Anytime we come across something that's basically bulletin board material, we will post it here. We will leave the Message Board for Vermin information. This page will contain any news items that we feel may be of interest.
College Town - 12 December 2004
Did Gipper's Ghost Help Dig up the Echoes? - 26 September 2004
Battle is on in NFL - 29 August 2004
Goodbye, 'Father Ned' - 16 May 2004
Defending Carroll Hall - 1 February 2004
Seizing The Moment - 18 January 2004
Alan Page Named The 2003 NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award Honoree - 11 January 2004
Posted on 12 December 2004:
In Spring 2004 Scholastic
dished on the not-so-blatantly public plans the
University has for the south end of campus and the neighborhood there. The
piece was titled "Our Town." It detailed how Notre Dame hopes to bring
College Town, U.S.A. to South Bend.
By: Jim Ryan
Just a stone's throw away from campus,
a vintage clothing store rubs elbows
with a piano bar, and down the street a sandwich shop sates shoppers
famished from lugging bags of roll-neck sweaters and rare vinyl records. At
the burger joint on the corner, lunchtime conversations about the
nominations for president and the nomenclature for carbonated beverages are
interrupted only the pony-tailed kid with $5.75 in his guitar case and a sad
rendition of "Mr. Bojangles" on his lips.
Such images may call to mind classic
"college towns" like Austin, Boston and
Ann Arbor. But South Bend, despite a smattering of off-campus hangouts like
Boracho Burrito and The Salvation Army Store, does not exactly fit that
bill.
The image of South Bend may be nearing
change, however, as the university
plans the development of a combination of commercial and residential space
south of campus in an effort to create a college town. Scholastic examines
the current plans for the proposed development and considers its potential
significance for students, the local economy and the relationship between
Notre Dame and South Bend.
Creating a College Town
The idea for the proposed multi-use
development south of campus was firsts
articulated in the Campus Master Plan, approved by the Board of Trustees in
the fall of 2002. One of the distinguishing features of the plan is an
"enhanced connection between Notre Dame and the surrounding community."
To
facilitate this enhancement, the university seeks to build a public park
directly south of the Marie P. DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts.
near the mixed-use commercial and residential space itself, which will run
along Eddy St. (the north-south road at the south of the campus that turns
into Juniper when it crossed Edison Road, the east-west four-land travelway
immediately south of campus) on property currently owned by the university.
James Lyphout is the university's
vice president for Business Operations,
the office overseeing the implementation of the campus plan. He says the
university feels the need to redevelop the area south of campus because
Notre Dame, unlike many universities, lacks a lively college town adjacent
to campus. Potential university employees are quick to point out this
deficiency.
"When we try to recruit faculty
and other senior level people to the
university," Lyphout says, "what is often mentioned is the lack of
a place
where the community and the students and faculty come together for coffee or
at a bookstore or common points of interest."
Jackie Rucker, a lifelong resident
of South Bend and the director of Notre
Dame's Office of Community Relations, has several ideas as to why a college
town never developed around Notre Dame. She says that since the university
is so self-contained, students have never been dependent on South Bend for
amenities such as housing, dining or entertainment.
Conversely, South Bend was once a bustling manufacturing town thanks to
companies like Bendix, AM General and Studebaker. As such, Notre Dame was
not such an integral part of its identity.
Urban sprawl also contributed to the
lack of a college town, Rucker says.
In the past, university faculty and staff commonly lived in the neighborhood
directly south of campus; in fact, Notre Dame Avenue was once referred to as
"faculty row." Over the years, however, people who ordinarily would
have
bought in that neighborhood have moved to Granger and other, newer
communities. This decline in residential development near campus has been
accompanied by a decline in commercial development, as well.
Through the proposed multi-use development,
the university will bring both
new residential space and new commercial space near campus. Lyphout
envisions a series of three-story buildings. Apartments or condominiums for
students, faculty and other South Bend residents would occupy the third and
second floors of these buildings. The street level and some second floor
space would be for commercial use.
Lyphout hopes the retailers in the
development will appeal to students,
though he says they will not be "big box" retailers like Target or
Meijer.
Instead, he envisions private businesses and moderately sized chain stores:
"My concept is it's going to be things like a bicycle shop, a coffee shop,
maybe a kind of Gap store, a small bookstore, a branch bank, a dentist's
office, a doctor's office, an Irish pub."
No specific businesses have agreed
to occupy the development yet, because it
is still in the very early stages of planning, according to Lyphout. The
university is currently searching for someone to fill the position of real
estate professional, whose job it will be to call a developer's conference.
For this conference, the university will invite several pre-qualified
developers to campus to guage their interest levels in developing the
university's property and to examine their concepts for development. The
meeting will allow the university to create relationships with people who
can bring capital to the project.
Once developers agree to build on
the property, they can proceed with
architectural plans for the buildings. Douglas Marsh, the university
architect, says that most developers use their own designers, but his
office, which was instrumental in creating the Campus Master Plan, will also
have significant say in the appearance of the proposed multi-use
development. For example, the university will develop design standards,
guidelines for the appearance of the development, such as what streetlights
must look like and what building materials may be used. The city of South
Bend will adopt these design standards for the college town and make
developers adhere to them while constructing the proposed multi-use
development.
Despite the university's emphasis
on adhering to its traditional
architectural styles for new buildings on campus, the university will not
attempt to impose this look on the proposed multi-use development. "We
don't
want people to think Notre Dame is sprawling into the surrounding
community," Marsh says. Therefore, the appearance of the proposed
development will reflect the scale and the materials of the existing
buildings in the neighborhood south of campus and will be the result of
collaboration between the university, the city, the developers, and the
residents of the surrounding community.
When these groups might see some actual
buildings is still up in the air.
"It's a moving target right now," Lyphout says. "It might be
as little as 18
months; it might be as long as three or four years, depending on what kinds
of developers we can interest in the project, and how quickly they can
direct their resources to the project." He adds, "All I can say is
that
we're working on it very diligently, and we want to bring it to fruition as
soon as possible."
In addition to new buildings, the
plans for the proposed development call
for improvements to surrounding streets. The university want to create a
"pedestrian friendly environment" between the development's park and
its
commercial and residential space. Edison Rd./Angela Blvd. will separate the
park from the new buildings, but according to Rucker, the road's current
configuration is too "foreboding."
"People just don't think of walking
across [Edison/ Angela] to hang out on
the campus," Rucker says. "We want to make that more pedestrian- friendly
so
that people feel invited to come and hang out on the campus, to spend time,
to use it like a park."
The Campus Master Plan calls for the
straightening of Edison/Angela between
Notre Dame Avenue and Eddy St. The straightening will move the intersection
of Edison/Angela and Eddy to the south. It will create more space for the
park south of the Performing Arts Center and, after the closing of Juniper
St., it will create a less intimidating, three-way intersection with Eddy
St.
Lyphout adds that improvements to
the "five-points" intersection of South
Bend Ave., Corby Blvd. and Eddy St. will also be necessary, as that
intersection will mark the south end of the commercial and residential
development. Smaller improvements like tree-lined sidewalks, on-street
parking and landscaped medians will also serve to make the proposed
development more appealing to pedestrians.
Constructing the proposed multi-use
development will be a collaborative
effort, and financing the development will be no different. The university,
the city of South Bend and developers will all contribute capital to the
development, which they feel will serve the interests of all involved.
The university currently owns the
property upon which the proposed multi-use
development will be built, including the land where the Logan Center is
located and two large lots near the five-points intersection. The university
will not, however, raise money to construct the new buildings, as it does
for on-campus buildings. Rather, the university will sell the land to
developers or establish long-term leases with them. The developers will then
build on the property and charge tenants for space in their buildings.
Lyphout says that the university will
not gain financially from the
development. "I don't think the university wants to own and operate
businesses," he says. "We just want to facilitate a process that will
result
in desireable business development in that district." The university hopes
that such development will improve the somewhat impoverished neighborhood
south of campus.
Economic leaders in the community
approve of the university's plan and think
it will be successful in revitalizing the neighborhood. "I think all the
concepts are sound," says Mark Eagan, President and CEO of the St. Joseph's
County Chamber of Commerce. "Some of the neighborhoods around the
university....have been on the decline,"
he says. "My hope is that [this new investment] will be a catalyst for
other
development."
Donald Inks, director of the City
of South Bend's Division of Economics,
shares this positive outlook. He says the university approached his office
approximately one year ago with their plans for developing the area south of
campus. "We thought they had done some good work," he says. "I
think it will
have a positive effect for both the university and the neighborhood."
Rucker says that the development will
address basic needs of the
neighborhood. "You can't buy a loaf of bread in that neighborhood,"
she
says. "That's a problem." Rucker also says development will make the
neighborhood a more appealing place for university faculty and staff to
live. If more university employees move into the neighborhood rather than to
newer communities like Granger, it will create a greater tax base for South
Bend.
Lyphout says the city also stands
to benefit from the additional businesses,
jobs, and attractions that the proposed multi-use development will provide.
As a result, the city has cooperated closely with the university in the
development. The city created a mixed-use, residential and commercial zone
for the Eddy St. corridor. Such zones previously did not exist in South
Bend. In December 2003, the city officially declared the neighborhood south
of campus a redevelopment area, which allows it to be declared a tax
incremental financing (TIF) district. When a TIF district is developed and
improved, any resulting increase in property taxes in the district can be
recycled back into the district to be used for further improvements.
Once the property is developed, both
community leaders and the university
envision shops and services that will cater to both South Bend residents and
people affiliated with the university. "We'd like to see shops that will
bring character and help complement the neighborhood," Eagan says. Lyphout
says, "[South Bend residents'] participation, their support of thte
businesses there, will be critical to the project."
Neither Lyphout, Inks nor Eagan is
concerned that the proposed multi-use
development will have an adverse effect on businesses that Notre Dame
students and staff currently frequent, such as restaurants downtown and on
Grape Rd. or shops in University Park Mall. "I don't think it's going to
cannibalize any of that business," Lyphout says. "It's just going
to create
new business."
The effect on Grape Rd. and the mall
will be negligible, Inks says, because
they attract a regional market and are not dependent on student business. He
adds that there are few retailers downtown that students frequent, so the
proposed multi-use development will not hurt business much there, either.
Eagan thinks the proposed multi-use
development will have a much different
draw than Grape Rd., the mall or downtown. "I think it's a totally different
kind of business," he says. "[The proposed multi-use development]
will be a
little more unique."
Lyphout agrees. "It's not going
to be something that competes with
University Park Mall," he says. "I think it's going to be something
that's a
much smaller scale and of a much different appeal. It's going to be a place
where people browse and relax, are entertained. People tend to go to malls
on a mission: they need a pair of jeans; they need a new coat, etc. This
will be a place where people can go to interface with the community, meet
friends, relax."
Dan Stauffer, owner of Buffalo Wild
Wings, a popular student eatery on
Washington St., also does not fear a tremendous drop in his business. He
estimates that 75 percent of his business comes from non-students and that
that portion of his clientele will be relatively unaffected by the proposed
multi-use development. Stauffer thinks that most of the remaining 25 percent
of his clientele will remain loyal to his restaurant. He says that since
students are drawn to his restaurant for reasons such as quality and
ambience, the convenience alone of the restaurants in the proposed multi-use
development will not prevent students from going to Buffalo Wild Wings.
Stauffer adds that as a student at Indiana University, he lived in a vibrant
college town of Bloomington, and a similar development in South Bend is
"long overdue" for Notre Dame students.
While it is true that the proposed
multi-use development will have a
significant impact on student life, the university has a much larger scope
in mind while planning the development. "It's our intention to improve
the
neighborhood, create something that's of interest to the South Bend
community, as well as our students," Lyphout says.
The university's desire to improve
the community surrounding campus is
evident in its participation in the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization
Organization (NNRO), a resident-run group working to strengthen and
reinforce the neighborhood directly south of campus. The NNRO is comprised
of people who live in the neighborhood and represent one of five
organizations: the university, the City of South Bend, the Madison Center,
St. Joseph's Hospital or Memorial Hospital. These organizations contribute
money to studies on ways to improve the neighborhood and provide services to
residents. For example, the university, through the Robinson Community
Learning Center provides educational services for neighborhood youths and
adults.
Lyphout says the proposed development
of a college town will be an "integral
part" of the NNRO's effort to revitalize the neighborhood. Rucker agrees:
"Some of [the NNRO representatives] are second- or third-generation in
the
neighborhood, so they know what the neighborhood was like in its heyday, and
they also know what it needs to make it function properly." Their input
will
enable the university to cater to the desires of neighborhood residents when
designing the development.
Marguerite Taylor is a 60-year resident
of the Northeast Neighborhood and
sits on the NNRO. She is excited about the commercial development south of
campus. "It can do nothing but bring prosperity to the neighborhood,"
she
says. Taylor says that commercial development is not the only thing the
university is doing to reinvigorate the neighborhood. She says the
university's encouragement of its faculty and staff to build homes and live
in the Northeast Neighborhood has improved the relationship between the
university and the neighborhood.
Rucker, too, cites the return of university
faculty and staff to the
Northeast Neighborhood as an important step in revitalizing the area. She
says the university has facilitated this movement by selling land in the
area to faculty and staff who have agreed to build or buy a home there. The
university still wants to maintain the traditional character of the
neighborhood, though, so it set architectural standards for construction to
ensure that the new houses in the neighborhood resemble the older ones.
Rucker says this effort has been successful: "One of the things I've been
hearing from people is, 'There's these houses, and I don't remember them
being there a few years ago, and it looks like they've been there forever.'
"
Increased single-family housing near
campus is, in fact, one of the focal
points of the university's college town development. According to a written
response to frequently asked questions at a community meeting last December,
the university owns 120 parcels of land in the area surrounding campus. The
university has amassed these properties in an effort to maintain stable,
single- family residential communities in those areas. The university is
interested in maintaining these communities in part because it does not want
an influx of inexpensive undergraduate student housing on the fringe of
campus, as is common at many other universities. The university feels that
this would be detrimental to the undergraduate experience at Notre Dame,
which depends heavily upon the residence hall system.
The university also seeks to increase
single- family housing near campus
because university employees like to live near their place of work.
"[University employees want to be able to walk to work, to ride bikes,
that
sort of thing," Rucker says. "And that's because of the nature of
the work.
If you're a faculty member and you're teaching, you don't want to have to
drive a long drive and then turn around and have to drive a long drive
back."
While the university would like more
of its employees to live in the area
south of campus, it does not want to displace any of the neighborhood's
current residents, particularly low-income residents. "What we want is
a
diversity of incomes in the neighborhood," Rucker says. South Bend Heritage,
an organization that works closely with the NNRO, facilitates this goal by
providing affordable housing south of campus. The organization also
rehabilitates dilapidated houses in the neighborhood. Rucker says the result
is a diverse neighborhood with personality, which is something that appeals
to employees of a university.
The proposed multi-use development
will need to appeal to a wide variety of
patrons, including neighborhood residents and university students, faculty
and staff. Rucker believes this is possible. She envisions the area between
the Performing Arts Center and Edison Rd. as a "small central park"
that
will host activities appealing to many demographic groups. She says, "It
would not be uncommon to have musicians performing or drama troupes or some
sort of activity going on - in warm weather of course."
The attractions in the performing
arts center and at the park would then
draw people to the commercial area across the street. "One thing that we
purposefully did not do was to put an eating area inside the performing arts
center, because then that makes it necessary to have [external]
restaurants," Rucker says. "What people would normally do, if we are
having
a performance, would be to go to dinner before, go to the performance, and
then afterwards go to bars, clubs, restaurants, and sit and talk about the
performance that they just saw."
Lyphout thinks the performances and
the amenities of the college town
development will help bridge the gap between South Bend residents and people
affiliated with the university. He says, "I think [the development] is
going
to give more opportunity for the community and university students, faculty
and staff to interface, to interact, to bring them together."
The university hopes that this interaction
will redress the perception that
the university is isolated from the community. "For some people, the
university is still perceived as kind of an island," Lyphout says. "I
think
this will create a common ground on campus borders where everyone feels
comfortable."
Did Gipper's ghost help dig up the echoes?
Source: South Bend Tribune
By: Michael Wanbaugh
Date: Sept. 14, 2004
Posted on 26 September 2004:
SOUTH BEND -- Under the divine gaze
of Touchdown Jesus, just about anything
can seem possible.
On a college campus where football
and divinity are seemingly stitched into
the same cloth, a unique spirit manages to sprout from the earth and drip
from the walls.
This is the University of Notre Dame,
where with the right kind of eye a
person can still see the dust of the Four Horsemen.
The Rev. Brian Stanley, a former trombone
player and Class of 1984 alumnus,
has such an eye.
Like the more than 80,000 others in
Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Stanley
watched the Irish upset eighth-ranked Michigan, 28-20 on a perfect September
afternoon.
What nearly all of those spectators
missed was Stanley sifting what he
believes to be dirt from George Gipp's grave site onto the grass of the
northwest end zone during halftime.
"I saw him do it," Larry
Dwyer, assistant director of the Notre Dame band,
said Monday. "Then he sprinkled it with holy water. It took him about 30
or
40 seconds."
The Irish trailed Michigan 9-0 at
the time. In the second half, Notre Dame
outscored the Wolverines 28-11 to earn its first win of the year.
"I was on the field with the
band at halftime, and I reached in my pocket
and started laughing," Stanley said. "I had forgotten I had this container
of dirt."
Stanley serves as the band's alumni
chaplain. It's something he's done for
about a year. He is also the pastor of the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic
Church in Coldwater, Mich.
Before the game began, Stanley was
waiting near the stadium tunnel with the
tuba players. A man Stanley didn't know called to him.
Stanley walked over to the man.
"Can you do me a favor?" the man asked.
"That depends what it is," Stanley answered.
The man handed him a small plastic container. "Take this."
"What is it?"
"This is dirt from the Gipper's
grave," the man said. "I was up there last
weekend. I want you to sprinkle it on the field."
George Gipp, who is buried in his
hometown of Laurium, Mich., is considered
one of Notre Dame's greatest football players. He was the school's first
All-American. He scored 83 touchdowns in 32 games for coach Knute Rockne.
During his senior season in 1920,
Gipp died of strep throat. His deathbed
plea to Rockne, "Win just one for the Gipper," is firmly entrenched
in
football lore.
This was the Gipper the two men were
talking about, heightened Sept. 11
security be damned. Stanley took the container and said he would do as the
man said.
"The guy looked honest enough
to me," Stanley said. "I guess it could have
been a little dangerous, but I tend to look at the result instead."
Inside the container, according to
Stanley, was about 2 tablespoons of dirt
and some roots of grass. In his pocket it stayed until the two bands
finished their halftime performances.
"I asked Larry Dwyer if I should
still sprinkle it on the field," Stanley
said. "He said, 'It wouldn't hurt.' "
Stanley's initial thought was to spread
the dirt on the 50-yard line. He
said it was band coordinator Lane Weaver's idea to put it in the end zone.
"He said that's where we need to be," Stanley said.
So that's where they headed. In front
of the student section, about 3 feet
inside the sideline, Stanley laid the Gipper's dirt to rest. He then pulled
out a bottle of holy water and sprinkled the area while saying a general
blessing.
"I always carry a bottle of holy
water with me," he said. "You just never
know."
Security never questioned what he was doing.
"What security person is going to stop a priest at Notre Dame?" he quipped.
After the break and Stanley's piecemeal
end zone resodding, the Irish looked
like a different team. Leading 14-12, Notre Dame running back Darius Walker
scored his second touchdown of the game. He ran directly over the spot
Stanley blessed.
Could the Gipper's ghost, the same
ghost that allegedly still haunts
Washington Hall, have altered Irish fortunes Saturday?
"I think the execution of the
offense and outstanding defense had a great
deal to do with it," Dwyer said. "But we'll accept divine help any
day."
After the game, Stanley plucked a
pinch of the end-zone turf from the ground
and put it in the container that now sits atop his computer. He plans to
take it to Knoxville, Tenn., when the Irish play the University of Tennessee
there on Nov. 6.
He's hoping Touchdown Jesus will be able to see that far south.
Battle
is on in NFL
Ex-Irish star has impressed San Francisco as a receiver and a returner.
Source: Associated
Press
Date: Aug. 19, 2004
Posted on 29 August 2004:
SANTA CLARA, Calif.
(AP) -- Former Notre Dame quarterback Arnaz Battle is
making a big impression on the San Francisco 49ers as a receiver and
special-teams player.
"There was a
reason he was a wishbone quarterback at Notre Dame," general
manager Terry Donahue said Tuesday. "The guy can do something with the
football."
On Saturday night
in the 49ers' preseason opener against Oakland, Battle
returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown, forced a fumble on a kickoff and
returned a kickoff 40 yards. On the punt return, Battle appeared to be
stopped near midfield, but bounced away and eventually broke four tackles
before weaving his way into the end zone.
"He has an innate
ability to make plays," coach Dennis Erickson said. "He's
very athletic and strong. He's got decent speed and he's a competitor."
Battle also caught
a short pass and turned it into a 16-yard gain, again
displaying his burst and breakaway ability. Battle has moved into the fourth
receiver role ahead of Rashaun Woods, the first-round draft pick slowed by
hamstring problems.
Battle still is learning
to play receiver. He was a star quarterback in high
school and became Notre Dame's starter as a junior before a broken wrist
ended his season after two games. He then led the Irish in receiving as a
senior.
Last year, after the
49ers drafted him in the sixth round, Battle's progress
was hampered by a torn ligament in his left big toe. He was placed on
injured reserve in December and eventually required surgery. He finished the
season without a reception.
"I know I have
a way to go to get where I want to be as a receiver," Battle
said. "But I'm learning a lot. I had high hopes coming in last year, but
I
had to stay healthy to continue to learn the position. I have great
receivers to learn from and I think I'm making progress now to be where I
want to be."
He also is making
progress on special teams. Battle led the 49ers in special
teams tackles against the Raiders and is challenging incumbent Jimmy
Williams for the regular job returning kicks.
Williams led the NFL
with a 16.8-yard average returning punts in 2002, but
he slipped to a 6.9-yard average last year. Erickson said Battle and
Williams will share the return duties Saturday night in Chicago.
Notre Dame's executive VP for 35 years,
Joyce helped Hesburgh build the campus
FATHER EDMUND P. JOYCE: 1917-2004
Source: South Bend Tribune
By: Margaret Fosmoe
Date: May 3, 2004
Posted on 16 May 2004:
SOUTH BEND -- The Rev. Edmund P. Joyce,
half of the famous duo that led the
University of Notre Dame for most of the latter part of the 20th century,
died shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday at Holy Cross House on campus.
He was 87.
Joyce served as Notre Dame's executive
vice president from 1952 until 1987,
during the entire period the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh was Notre Dame's
president.
Joyce had been in ill health since he suffered a stroke in September 2002.
"He was like my brother," Hesburgh said Sunday afternoon.
Hesburgh last saw his old friend about
10 p.m. Saturday, when he
administered the last rites to Joyce.
"We were the best of friends,"
Hesburgh said. "I learned a lot from him. I
hope he learned a few things from me, too."
Hesburgh will give
the homily during a funeral Mass in Sacred Heart Basilica
on Wednesday.
It will fulfill a promise the two
made to each other. The one who lived
longer would present the homily at the other's funeral.
Joyce is survived by a brother, Lyle,
of Paris, and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and another brother, Jack.
Father Ned
As the university's chief financial
officer, Joyce presided over campus
construction and helped boost the endowment from $9 million to $400 million.
Joyce -- known as "Father Ned"
on campus -- also was responsible for
overseeing the university's athletic programs, including serving as chairman
of the university's board of athletics throughout his tenure as vice
president.
Although keeping a sharp eye on the
Irish sports program was his job for
more than three decades, Joyce retained the lifelong enthusiasm of a true
sports fan.
"As far as my job goes, sports
always has been the icing on the cake," he
said in a 1987 Tribune interview.
"Father Ned Joyce was a principal
builder of Notre Dame in both the literal
and figurative senses," said the Rev. Edward A. Malloy, university
president. "He served Notre Dame and her people splendidly as a priest,
administrator and friend, and while we rejoice that he is now in the company
of heaven, we will all keenly miss this irreplaceable man."
Joyce retired in 1987 at the same time as Hesburgh.
"Father Ned Joyce was my right-hand
man for the entire 35 years that I was
president of Notre Dame," Hesburgh later wrote. "It would be impossible
to
recount, even in cursory fashion, all the great things he did for Notre Dame
during his 35 years as executive vice president. Without him, both the
University and I would have been much diminished."
Sometimes viewed as Hesburgh's silent
partner, Joyce liked it that way. "By
staying in the background, I've been able to maintain my objectivity,"
he
said.
In his autobiography, Hesburgh said
he selected Joyce as his vice president
because he was good at everything he himself wasn't -- particularly
finances.
Although quite different in terms
of philosophy and theology -- Joyce was
considered relatively conservative, while Hesburgh is relatively liberal --
that never detracted from their partnership or friendship.
Both men said they never had a serious disagreement.
For much of Hesburgh's presidency
(until 1970, when the position of provost
was created), Joyce was in charge whenever Hesburgh was away from campus.
"When I was away, he was acting
president, the man in charge. I traveled a
lot, often for weeks at a time, but I never worried for a moment about how
the university was doing in my absence," Hesburgh later wrote. "With
Ned
Joyce in charge, I knew I had nothing to worry about."
Hesburgh described Joyce as "a
man of impeccable moral character, shrewd
judgment, rocklike fidelity, and unfailing dependability."
Immediately after retiring, Joyce
and Hesburgh went on a driving trip across
the United States in a recreational vehicle. Hesburgh recounted the trip and
their friendship in a 1992 book, "Travels With Ted & Ned."
For 10 years during retirement, Hesburgh
and Joyce served as chaplains
together on annual cruises that took them to Norway, South America and the
Far East.
In retirement, the two men shared
adjoining offices on the 13th floor of
Hesburgh Library.
Arrival at ND
Joyce was born in Tela, Honduras,
on Jan. 26, 1917, to American parents,
Edmund P. Joyce Sr. and Genevieve (Block) Joyce. Mr. Joyce was an accountant
for a fruit-packing company.
Because of World War I, the family
spent only one month in Honduras before
moving to Spartanburg, S.C. Joyce was schooled there, graduating from
Spartanburg High School.
Joyce became a student at Notre Dame
at age 16. He played both tennis and
basketball, excelling in interhall athletics and leading Brownson Hall to
the campus basketball championship.
In the 1987 interview, Joyce said
he dreamed of trying out for the varsity
basketball team sophomore year and convinced Coach George Keogan to give him
the opportunity.
But before he got the chance, Joyce
found out that his campus job of waiting
tables came at the same time practices were held. "And jobs were more
important back then," he said.
His brothers, both younger, later
won varsity letters playing on the Notre
Dame tennis team.
Years later, while studying abroad,
Joyce represented Oxford University in a
"World Open" basketball tournament. Although there were only four
teams
involved, Joyce's team won the "international" title by beating a
team
fielded by the U.S. Air Force.
Joyce earned his bachelor's degree
in accounting magna cum laude at Notre
Dame in 1937. After college, he worked with the L.C. Dodge accounting firm
in Spartanburg and became a certified public accountant in 1939.
In 1942, Joyce entered St. Joseph's
Novitiate, in Rolling Prairie, and made
his first vows there on Aug. 16, 1943.
In 1945, Joyce entered Holy Cross
College in Washington, D.C., which was
then the theological house of studies of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
After four years of studies, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 8,
1949, by Bishop John F. Noll of Fort Wayne in Sacred Heart Church on the
Notre Dame campus.
After ordination, Joyce taught theology
at Notre Dame and served as
assistant vice president for business affairs. He became acting vice
president in the fall of 1949. His tenure in that office was interrupted by
a year of advanced study at Oxford.
He returned to Notre Dame in 1951
as vice president for business affairs and
in June 1952 was named to the post of executive vice president, at the same
time Hesburgh became Notre Dame's president.
Six football coaches
Joyce was a tall, dignified man whose
vice presidency spanned the tenure of
football coaches from Frank Leahy to Lou Holtz.
He was responsible for hiring six
head football coaches: Terry Brennan
(1954-1958), Joe Kuharich (1959-62), Ara Parseghian (1964-1974), Dan Devine
(1975-80), Gerry Faust (1981-85) and Holtz (1986-96). (Hugh Devore filled in
as head coach in 1963.)
Teams led by three of those coaches
-- Parseghian (1966, '73), Devine (1977)
and Holtz (1988) -- won national championships.
Joyce "always had a great interest
in developing the athletic program. He
felt that a complete rounding of the whole person included the physical as
well as mental," Parseghian said in 2002.
Football was not Joyce's only athletic
priority. For years, Joyce told
Hesburgh that Notre Dame needed a modern athletic facility to replace the
old campus fieldhouse.
By 1960, when plans were in place
for the new campus library, Hesburgh gave
Joyce the go-ahead for a new athletic facility. Joyce and Moose Krause, then
athletic director, raised the $9.5 million to build the Athletic &
Convocation Center.
When Joyce retired, the ACC was renamed the Joyce Center in his honor.
National voice on sports
In the 1950s, Joyce was an outspoken
opponent of the National Collegiate
Athletic Association's efforts to control college football telecasts. Some
member schools feared live game coverage would reduce attendance.
The NCAA approach was contrary to
the American concept of free enterprise,
according to Joyce.
"It seems particularly strange,"
he wrote in a 1955 magazine article, "to
find our colleges, which should be bulwarks of freedom, and their athletic
departments, which should be advocates of fair and open competition,
huddling together lest a new invention (television) affect one small aspect
of life."
When the NCAA television committee
recommended that all television revenue
raised by college football telecasts be placed in a common fund and
distributed to all member NCAA schools, Joyce countered with a
tongue-in-cheek proposal that in addition to all the football receipts, the
entire endowments of such schools as Harvard, Princeton and Yale be likewise
contributed to NCAA members.
To that proposal, members of the television
committee "remained
significantly silent," Joyce noted.
Joyce was ahead of his time in correctly
predicting that, rather than
reducing gate proceeds, televising college football games actually would
boost the number of fans.
The vice president was a pioneer in
tracking student-athlete graduation
rates. In 1955, Joyce reported his own comprehensive study of Irish football
players of the previous 25 years revealed a graduation rate of 97.5 percent,
according to "Onward to Victory," a 1998 book by Murray Sperber.
No one showed much interest at the
time. Several decades passed before
Joyce's use of graduation statistics was picked up in the popular press and
became a standard factor in evaluating college athletic programs.
Joyce considered Notre Dame's 1974
basketball win at home against UCLA,
which snapped the Bruins' 77-game winning streak, a high point of his
tenure.
"It was the biggest highlight
for Notre Dame basketball I've ever seen and
I've been following it since '33," Joyce said years later. "It was
indeed
the most exciting game I've ever watched."
For many years Joyce was an influential
voice in the NCAA, particularly in
matters dealing with the educational integrity of intercollegiate athletic
programs. He also was instrumental in formation of the College Football
Association and served that organization as secretary-treasurer.
In 1968, Joyce received the U.S. Air
Force Exceptional Service Award, the
highest award the Air Force presents to nonmilitary personnel. The award was
in honor of Joyce's contributions to Air Force education programs and the
Air Force ROTC program at Notre Dame.
In 1977, the National Football Foundation
honored Joyce with its
Distinguished American Award. Joyce had served on the foundation's board of
directors.
In retirement, Joyce remained active in issues affecting college athletics.
In a 1993 address to the College Football
Association in Dallas, Joyce
delivered an impassioned plea to combat proposed changes in the name of
gender equity in sports. He was concerned about the negative impact the
sweeping change would have on college football.
"Women's sports are trying to
emasculate college football and it's totally
illogical," Joyce told the gathering.
"Without football revenue, women's
sports wouldn't have one-tenth of what
they are getting right now," he said. "Now they are saying that football
is
the villain and we should cut expenses for it. That's totally unreasonable
and illogical."
At the time, some gender-equity proponents
were contending that an identical
number of athletic scholarships should be awarded to women as to men.
College football teams at the time were allowed to award 85 scholarships.
Joyce maintained football, since it
was the only revenue-producing college
sport, should not be treated the same as every other sport.
He proposed that women's athletic
programs should receive the same amount of
university subsidies as men's programs. If men's tennis received $500,000 in
subsidies, so should the women's tennis team, he maintained.
Football should be left alone, he
said, because Notre Dame football didn't
receive a subsidy from the university. Some detractors suggested that
Joyce's plan would offer equal financial support to women's sports without
offering equal opportunity for women.
"Unfortunately, men have been
put on the defensive on this and women have
been on the offensive," he said.
Honors for Joyce
Joyce was appointed to the Board of
Visitors of the U.S. Naval Academy by
President Eisenhower. The U.S. Air Force awarded him the Exceptional Service
Medal.
Notre Dame's Joyce Sports Research
Collection, one of the largest
collections of sports memorabilia, is named in his honor. There are three
endowed chairs in Joyce's name at the university.
In 1986, he received the Helping Hands
Award for outstanding community
service from Hospice of St. Joseph County.
He served as a trustee for the National
Conference of Christians and Jews
and Junior Achievement, and as a director of the Institute for Educational
Management in Cambridge, Mass.
Joyce received honorary degrees from
Notre Dame; the College of St. Thomas
in St. Paul, Minn.; Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C.; the University
of South Carolina at Spartanburg; Our Lady of Holy Cross College, in New
Orleans; and Wofford College, in Spartanburg.
In 1990, Joyce was inducted into the Indiana Academy.
Among the duties Joyce assumed in
retirement was honorary chairman of the
newly constituted Badin Guild, a planned giving organization for benefactors
who provide estate gifts to the university through bequests, trusts, life
insurance and remainder interests in real estate. He also was a Life Trustee
of the university.
Of all his achievements, Joyce was
most proud of being a Holy Cross priest,
according to those who knew him.
"If you were in trouble, he was
a good person to go to, a real moral
anchor," Hesburgh said.
"We're going to miss him, but
he's left his mark on this place," Hesburgh
said. "I'm not worried about him. I just hope I can die as good and holy
a
death as he did."
****************************************************************************
The Joyce File
Jan. 26, 1917: Born in Tela, Honduras
1937: Graduates magna cum laude from
the University of Notre Dame, with a
bachelor's degree in accounting
1942: Enters St. Joseph's Novitiate in Rolling Prairie
1943: Professes his first vows
1945: Enters Holy Cross College in
Washington, D.C., which was then the
theological house of studies of the Congregation of Holy Cross
June 8, 1949: Ordained a Holy Cross priest
Fall 1949: Named acting vice president
of Notre Dame, a job interrupted for
a year of advanced study at Oxford University
1951: Returns to Notre Dame as vice president for business affairs
1952: Named executive vice president
when the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh
becomes Notre Dame's president
1960: Persuades Hesburgh to approve
plans for a new athletic facility to
replace Notre Dame's old campus fieldhouse. Joyce and Moose Krause, then
athletic director, raise the $9.5 million to build the Athletic &
Convocation Center.
1977: Honored by the National Football
Foundation with its Distinguished
American Award
1986: Receives a surprise honorary
degree at Notre Dame's commencement
ceremony
1987: Joyce and Hesburgh retire. The
campus Athletic & Convocation Center is
renamed the Joyce Center in his honor.
Sept. 20, 2002: Suffers partial paralysis
from a stroke. After a stay at
Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, he moves to Holy Cross House, the
priests' retirement home.
May 2, 2004: Dies at Holy Cross House
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remembering a Notre Dame legend
"I've known Father Joyce over
20 years. I think he was the most revered,
respected intercollegiate athletics person of the past century. ... He was
an awesome mentor and a dear friend. What Father Joyce and Father Hesburgh
accomplished here in 35 years is truly legendary in higher education."
Kevin White
Notre Dame athletic director
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Father Joyce was one of the
great priests in the history of Notre Dame. He
contributed mightily to the growth of the university in the latter half of
the 20th century. He was a loyal and steadfast colleague. Father Joyce was
the ultimate Christian gentleman, a person of honor, integrity and great
elegance. He was the embodiment of all the fine virtues of a Catholic
priest."
Timothy O'Meara
Notre Dame provost, 1978-1996
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Father Joyce told me upfront
that he and Father Hesburgh felt that the
pressures of athletics were going to create some pressures for the coaches
and the athletes. They wanted to make sure all our students are students
first and athletes second. ... There hasn't been a person on this campus,
then or since, that measures up to what Father Joyce means to athletics or
the campus."
Mike DeCicco
Director emeritus of Notre Dame academic advising program for student
athletes and former Notre Dame fencing coach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Father Joyce is a true saint.
His love for the Lord, Notre Dame, the
students and his love for football are truly all outstanding. He has meant
so much to Notre Dame over the past 30 to 40 years. He hired me to be the
coach at Notre Dame. I'll never forget the semiannual dinners that Beth and
I would have with Father Joyce and Father Hesburgh that would last for more
than four hours. Those were truly amazing experiences. I really think Father
Hesburgh had Father Joyce in mind when he wrote his book 'God, Country and
Notre Dame.' Father Joyce is truly a very special person."
Lou Holtz
Notre Dame head football coach 1986-96
-- Quotes gathered by Tribune Staff and provided by University of Notre Dame
Source: The Observer - Letter to the Editor
By: Ryan Greenberg
Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Posted on 1 February 2004:
Emily Pike's response to yesterday's "Question of the Day" was a well-intentioned attempt at humor, but it remains a glaring example of the blatant dormism all too common at Notre Dame today. For those unfamiliar with the situation, Ms. Pike suggested that Notre Dame should settle with the tribe suing over western campus land by giving it Carroll Hall. There has been no worse idea in the history of the University. First and foremost, during our current war on terrorism, Carroll Hall plays a vital role in securing the western front of the University. Without Carroll, invaders from highway 31 could storm campus unchecked by resistance until they had already taken the Grotto. Moreover, cars in the D6 lot closest to Carroll are rarely vandalized, thanks to Carroll's vigilant watch and by virtue of their relative distance from the rest of everything. For incoming freshmen, Carroll serves as a bastion of hope. Thanks to Carroll's small size, men can hope that they will not find themselves living in the most remote location on campus. For others, Carroll serves as inspiration: how amazing that 100 men can commute back and forth to class tirelessly, day in and day out. For more still, Carroll is an ideal, a goal. All students can dream that, perhaps one day, they too can find the strength, energy, and will to make the trek to the House On The Lake. Yes, I agree with Ms. Pike: Carroll would be a most generous settlement gift. No recipient could help but to be impressed with our lakefront property and stunning view of the Dome, Basilica and Grotto. Our spacious hallways, vaulted ceilings, volleyball court and precious Golden Tee arcade machine say, "We want to settle this lawsuit in a manner that is more than fair and charitable." Convenient parking lot access and our nearby personal helicopter pad courtesy of WNDU are just icing on the cake. But that's neither here nor there. Emily, I am sure you thought your words would float like a butterfly through the minds of those who read them. But please understand that for 100 Carroll Hall Vermin, they sting like a bee.
Ryan Greenberg
Junior
Carroll Hall
Jan. 21
Source: South Bend Tribune
By: Vaughn McClure
Date: Jan. 4, 2004
Posted on 18 January 2004:
It's the first round of the playoffs,
do-or-die. You're playing against the
team that cut you four seasons ago, in the city you once called home.
Those circumstances certainly would make for a little bad blood.
Not for ex-Notre Dame player and Denver
Broncos defensive end Bertrand
Berry, a third-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 1997.
"To dwell on being cut by the
Colts would be to forget where I am now," said
Berry, whose Broncos face the Colts at the RCA Dome today (4:30 p.m.). "I'm
in a very good (situation) now and I'm not looking back.
"Of course you want to go out
and play hard, but you want to do that every
game. This is just another game."
Berry has learned the hard way to
play every game as if it's his last. His
six-year NFL career took an upward swing this year as he led Denver with
11.5 sacks. His total was 10th best in the league and a half-sack better
than Indianapolis' Dwight Freeney.
Berry had only 13.5 sacks during his previous five seasons.
"Did I imagine I could lead this
team in sacks? Honestly, I'd have to say,
'No,' " Berry said. "I knew I could be a double-digit sack guy, but
we have
a great defensive end in Trevor Pryce. If anyone was going to do it, I
figured it would be him. For me, it was just a matter of getting the
opportunity."
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Berry didn't
get a chance to fulfill his potential
with the Colts. He spent three seasons in Indianapolis, playing regularly
only in 1998. Before the 2000 season, he was released.
"They just didn't see me helping
the team anymore, I guess," Berry said. "It
basically was a frustrating year for me."
A devastated Berry tried to catch
on with the St. Louis Rams, but they cut
him too. He found himself reaching for opportunities, turning to the
Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.
Alan Page Named The 2003 NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award Honoree
Source: und.oscn.com
By: Athletic Department
Date: Dec. 8, 2003
Posted on 11 January 2004:
Looking back is something
Alan C. Page, the 2003 NCAA Theodore Roosevelt
Award honoree, just doesn't do very often. By his own admission, he's not
one to reminisce.
Ironically, this year's
winner of the national association's highest honor
has generated more than his share of good memories and proud moments. Page
was a three-year starting football defensive end and consensus All-American
at the University of Notre Dame before making the move to the National
Football League, where he was part of the Minnesota Vikings' famed and
feared "Purple People Eaters" defensive line. Then in 1993, he earned
a
place in the annals of Minnesota state history by becoming the first
African-American elected to sit on its Supreme Court.
But despite a career
punctuated by an extensive list of accomplishments,
Page, presently an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court, has
kept his focus firmly fixed on the future and how he can leave the world a
little better than the way he found it.
Page will be recognized
for his successes and his many contributions to
intercollegiate athletics and higher education when he becomes the 37th
recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Award during the Jan. 11, 2004, NCAA
Honors Dinner at the NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tenn. The coveted
"Teddy," named for the 26th President who played a key role in founding
the
NCAA, is presented annually to a distinguished citizen of national
reputation and outstanding accomplishment.
Former winners of
the award include four former presidents -- Ronald Reagan,
Gerald H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford and Dwight Eisenhower. Last year's winner was
former Olympian Donna de Varona.
The seeds of Page's
accomplishments were planted early on when he set his
sights on a career in law, long before he developed an interest in football.
Page said he understood that the options for someone like him growing up in
Canton, Ohio, were limited without a strong education. Law offered him a
future.
"The football
career was just a function of following in my brother's
footsteps and having some fun," he told The NCAA News.
"Whereas when
I was relatively young - fourth- or fifth-grader -- I started
thinking about law. As I grew and developed as a person, I came to the
conclusion that law was about helping people and solving problems, and that
was something I'd always found interesting."
Page worked his way
through law school as a full-time student while he
maintained his career as a professional football player. He earned his juris
doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1978.
After retiring from
football in 1981 and after a one-year stint as a
commentator with National Public Radio, Page worked as an associate with
Lindquist & Vennum, before moving on to fulfilling responsibilities as a
special assistant attorney general in the employment law division in
Minnesota. Page served as assistant attorney general for the state from 1987
until 1993 when he was elected to the state's supreme court, an experience
Page said has been far beyond anything he could have anticipated.
"My expectation
was that it would be challenging and my hope was that it
would be fun and that I would be able to make a contribution to the
institution," he said.
"I have absolutely enjoyed every moment of it."
Page's experiences
as a college and professional football player afforded
him some key insights and significant life lessons.
"Certainly those experiences have shaped who I am," he said.
"The lessons
I learned there, whether it was hard work or sportsmanship or
team play or how to deal with adverse circumstances, how to deal with
success, they were all a part of it."
Page said it is important
for today's student-athletes to realize that there
is life after sports:
"What they are
doing at the time in terms of education is going to have a
direct bearing on how successful they will be in the future, no matter how
long their athletics career extends. There are unique opportunities to
influence in positive ways and, quite frankly, negative ways other peoples'
lives. It is important to act in ways that allow that influence to be
positive and, in fact, to actively be involved in helping other people."
The advice is born
out of personal experience, as Page's days on the
gridiron also provided him with a lens through which to view the
relationship between academics and athletics. In a February 2001 interview,
Page recounted the story from his last year with the Vikings when a new
defensive line coach asked Page and his teammates to study their new
playbooks. In the course of studying, he discovered only five of his nine
teammates could read.
That experience, as
well as seeing other athletes who throughout the years
had struggled in the classroom, convinced Page to become involved in
influencing the future through education.
"The experience
with the teammates who couldn't read sort of focused me on
the fact that this was not an athletics problem, it was an academic
problem," he said.
"It occurred
to me that what they represented was really just the tip of a
very large iceberg and that I could make a contribution on the academic side
that was far more valuable than anything I could do on the athletics side."
A vocal proponent
of education and a frequent speaker at elementary schools,
Page has aimed his efforts at youth.
"As an athlete,
seeing the conflict between academics and athletics and
trying to influence or wanting to try to influence young people in terms of
how they viewed education, I've come to the conclusion that our hope for the
future is the young people."
Consequently, one
of the things Page is most proud of is the work his Page
Education Foundation does with youth. The foundation, established in 1988 by
Page and his wife Diane, provides educational grants to students of color to
attend colleges in Minnesota. As a condition of receiving the funds, the
so-called Page Scholars serve as role models and mentors for younger
children with the simple, if not lofty, goal of changing the future.
"For far too
many young men and women of color, education has not been
something that they focused on, but I believe that education can be a tool
that can overcome the problems that are associated with discrimination, with
poverty, with a whole host of other issues that people of color face. By
ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn and does learn, I
think we make the future better for all of us," Page said.
Thus far, the foundation
has awarded 3,965 grants to 1,885 students totaling
more than $2.5 million.
For the time being,
Page is happy serving on the bench of Minnesota's
highest court -- "It doesn't get any better than this," he said --
but it's
not at all surprising that he has been mulling over what lies beyond his
time on the court.
"I suppose someday
I would like to teach," said Page. He is most interested
in teaching at the fourth- or fifth-grade level because those children are
at an age where their lives are taking shape.
"It would be
nice to be able to influence that, to be a contributor to
that," he said.
Page led the Notre
Dame football team to Associated Press and United Press
International national championships in 1966 and a 25-3-2 mark from 1964 to
1966. A first-round draft pick and 15th overall, he went on to collect 164
career sacks, block 28 punts or placekicks, recover 24 fumbles and appear in
eight Pro Bowls in a professional football career that spanned 15 seasons,
including 10 as a member of the Vikings and five with the Chicago Bears.
Page made an appearance
in every game of his professional career and started
all but three matchups, a string of 215 consecutive contests that included
16 playoff games, four NFL championships and Super Bowls IV, VII, IX and XI.
In 1971, the four-time
NFC defensive player of the year became the first
defensive player in NFL history to earn the league's most valuable player
award. Page was selected to the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988 and
was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame
in 1993.
An NCAA Silver Anniversary
Award recipient in 1992, Page has been a member
of the National Bar Association since 1979 and currently sits on the
University of Minnesota Board of Regents and the board of directors for the
Minneapolis Urban League. Since 1980, he has been a member of the Minnesota
Minority Lawyers' Association, and he has served as an advisory board member
to the League of Women Voters since 1984.
In 2001, Page received
the Dick Enberg Award from the Academic All-America
program sponsored by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
The award is given annually to a person whose actions and commitments have
further strengthen the meaning and reach of the Academic All-America program
and the student-athlete while promoting the values of education and
academics.
In the 1970s, Page
took up marathon running and in 1979 became the first
active NFL player to complete a marathon He currently runs 60 miles a week.
He and his wife have four children.