Irish have only one more loss than the team in question.

Should Boston College finish 8-3, the Insight.com Bowl would have to take the Eagles, no matter what the Irish did the rest of the season.

That would knock the Irish down to the Big East's lowest-tier bowl -- the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn. The most likely opponent in the Dec. 29 game would be Kentucky or Vanderbilt.

That's not a typo.

"A significant reason why we decided to affiliate with the Big East this year was its affiliation with Notre Dame," said Scott Ramsey, Music City Bowl executive director.

The Music City committee could take Syracuse, but would not be obligated to do so, now that the Orangemen lost to a winless Rutgers team Saturday.

"We would not pass on Notre Dame," Ramsey assured.

Which would all but eliminate the Aloha Bowl, one of the two Dec. 25 games in Honolulu. The game's date poses a problem as well, being too close to the end of N.D.'s final exams.

As ludicrous as it sounds, the Irish still could end up playing on Jan. 1, back in the Gator Bowl, against last year's opponent, Georgia Tech.

In fact, had the Irish finished 8-4, it would have been an absolute.

At 7-5, two things must happen.

Miami (Fla.) must finish 7-5 or worse. The Hurricanes (5-4) have games left with Rutgers (1-9), Syracuse (6-4) and Temple (2--7).

Boston College must lose its finale with Virginia Tech.

"We're not worried about a repeat of last year's matchup," Gator Bowl executive director Richard Catlett said. "In fact, in might be kind of attractive.

"Obviously, we've got a title sponsor (Toyota) and network (NBC) to make happy, but Notre Dame is America's team -- even at 7-5."

Davie's Answers Don't Add Up

Posted on 19 November 1999:

Anybody who has watched Notre Dame go 5-4 this season understands the effects of laughter. When the sense of direction appears in doubt, it pays to have a sense of humor.

Even Bob Davie, usually tighter than a Windsor knot, tried loosening things up the other day.

"I think first of all, after watching George (W.) Bush Jr. get ambushed last Thursday, we probably ought to put some parameters on this press conference from now on,'' Davie began earlier this week. "I am not going to answer any questions about who heads foreign countries.''

Ba-dum-bum.

Though Davie might want to pay attention to that Hussein guy in Iraq for tips on how to survive in times of unrest.

"Joe Doyle (Tribune sports editor emeritus), I only go back to 1994 as far as Notre Dame facts and trivia,'' Davie continued, "so don't be ambushing me with any questions I don't know the answers to.''

Nothing historical has happened to Notre Dame football since 1994 anyway, so Davie need not worry. But in the interest of fair play, how about providing some of his recent answers and then we'll provide the questions.

Davie: "Did Tennessee play better than us overall? Probably not. Who played harder, who was prepared, who was this -- probably not. But they made enough plays that they won the game 38-14. But the point is, we have got enough talent to win each and every week. . .we have a lot of good football players on this team, a lot of talent. Enough talent to beat Tennessee.''

Question: If you want to accept that flimsy premise that Notre Dame indeed had enough talent to beat Tennessee but lost by 24, then are we to assume coaching is the problem?

Is it wise for a head coach to admirably accept responsibility for a defeat even if it insults the intelligence of anybody who watched last Saturday's game?

Davie: "They (Tennessee) are the No. 1 team in the country to me, particularly in that stadium. They are a much better team watching them on tape than what you might see on television sometimes.''

Question: So, to get back to that talent thing, how does a Notre Dame team that its head coach believes has enough talent to beat the No. 1 team in the country have four losses in nine games?

Or, to rephrase, how has a team with that much untapped potential not have a win this season over a team currently ranked in the top 25?

Davie: "Jim Sanson is our kicker this week.'' (David Miller is injured.)

Question: Is that because the Notre Dame women's soccer season isn't over yet?

Davie: "Julius Jones (freshman tailback) is special. You can see that.''

Question: Why not give Jones, Notre Dame's most exciting freshman big-play threat since Raghib Ismail, the ball 20 times a game for the remaining three must-win games of the season? Is there any doubt that, besides Jarious Jackson, Jones has had as much impact on this season as any Irish offensive player?

Davie: "Five and four doesn't turn me on a whole lot. Just like it doesn't turn anyone else on as far as Notre Dame football.''

Question: Has he been getting the Alumni office's mail by mistake again?

Davie: "I can't look one of those players in the eye and say, well, guys, I am worried about next year now. That is just not fair. We have got too much football left this year and these kids have too much invested in it. So it is Jarious Jackson because he gives us the best chance to win this year.''

Question: Would you agree that one more loss makes winning next year more important on Davie's personal priority list than winning this year? Remember that Texas A&M, Nebraska, Michigan State and Purdue will be the first four defenses Arnaz Battle sees?

Davie: "I have wracked my brain trying to figure what it is (a five-game road losing streak), but what I see it being is we are a team that we have got to play perfect to win. That is where we are. That is not always easy and the one thing would be the communication where we have had some breakdowns.''

Question: Which scenario provides clearer communication: A.) A fifth-year senior quarterback with a new offensive line (this year); B.) a new quarterback with an experienced offensive line (next year); or C.) none of the above.

Davie: "Certainly having that (bowl) agreement with the Big East gives us life, so you would be looking at the Bowl in Tucson, the insight.com Bowl and I guess the Bowl Game in Nashville (the Music City Bowl).''

Question: Since this season has unfolded for Notre Dame sort of like a country music song ("We got smoked in the Smokies and blown away by the Brees; would you give us a road win if we just said please. . .), wouldn't Nashville be the most appropriate venue?

Davie: (paraphrasing) It's not fair to look at that first class of recruits (the 1997 group of 19, of which only 12 are available to Davie this season). We took the job in December, signed a class in February, and four players already were committed (from the Lou Holtz regime).''

Question: Wasn't recruiting continuity one of the main reasons offered for moving so swiftly when Davie was hired?

Davie: "Sometimes we all talk about the negatives a lot more than we talk about the positives. We got a lot of positives right now on this football team; got a lot of good players. The challenge is to go win a football game; get this thing back on track.''

Question: Does the clock-ticking seem louder, or is it just me?

Remember The Score in 2001

Posted on 19 November 1999:

For the classes of 2002 and 2003: Cut this out and save it. Put it in an envelope marked "November 2, 2001." On November 2, 2001, open the envelope and read it again. The next day, go watch Notre Dame play Tennessee.

You will have a responsibility over the next two years to educate the classes of 2004 and 2005 about what happened last Saturday and what they need to do on November 3, 2001. They need to know how important the game is and how important the message is that needs to be sent that day.

You don't have any responsibility for the football team - that belongs to a group of gentlemen that are paid to be there and prepare the football team. They will be the ones charged with beating a team who ran the score up to sweeten their ranking.

Your responsibility will be to send another message - off the field.

I'm not sure who of you went to the game in Knoxville. If you didn't, find someone who did and ask them what it was like after the game in that city. I've seen hostile environments. My class went to Columbus, Oh. for the great tear gassing of 1995 and an upset win in Ann Arbor in 1993. They were nothing compared to Knoxville.

One of my friends described the scene as "a pack of animals." Another as "the most classless, disgusting group of people" she'd ever seen. My school, family and religion were all verbally abused. We were threatened with physical abuse and an empty bottle of beer that just missed my head on a side street. Cars slowed down so passengers could yell and throw trash.

In two years, when the game is over and the last chord of the victory march resonates through Notre Dame stadium, the students will have their day. Each of you, when you're out celebrating, should go and quickly find a Tennessee fan (trust me, they'll be there). Walk up to them, look them in the eye, extend your right hand and say, "Good game. Have a safe trip home." Then go, find your friends and do what we do best - celebrate who we are, where we are fortunate enough to go to school and the tradition our school is founded on.

On November 3, 2001, a message will be sent. Our football team will tell Tennessee: "Today, we're better than you." Our student body will say: "Every day, we're better than you."

Ken Chardos

Class of '96

Wadsworth A Cancer at Notre Dame

Posted on 10 November 1999:

I feel it is my duty to unveil yet another cancer on the Notre Dame football program. I feel very confident that Moose Krause would never utter the words "Get a life" to a Notre Dame alumnus, yet that is exactly what Michael Wadsworth said to me on Saturday when I confronted him about the lies he has told the Notre Dame community regarding his firings of Lou Holtz and John McLeod. (Lest any of you doubt me, John McLeod confirmed that he "resigned" because he was asked to.) As for Lou Holtz, I'd like to point out that someone does not resign from the only job he ever wanted without giving a reason, have a complete emotional breakdown at his last press conference and take another job two years later unless that resignation was a forced one. Ask yourself what Mr. Wadsworth has accomplished. The only thing I can find is a stadium that reeks of overkill with a press box that can only be described as obscene - all purchased with money that could have been used to bring University support staff up to a competitive wage. He forced the resignation of an outstanding football coach who had a burning love for this university, and we can clearly see what he replaced him with. If I had committed age discrimination and forced my employer into a costly lawsuit and national embarrassment, I would have been fired - yet Bob Davie has his contract EXTENDED. What I saw Saturday was further proof of our coaching staff's ineptitude - 130 yards in penalties, much of which resulted from personal fouls, and not one player was removed from the game and given a talking to. When the winning touchdown was scored, putting us up by a margin that could be overcome with a field goal unless the extra point attempt was made, the head coach could not be found to instruct his team on the conversion. As usual, he was too busy running down the sideline playing cheerleader with his assistants. Is this how we want to be represented?

Mr. Wadsworth, YOU get a life - I have one. I have a job that I have the appropriate qualifications for. I'm not a habitual liar. I love my Alma Mater too much to ever let it be embarrassed, and I would never stab a friend in the back. I challenge you to come clean on the Holtz firing and to do the right thing for this university by replacing Bob Davie with a coach who has proven himself on the field, and, more importantly, off of it. Then, when you have righted your wrongs, do your Alma Mater a favor by submitting your resignation and returning to Canada where you can do no more harm.

Kevin Keane '88

Hammond, Ind.

Off campus, Off team? Driver Penalty Off Target

Posted on 31 October 1999:

All that was missing were parents, a couch, and a living room. Otherwise, Bob Davie's sales pitch sounded in mid-January form.

"One of the great things we sell is that when you come to Notre Dame,'' the Irish football coach preached Tuesday, "you truly are a member of the student body ... That's what makes this place unique.''

Looks good on a leaflet. Makes a nice commercial.

Davie says it like he believes it, and you sense he does.

But the university's recent five-game suspension of running back Tony Driver actually suggests evidence to the contrary; that Driver is no ordinary member of student body.

How many ordinary students get personally notified by university athletic personnel on a Sunday morning, as Driver reportedly did after the Michigan State game, to remind him of an X-ray?

As the story goes, the notification revealed that a female was in Driver's room at a time campus rules prohibit members of the opposite sex from being in the dormitories. Driver apparently already had a similar violation on his record.

So the university booted him out of the dorms and off the Irish football team for the remaining five games of the season.

You wonder how empty the Notre Dame dorms would be if somebody policed the rooms of every student on every floor every night.

That does not justify Driver's lapse in judgment, it merely suggests that Driver getting caught in a web of bureaucratic policy does not necessarily mean he was a more careless resident than his peers.

It means he got caught.

As a result, a popular 22-year-old student-athlete hailed by Davie and other coaches for his maturity and leadership suddenly has been deemed unworthy of the university's trust.

Which are we to believe, the football program's branding of Driver as a young man of high character or the university's labeling of him as a disciplinary risk?

Because that is what Notre Dame has done to Driver -- label him. Only because Driver had the gumption to talk openly about the violation did we know it was not something more severe than a dorm violation.

By attempting to protect Driver's privacy, the university instead left open the possibility that Driver had done something far worse than flaunt residence hall restrictions.

What makes even less sense than the arguably antiquated dorm guidelines is the punishment.

What does a university do with a student-athlete it has determined cannot follow regulations? Why, of course, banish Driver off campus into an unstructured environment where no guidelines exist. And, for good measure, give him all the free time he wants by kicking him off the football team.

Explain that logic, please.

Explain how a university can allow its football team to keep a kicker convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol over the summer but suspend a running back caught with a girl in his room during the season.

Explain the mixed signals sent by a university system that treats student-athletes like anything but the high-character, highly motivated young adults that they profess them to be.

"It's like Father (Theodore) Hesburgh used to say,'' Davie said. "This place (Notre Dame) not only teaches you how to make a living, but how to live.''

Today we live in a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour society where you can make a bank deposit at 1 a.m. if you need. We live in a world where men not only work with women but for them, and some men even stay at home with the kids. We live in a world that more and more rewards responsibility with freedom, productivity with trust.

We live in a world much different than it was when the University of Notre Dame implemented its policies for on-campus students.

As much as people want it to be under the Golden Dome, it is not 1949. It is 1999, and if Notre Dame ever wants its football program to catch up to the calendar, the university must re-examine a structure that makes personal freedom nothing more than a notion on brochures.

It could start by re-instating Tony Driver.

A five-game suspension for a non-violent, non-criminal violation? Is there not a place on campus for middle ground?

Driver's penalty is as overboard as the Florida State University decision to play convicted thief Peter Warrick after a two-game layoff is lenient.

If the two players switched sentences, that would be more appropriate given the offenses.

Heck, if Driver got caught with a girl in his room at Florida State, they would not call it a violation. They probably would call it a tutoring session.

Notre Dame need not totally abandon its high standards when dealing with student-athletes. It can still be tough and be fair.

Suspending Tony Driver the last five games of his junior year was tough but hardly fair.

"He'll be a better player and better person because of it,'' Davie said.

Really?

He's off campus, off the team, and temporarily off track of his goal of playing in the NFL.

What lesson did he likely take away from the entire university overreaction?

Next time somebody tries to reach Driver on a Sunday morning, expect him to pretend to be sleeping.

Spurrier to replace Davie?

Posted on 11 October 1999:

TALLAHASSEE, FL -- Sources close to the Florida athletic department revealed today that the University of Notre Dame has asked for and received permission to speak with men's football head coach Steve Spurrier about Spurrier's interest in replacing Bob Davie as Notre Dame's head coach.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, report that Spurrier has met twice with Irish athletic director Michael Wadsworth over the last three weeks, and is intrigued by the possibility of putting his mark on such a historic program.

Reportedly, Spurrier's contacts with the Irish began informally over the summer when he was paired with Notre Dame assistant athletic director Bubba Cunningham at a Naples country club. During the round, the two discussed the current state of their programs, and Spurrier first learned of the current dissatisfaction with coach Davie felt by Notre Dame's athletic department.

When Spurrier expressed interest in the job, Cunningham brushed him off with the comment that Spurrier's "reported problems with sportsmanship" would probably preclude his hiring. Spurrier left the course, however, with a promise from Cunningham that University president Fr. Edward "Monk" Malloy and executive director Fr. William Beauchamp would be apprised of Spurrier's interest, and that marked improvement in Spurrier's attitude towards opponents would increase his employment chances.

According to the quoted sources, Spurrier's new sideline attitude has not gone unnoticed in South Bend, and the official call to establish a dialogue was made shortly after Notre Dame's game against Purdue September 18th. A more formal meeting with Frs. Malloy and Beauchamp is scheduled for the weekend of October 23rd, when both the Irish and Gators have an open date on their schedules. If those meetings go well, an official announcement is expected following the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta on December 4th. Spurrier's interest in Notre Dame is said to be acute. "He feels he's accomplished all he can at Florida," reported the athletic department source, "and he wants to set himself among the pantheon of college coaches." Tired of a perceived second-fiddle standing to Bobby Bowden in his home state, Spurrier is very interested in "coaching the dominant football program in a state, where he doesn't have to expend unnecessary energy countering another strong program's recruiting." Spurrier is reportedly concerned, however, about the recent interview problems between Notre Dame and Utah men's basketball coach Rick Majerus. Majerus was reportedly ready to accept the job as Notre Dame's coach, but was rejected by Malloy and Beauchamp after being recommended by Wadsworth. "If that situation arises here, he [Spurrier] will be very upset," reported the source. "He's gone to great lengths and effort to improve his image on the Florida sidelines, and doesn't want to have wasted that effort, especially considering our schedule this season so far and the opportunities he's had." When asked about the Notre Dame situation at his weekly press conference, Spurrier issued a terse "no comment". Notre Dame athletic department personnel and Florida Director of Athletics Jeremy Foley declined to comment on the report.

Editor's Note: When asked about this article, Pimpi, a U of Florida employee, stated, "That rumor originated out of Tallahassee following the Warrick/Coles scandal as a way of FSU to 'get back' at Florida."