Campus News:
SYRs are about to be no more. Vice president for Student Affairs Father Mark Poorman is attempting to revise policy. Three specific items have come to the forefront. One is that there will be no more in-hall dances. All dances must be outside the dorm, much like formals. So SYRs are out. Another change is that all "hard" alcohol will be outlawed in undergrad dorms, even in the rooms of students of legal drinking age. The term "hard" has yet to be defined but it is suspected to mean anything outside of beer and wine. Apparently this policy change is to eliminate shots. The third change is a revision to the tailgating rules to allow drinking-age students to host parties before football games. The students, of course, were outraged. Poorman purposefully did not come to consult students on this. The student body president was completely unaware aside from the grapevine. Poorman stated there was student input through focus groups. Whatever. A student demonstration was held the day after Poorman's news went campus wide. Roughly 600 students gathered in front of the Main Building. Specifically upset were the residents of O'Neill and Alumni whose signature dorm events involve in-hall dances. This proposal by Poorman was the top story on the local news and the top story in the South Bend Tribune two days in a row. Plenty of Letters to the Editor were written. I'll post some of the articles this week and more next week. There are a ton. For this week just look for anything dated "31 March 2002."
Campus Watch by Me:
I've got my own dirt this week. A co-worker of mine was out in the field on a project. He was driving over in Granger around a relatively new subdivision. This subdivision has a few new homes with room for more to be built. Well it turns out one of the near-mansion homes was that of Bob Davie. Good ole Bobby is still around. He was out in his gigantic yard playing football with his kid. Bob was all decked out in his Adidas gear too. Apparently the footwear company's repo man has been rather lax in his duties. My co-worker drove off and decided not to give a parting middle-finger wave. Of note: Davie and his kid were on the same team playing against an imaginary defense. Not surprisingly, they were losing. Some things never change.
Hall Notes:
This piece appeared in the most recent Scholastic:
"We think we're tough, but most people think we're exiles," laments Carroll Hall resident Ryan Greenberg. But he and fellow Vermin Sean Dudley are working to change the negative stigma attached to living across the lake. These two freshmen are the co-founder, co-presidents and executive board of the Carroll Awareness Club (CAC - pronounced "sassy"), which Greenberg defines as an unofficial "grass-roots organization" whose mission is to "spread love of and for Carroll throughout the university."
"[W]e felt it was our solemn duty to...promote greater Carroll awareness," Dudley says. "Plus, one night when we had nothing better to do, we sat down and rewrote most of the words to Nelly's song 'Ride Wit Me," [renaming the song 'Bike Wit Me' and] substituting lyrics about life at Carroll for the frequent references to...bouncing in clubs and doing drugs with Vanna White. As we pondered the great aspects of living in a quiet resort dorm on the west edge of campus, [CAC] was born."
There is no official list of members, but Greenberg estimates that "at least 100-150 people know about [the club] just by word of mouth." He says most are non-Carroll residents, because "it's not about Carroll - it's about bringing Carroll to others."
In an effort to cast the net even farther, Dudley will be performing "Bike Wit Me" live for McGlinn's Shamrock 'N' Roll this Thursday. The co-founders have rewritten several other songs as well, including "North Quad Girl," based on Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl." "It's about a long- distance relationship," explains Greenberg. He says CAC will continue to rewrite popular songs, with possibilities of a future album.
In addition to this (somewhat) original soundtrack, CAC has other plans to "spread the Carroll love," including propaganda videos and fact-sheets that answer frequently asked questions such as, "Do you have to dial long distance to call Carroll?" They also hope to entice visitors by getting the word out about Carroll's spacious accommodations through the publication of a comparative study of the per-capita square-footage of each dorm's 24-hour space, which the co-founders currently are in the midst of conducting.
Still, they insist that CAC's mission is not simply to prove their dorm's superiority. Says Greenberg, "We're not doing this to flaunt what we have. We just want people to come experience the love of Carroll and get the Carroll vibe."
NDSportscenter:
Severl Irish track and field athletes competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Senior Ryan Shay finished 6th in the 5,000 m and earned his 8th All-American honor. He then placed 18th in the 3,000 m and was again named an All-American. His nine honors are the most of any Domer distance runner in history. Luke Watson came in 3rd in the 3,000 m and earned his second All-American honor. His finish was the highest in indoor competition since the Rocket was second in the 55 m in 1991. The men's track and field team finished 21st overall.
The women's track and field team sent a school-record sever competitors to the Indoor Championships. Liz Grow got her second All-American honor after finishing 4th in the 400 m with a 52.88 time. Grow's finish was the best ever by a female track and field athlete. She was also the anchor on the 4x400 relay that came in ninth. The women's team tied for 34th place.
The NFL Draft is fast approaching. ESPN has Anthony Weaver projected as a late first round pick. Their mock draft has him being selected by the New England Patriots. Weaver has expressed a desire to possibly play for the Bears. We shall see.
Campus News:
Sad news. A few weekends ago strong winds as high as 80 mph tore through Chicago. The mighty gusts got ahold of window scaffolding that was hanging outside the John Hancock Center. The scaffolding was battered about before breaking free and falling some forty-three floors. Melissa Cook '94 was one of three women in a car to be killed by the detached metal contraption. The 1,000-pound scaffolding crushed her car as she was driving. Melissa live in Lyons and was on the softball team in 1991 and 1992. She was originally from Merrillville, Indiana. Melissa was an accounting major who was living and working in Chicago.
Academy Award nominated actress Michelle Yeoh recently made a visit to campus. The "Crouchin Tiger, Hidden Dragon" star was the main draw at the International Conference on Globalization and Media in Asia that was held at ND. The keynote address at the Conference was delivered by '82 grad William Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer is the CEO of Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures and is major player in film and television throughout all of Asia. The conference was a three day event that included panel, roundtable, and open discussions as well as film screenings.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Before leaving you, the Gipper would like to share a particularly tempting piece of junk e-mail he received during break. The subject line: "BE ORDAINED NOW!" The Gipper scoffs at all those poor young celibates who spend half a decade haunting the halls of Moreau Seminary, knowing that "STREET BISHOPS, a U.S. based Ministry, has the authority to make you a LEGALLY ORDAINED CLERGY/MINISTER within one week!!!!" The Gipp salivated at the thought of performing funerals ("People die every day providing a never-ending need for funeral officiates") and baptizing young'uns ("You can say 'WELCOME TO THE WORLD!!!! I AM YOUR MINISTER AND YOUR UNCLE!!' What a special way to welcome a child to God.") Worried about denominational quibbles? Don't be: The group has "ordinained Protestants, Catholics, Jews and other traditions serving God." These charitable folks wanted only $29 for the service of turning the Gipp into "Rabbi Gipp," but unfortunately he's got neither a credit card nor a Social Security number. So, unless he can acquire one quick, looks like another lonely Valentine's Day at the seminary.
Hall Notes:
I believe it was DMX who stated, "Party Up." Here's an ever-so-quick Vermin quote from back in the day. "The Men's Room" is told by Tom Donohue '89....
My favorite story however was Tim Samon standing among several girls at a party at Randals.... He excused himself to go to the men's room - one of the girls says, "Don't you mean the little boy's room?".... Tim drops his pants in the middle on the party and exclaims "NO, I MEAN THE MEN'S ROOM". You just can't buy that kind of entertainment.
NDSportscenter:
Well, the women's basketball team got beat by Tennessee in the second round. (Kind of an understatement.) We are 0-14 lifetime against the Lady Vols. The Irish beat New Mexico in the first round. With that win they got the ninth straight 20-win season. Not bad considering six freshmen had to replace three senior starters, including a player of the year. And in that win over New Mexico, junior Alicia Ratay became the ninth leading scorer in school history. This team will definitely be back.
The hockey team also lost. The lads jumped out to a 1-0 lead on #3 seed Northern Michigan. However, the Irish fell 3-1 and ended their season.
Jerome Bettis was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year for his excellence on and off the field. The Bus is involved in many charitable organizations in Pittsburgh and his hometown of Detroit. He started his own organization, the Bus Stops Here Foundation, in 1997 to aid underprivileged children. He hosts two youth football camps each year in Western Pennslyvania and Detroit and has created Save Children Opportunity Recreation and Education (S.C.O.R.E.), which helps rejuvenate neighborhood parks and recreation centers, upgrades computer systems, and provides scholarships. Bettis also has taped a public-service message as spokesperson and participated in Pittsburgh's Race for the Cure, and is a member of the Asthma All-Stars, a national education campaign for asthma treatment.
Bettis is the fourth Domer to win this award. The others were Jim Flanigan (2000), Dave Duerson (1987), and Joe Theismann (1982).
Campus News:
The principal speaker at the May 19th Commencement has been announced. Mexican President Vincente Fox will have the honors. Fox, 60, follows W as the second consecutive head of state to deliver the graduation address. Monk had this to say: "President Fox is a leader who is at once pragmatic and passionate. While he has worked tirelessly to end corruption and strengthen his nation's economy, he also has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to representing and serving the most vulnerable among his constituents, from the poor to the unborn. Fox has been a prominent name as speaker since his historic election in July 2000, when his National Action Party defeated the 71-year reign of the Institutional Revolution Party. According to associate director of Public Relations Dennis Brown, the University searched for a speaker who "made a significant contribution to church, society, and the general welfare of mankind." Fox fit the bill. University officers first made contact with Fox last Fall and received confirmation only a month ago. Administrators worked with the Mexican general council on an appropriate press release. Fox will be the sixth foreign chief to speak at graduation. The others were Canadian Prime Ministers's Lester Pearson (1963) and Pierre Trudeau (1982), Salvadoran President and actual Domer Jose Napoleon Duarte (1985), Chilean President Patricio Aylwin (1992), and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds (1994).
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
And now, a look at what the residents of South Quad have been doing to entertain themselves. The tipster himself says it best on this one: "A couple of amateur filmmakers from Fisher Hall thought it would be classy to make a movie of themselves urinating in their pants... so they could relive their lost childhoods. So, on a warm and sunny Monday afternoon, the filmmakers and the film's two stars stood outside of the front steps of Fisher and proceeded to do their business while fellow Fisher residents, maintenance staff, and a few other South Quad residents looked on in wonder. Go figure." The Gipp is going to start making the trek to NDH more often - things just sound more interesting on that end of campus.
Hall Notes:
Vermin and Irish quarterback Carlyle Holiday recently got busted. He was in a car with a walk-on football player and a non-Domer driver that got pulled over for speeding. Breathalizers were brought out. Carlyle blew a 0.04. He was given a ticket for consumption by a minor. That is a Class C Misdemeanor, the lowest one on the books. Holiday has an upcoming court date. No University penalty has been handed out yet. Coach Willingham is waiting to make a judgment until all has been said and done.
NDSportscenter:
Regardless of the final score, yesterday's game versus #1 Duke was a one possession affair. I won't say Jason Williams, Coach K, and all their McDonald's All-Americans are overrated. I will say Coach Brey and his squad were overwhelmingly UNDERrated. Duke made sure to wear their skirts. Mr. All-American, Mr. Player of the Year Jason Williams was riding the pine and only coming in on offensive possessions at the end of the game. He had four fouls, no defense, and was a mere cheerleader. Just like a little beotch. Everybody kisses Duke's ass. Well, today is St. Patrick's Day. "Kiss me, I'm Irish," says the Irish ass.
The hockey team is en fuego. They are now 16-16-5 but have won seven of the last eight games. The Irish entered the CCHA playoffs as the #8 seed and had to travel to #5 seed Nebraska-Omaha for a best-of-3. We lost the first game in double overtime, won the second in overtime, and won the deciding game 2-1. Freshman goaltender Morgan Cey stopped 99 or 104 shots in the series. The Irish earned a spot in the CCHA's Super Six which is annually played in Detroit at Joe Louis Arena. Northern Michigan is the first opponent there.
The women's swimming and diving team won its 6th straight Big East Championship. Senior Kelly Hecking won five titles. Hecking and freshman Kristen Peterson guaranteed trips to Austin, Texas for the NCAA Championships with qualifying times. Coach Bailey Weathers was named the Big East Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. This is Weathers fifth such award. The men's swimming and diving team finished fourth at the Big East Championships.
Tight end Dave Casper has been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is the third straight year a Domer has gone into the Hall.
We sent the most players (10) to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Apparently receiver Javin Hunter's stock went up the most. The other nine to show their skills were Boiman, Fisher, Givens, Harrison, Irons, Israel, Owens, Vollers, and Weaver.
Despite Saturday's struggles, Chris Thomas has caught the eye of the nation. The Observer did a recent piece about the diaper dandy. Read all about it on the Articles of Interest page.
The women's team plays New Mexico in Knoxville, Tennessee on Friday at 6pm EST. That game is not televised. If they win, they will play on Sunday night at 7pm EST on ESPN2.
Campus News:
Spring break is in effect this week. Just in time too. This has probably been one of the tamest winters to ever hit the Bend. Except for this past week and a half. Over a foot and a half of lake effect snow has fallen on the campus. Warmer temperatures negated the early snow fall. Freezing temps kept a good six inches. The soft students endured winter-like conditions for a week and skipped town this past Saturday. Seems like the Groundhog had the last laugh.
Libby Biship will become the student body president on April 1st. That will mark the second year in a row a female student has been elected president. Quite a feat considering prior to last year no woman had ever held the top position. Bishop and her male vice president defeated the current student body vice president and his running mate Keri Oxley, current sophomore class president. Bishop was actually born in South Bend and lived here until she was 5. Her parents are '77 grads.
Campus Watch by Gipper from Scholastic:
Apparently, shortly after the Gipper's last column was published, the culprits in the nativity scene heist were paid a visit in their dorm by one of North Dining Hall's shock troops, complete with nametag and headset. Their plastic friend was whisked back to NDH, and the young men were left bewildered, trying to figure out just how they had been caught. Accusations flew: The Scholastic office received a slew of nasty phone calls from the perpetrators, and rumors that the Gipper had spilled their identities to the administration festered and brewed around campus. Preposterous! The Gipper had to clear his reputation. After a few minutes on the telephone and a few days of waiting, he was met with a humdinger of a surprise: Apparently, the NDH sleuth who retrieved the statue - operating entirely on his own authority - had bribed a student worker with liquor to tell him whodunit. In unrelated news, the Gipper would like to welcome the new assistant manager at NDH.
Hall Notes:
Last week we heard a story from Mr. Cobain. Now we hear another...
Duane "Cobain" Cobenais '97 left the Bend studied in the area of Finance. He went back to his original stomping grounds of St. Paul, Minnesota. Accenture was the first employer for three years. Then the whole "internet company" proved tempting. Interelate Inc was a paycheck provider for one year. However, economy fall down and go boom. A lay off ensued. Now he doesn't have to work. Lucky bastard. Cobain also purchased a boat and an ice shack so he had "the ability to fish year round." So he has become a fisherman. Dude has become Jesus Christ.
NDSportscenter:
The women's basketball team saw its 51 home game unbeaten streak end. The Irish fell to Villanova 48-45 in the last regular season home game. It was the first home loss since UConn beat us on December 8th, 1998. The streak was the 10th longest in women's NCAA history. The Irish played the game without freshman Jacqueline Batteast, as they had for a few games prior after she went down with a knee injury. Despite the injury, Batteast was still a unanimous pick for Big East Rookie of the Year. She was also named 2nd team All Big East. Batteast finished the regular season in the top ten in four statistical categories: points, rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage.
More bad news for the lady Irish. They were upset in the Big East tournament quarterfinals 84-79 by Syracuse, a team we beat by 25 in January. The Irish staged a torrid comeback, led by junior Alicia Ratay's 29 points. Obviously they fell short. Ratay was named to the Big East 1st team after being 4th in the conference in scoring and leading the league in free throw percentage. Alicia also now sits 10th on the all- time ND scoring list. She was featured on ESPN. A half-hour SportsCentury segment was dedicated completely to Ratay. Alicia was one of only four women's players to be highlighted.
Some men's basketball notes: Chris Thomas finished the season having received 6 Big East Rookies of the Week...The fellas finished 2nd in the Big East West Division and had their 3rd straight 20 win season.... Incoming recruit Torin Francis was one of twenty four named to the McDonald's All-American team. Our past McDonald's players are current freshman Chris Thomas, senior Ryan Humphrey, and transfer Danny Miller..... Humphrey was named 1st team All Big East. He averaged 19 ppg and led the league with 10.6 rpg.....Chris Thomas made the All Rookie Team and the 3rd team All Big East. He was also the Big East Rookie of the Year. Thomas' stats: 16 ppg, 7.5 apg, 2.2 apg, 89% FTs, 2.9:1 assist-to- turnover ratio.
Watch for the men's basketball team on either ESPN or ESPN2 this week starting Thursday night. They will be in the Big East Tournament. Their first game is against either Seton Hall or St. John's at 9pm EST.
Campus News:
In addition to renovating Senior Bar, two additional projects are in the works to improve social space for students. One of the locations is South Dining Hall. The Office of Student Affairs is working with Food Services on the planned renovation of the upstairs dining room. The room is expected to be used for dances, parties, banquets, performances, and meetings. An August opening is planned.
The other project is the acquisition of the "Creek House" located next to Juday Creek just north of campus and adjacent to Warren Golf Course. Officials plan to recondition the small house and make it available to students through the Student Activities Office. The house will be used for day-long retreats, team-building activities, and the like. This project should be completed by May and be available for students next August.
Here's some more news. It's not really University news, just good dirt. The son of football great Joe Theismann was arrested on cocaine-related charges. Theismann is charged with felony counts of dealing and possession of cocaine, two counts of maintaining a common nuisance, and a misdemeanor count of possessing drug paraphernalia. Theismann, 30, who lives in South Bend, was busted with crack at a hotel. If convicted of all the charges, he could receive up to 65 years in prison. Theismann is currently unemployed and lives with his grandmother. He is one of three children from his father's first marriage.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Good day, Gipplings. Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and what could be more romantic than a giant pink gorilla? A giant pink gorilla snatched from atop Farley Hall, that's what. In the truly daring manner that only accompanies near-fatal blood-alcohol levels (acquired at Boat Club, incidentally), a posse of young men has snatched away North Quad's favorite inflatable monument and hoisted it home with them. The kicker: the fellows claim they had forgotten the incident by the time they woke up. Says one tipster: "One roommate woke up at 6 a.m. to go to the bathroom and this big, giant, pink thing was in the room. He thought that he was hallucinating, went to the bathroom, came back and went back to sleep figuring it was just a dream." Of course, that's nicer than what most people wake up next to after a night at the Boat Club.
NDSportscenter:
A Domer was representin' in the Winter Olympics. Marton Gyulai '01 competed as a member of the Hungarian four-man bobsled. The team placed first at the America's Cup on December 15, 2001. They beat the likes of Austria, the USA, and Croatia. However, they did not medal in Utah last week against the best of the best. Marton was a track and field sprinter while at ND.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda was the key speaker at the February 18th baseball opening night dinner. The "ballpark style" dinner was a sellout. Lasorda spoke for a crowd that was recognizing the pre-season #4 team in the country. Another poll has the Irish at #3 thanks to landing the top recruiting class in the nation. We have 16 of 21 top players back from last season. The big losses were our top two pitchers.
Four women's soccer players have been sought to compete with varying national teams. Vanessa Pruzinsky and Amy Warner are two to twenty trying out for the U.S. under-21 national team. Mary Boland and Candace Chapman are with the under-19 squad. Miss Chapman was recently named a Freshman All-American by Soccer America. Miss Pruzinsky garnered 1st team Academic All-American honors. Vanessa carries a 4.0 GPA in chemical engineering. (Yikes.) Monica Gonzalez pulled off another rare feat: she was named an Academic and Athletic All-American.
Campus News:
The St. Joseph County health department cited the University Club, ND's private dining facility, during an inspection. The initial inspection was only supposed to be routine, but the Club failed to show that they were complying with public health standards. The inspector had walked into the kitchen during the peak lunch hour and found food below the suggested temperature. The health department inspector also cited the Club for cross-contamination after spotting raw chicken stored on top of pans of cooked product in the walk-in cooler. The assistant general manager of the Club said the unexpected visit was unfair. The inspector did not announce herself, it was a hectic lunch hour, and it was in the midst of the football season where they had endured three home games in a row. The Club had 10 days to improve the conditions in the kitchen. No further citations were given so everything seems to now be satisfactory. Except.....Oh, waiter.....There is a fly in my soup.
The Department of Defense recently bestowed funding to the University. $2.1 million was given for cancer research.
The Discovery Channel recently televised a documentary featuring research by three ND professors on the Dead Sea Scrolls. This project highlighted the work of Eugene Ulrich, an O'Brien Professor of Theology who began studying the scrolls more than 30 years ago; Susan Sheridan, an associate professor who specializes in forensic anthropology; and Mark Schurr, an assistant professor and archeologist who performed fluoride analysis to date the remains.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
If you're near Stanford Hall, you may want to stop by the rector's room and down a forty with Pops. According to a pair of loyal tipsters, he recently confiscated something on the order of 114 of them. The story: A group of students, whom one tipster calls "Taskforce 40," made the mistake of pulling their car up to Stanford to unload 4,500 ounces of the wonderful yellow liquid. Father, who must have been scoping the liquor store waiting for just such a day, pulled up next to them and diverted their intended distribution around the dorm into his suite. No word on what has become of the forties, but if you see the Stanford dog dancing on a table at Reckers with a shower curtain around its shoulders, you'll know.
Hall Notes:
Peter Wowkowych '86 has gone Hollywood. After graduating in 1986, Peter ventured off to New York City for five years to work as an architect. Grad school came a-calling in 1991 and that led to further architecture schooling in Los Angeles. Peter graduated from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1997. His current day job is as an architect for Sony Pictures Entertainment. No kidding! I guess he builds all the elaborate movie sets. Not a bad gig. Peter also had this to add: "I am working with other ND/GALA members to organize the first Los Angeles/Notre Dame Gay and Lesbian get together/reunion on March 9th, 2002 at a place to be determined... So if any ND/GALA Vermin are out there let me know."
NDSportscenter:
Two weeks ago freshman point guard Chris Thomas was named Sports Illustrated Player of the Week. During that week Thomas averaged 27 ppg, 11.5 apg, 5 rpg, and 2 spg. Then he promptly followed that with an 0 for 14 and a 3 for 11 game. Ouch. We lost both games by a mere three points each. D'OH!
We've already lost one assistant coach. Linebackers coach Phil Zacharias has bailed. He has left to become a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens. No word yet on a replacement.
The women's swimming and diving has attained its highest ranking ever. The ladies are up to #13 in the nation. They recently defeated #16 Northwestern and #17 Michigan easily. Michigan had always been able to trump us. We are poised to make the best NCAA run ever.
The women's track and field team claimed their first ever Big East Indoor Championship. The women beat Georgetown by 2 points despite not winning a single event. Liz Grow faired the best as she set a school record when she placed second in the 500 meters. The men finished third despite winning some events. Senior Ryan Shay won both the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters.
We have another article to check out. This one tells of the current status of one of our more famous alums. Read about former gridiron star Chris Zorich and his fantastic endeavors.
Campus News:
Senior Bar is going to get a make-over. Student groups had long urged administrators to expand the venue, and they were finally heard. Vice president for Student Affairs Father Mark Poorman told the Campus Life Council that changing the club to a sports-themed restaurant and bar will allow all students to socialize together on campus. Senior Bar's area will increase by roughly 50% from 10,000 square feet to more than 15,000. The estimated total cost for the project is estimated at just over $2 million.
Several specific changes will be made. The dance floor will be made to accommodate 400 people. The restaurant area will be made to seat 190. A restaurant style kitchen will be added. Offices and storage room will be built behind the scenes. The game room will also be renovated.
This announcement follows a two and a half year study for the U on social space. This move signals the likelihood that major renovations will not be made to LaFortune in the name of social space. Senior Bar's liquor license will be altered to allow students under 21 into an establishment where alcohol is served. The club would most likely be closed in December of 2002 for six to eight months for renovations. The tentative re-opening would be in August of 2003. However, none of this is written in stone. The plan had to be presented to the Board of Trustees at a recent meeting. The Board met this past week in the god-awful location of Palm Springs.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
OK, Gipplings, you can finish your dinner now - the worst is over. And if you're at North, take a look over at the nativity scene. Something missing? Apparently, according to a trio of tipsters, one of the wise men has managed to escape. He's known by his rescuers, with whom he now resides, as "Melchior." They insist that he just wants to live as college student for a couple of weeks before returning to NFC to fulfill his duty as a bearer of frankincense at Jesus' birth. And so, in order to show the wise one a good time, Melchior's roommates took him to Purdue last weekend. Apparently he was a real hit with the ladies, who, being from Purdue, instinctively started "getting it on" with the old boy at parties across campus. In fact, one young woman's newly awoken libido took her so far as to try to steal the old fellow. Luckily, one of his ever-vigilant roommates tracked her down and found her in a bedroom; after much debate, he gave up trying to talk her out of it and seized the poor old man from her lustful grasp. Hugh Hefner, step aside.
Hall Notes:
Carroll has gone national. No kidding. Rookie Vermin alum David "Drink" Rink '01 passed this little blurb our way...
Carroll Hall was mentioned on the third page of the Sports Section in Thursday's (Feb. 7, 2002) edition of USA today. The title is "Futures on the dotted line" and the story begins:
"For the first time as head football coach at Notre Dame, Tyrone Willingham was speaking in a student dormitory Wednesday afternoon. He sat on a chair in a lounge at Carroll Hall, sometimes speaking so quietly that the geese outside on St. Mary's Lake were almost as loud..."
NDSportscenter:
Based on the small recruiting class, it looks like we will have around a dozen scholarships available to offer to fifth-year seniors. Let's hope Ryan Roberst comes back at d-end. Shane Walton still can have another year at corner. I suspect tackle Jordan Black has a fifth year option along with tackle Brennan Curtin. Those seem to be the biggest names. A few others will surely return. Any remaining scholarships will hopefully go to senior walk-ons.
Once again the University was taken to court. The DeBartolo family of Aurora, Illinois filed suit against the school and the athletic department. The suit claims the University misrepresented itself in its mission statement and various other publications when it recruited their daughter, Dore DeBartolo, a former track and field athlete for the Irish. The family is seeking an injunction to allow Dore to compete this year for Florida, where she is currently enrolled in grad school. The family claims the University's actions are inconsistent with their written policies that promise to "offer every opportunity for success."
Here's the quick and dirty: Dore bailed on us and she is suing because we won't release her from her scholarship so she doesn't have to sit out a year. ND's director of public information Dennis Moore had this to say: "She was here this year and practiced with the team during the full semester. On the next to last day of the semester, she informed the coach that she was going to leave. We weren't going to allow her to compete against us." DeBartolo graduated in December 201 and immediately wanted to jump ship and go straight to Florida and not skip a beat in her training. She was basically trying to screw us over. She got her degree early but didn't want to honor her scholarship commitment for the spring semester.
Moore added that we offered DeBartolo the chance to take graduate courses here for the spring. She declined. DeBartolo, who finished third in the 2001 Big East Championships in the discus and would have been our top thrower, still has a year's eligibility remaining and requested the University release her from her scholarship. She would be able to compete right away because of the NCAA's "one-time transfer exception," which applies to track and field. We turned down her request. Damn right. The judge denied the DeBartolos request. Daaaaaaamn right. And, yes, these people are family of the campus-building DeBartolo, albeit distant relatives.
Campus News:
Stop the presses! Power outages in the Bend forced The Observer to cancel publishing on Thursday, January 31st for the first time in 24 years. An ice storm stuck on Wednesday night and knocked out power at The Papers Inc, the company that prints The Observer. However Thursday's paper was available online. The halt in publishing is the first since Jan. 27th and 30th, 1978 when a snow storm closed Notre Dame and St. Mary's from Thursday, Jan. 26th to Monday, Jan. 30th. The Observer resumed publishing on Jan. 31st when school reopened. The University did not close this time. And thanks to the University's own power plants the electricity kept a-flowin' on campus. Good thing, too, 'cause a hoops game was in progress.
Domer and best-selling author Nicholas Sparks has donated $1.5 million to the Creative Writing Program. The gift will award two students assistantships on the Notre Dame Review each year. Two more students will have the opportunity to work in New York literary agencies and publishing houses each summer. A third award will allow one graduate of the Creative Writing Program to spend a year in residency at the University to work on his/her writing studies.
Sparks, an '88 grad, had his first two novels rejected. Then "The Notebook" became a bestseller. Since then he has published "Message in a Bottle," "A Walk to Remember," "The Rescue," and "A Bend in the Road." "Message in a Bottle" became a major motion picture and starred Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn. "A Walk to Remember" is in theaters right now. "The Notebook" and "A Bend in the Road" are in development. "The Rescue" is currently under negotiations to become a television series.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The first tip was sent in by two young men who call themselves "The Dental Hygienists." In their own words, these fellows "had the misfortune to be involved with a girl who could best be described as an evil, heartless wench," and they felt compelled to strike back for some past occurrences. Enter two items: the "evil, heartless wench's" toothbrush, and an amorous couple. Now, this couple must have been married, because their romantic exploits resulted in the production of...don't look, Mom..."their own special brand of whitening-action" toothpaste, which they promptly applied to the bristles of the former item. Now the "evil, heartless wench" has a gleaming, pearly smile. Unless he find out her identity, the Gipper is going to play it safe and never kiss a girl again.
The Gipper received another tip involving procreative bodily fluids, but he's had enough of the subject, so he'll leave it with this: keep your clothes out of the Zahm laundry machines.
Hall Notes:
We finally have some more photos of present day Carroll Hall. Obviously, these photos were not taken last week. The sun is shining and shorts are the garb of choice. We have six new pictures. Only two are from in the dorm. The other four are of the Vermin basketball court. Please go to the "Present Day Carroll Hall" page and check out the February '02 posted photos.
NDSportscenter:
FOUR OVERTIMES! On Saturday the men's hoops team defeated Georgetown 116 to 111. Matt Carroll scored 30 in the 60 minute contest that took three hours. Chris Thomas played the entire game at the point and only had one turnover over the final 40 minutes. The Irish raked in 64 rebounds! Our boys are smokin'! We have won 5 games in a row in the Big East. Ever since Torrian Jones replaced David Graves in the lineup, the team has gelled. Watch the fellas take it to the hardwood. On Thursday we play at Rutgers on ESPN at 9pm EST. Then on Sunday the 17th we get Syracuse at the JACC on ABC at 3:30pm EST.
The recruits are in. Here's the down low. We signed 18 players and we rated anywhere from 10th to 14th in various recruiting rankings. Offensive line and tight end were strong areas. Defensive backs were sparse. All in all, not bad considering the coaching debacle. Usually we ink 20+.
The big prize of this class is probably Maurice Stovall, a 6'5", 215lb. receiver. Stovall is a 1st team USA Today All-American and is noted for his 4.4-40 speed. Tom Lemming had him as the 32nd best player overall. Stovall is projected to possibly start right away. Shouldn't be too difficult considering that we have NO experience coming back at receiver. Maurice is considered one of the top 3 pass catchers in the nation.
As luck would have it, we also snagged the #3 wideout. Cali boy Rhema McKnight was a late addition to this class. He had not verbally committed and was hemming and hawing up until the first official signing day. Some recruits listed him as better than Stovall and some even had him as the best player overall out West. This is a big time grab by Willingham. McKnight was not considering us when Davie was here.
Stovall and McKnight will most likely be instant help, but the highest rated player in our class is Travis Leitko. Travis is a 6'6", 260 lb. defensive lineman from The Woodlands, Texas. Leitko is coming out of Grant Irons old high school and is #22 overall. He was 2nd Team All-American after recording 90 tackles and 9 sacks this past year. Travis is highly regarded because of his intelligent play and explosiveness.
Another first teamer was #51 (by Lemming) Derek Landri out of California. Derek is a 6'3", 280 lb. offensive lineman. Maybe. It is doubtful he will play this Fall unless we put him on defense. Could happen, too. Recruiting analyst Max Emfinger had Landri as the Defensive Player of the Year.
Our remaining top-100-rated players are....#58 running back/fullback Nate Schiccatano, #91 defensive end Chris Frome, #98 center Bob Morton, and #100 tight end Marcus Freeman.
We did not get #3 overall and #1 running back Lorenzo Booker. Word on the street is that he was coming here until he changed him mind maybe an hour before his announcement. He didn't exactly seem like out kind of player seeing as how he scheduled his announcement to be carried live on Sportscenter.
Go to the "Articles of Interest" page and read the full report on all 18 of our recruits. Good stuff.
Campus News:
LaFortune will be undergoing a facelift. Thanks to students filling out campus food services surveys, new businesses will be brought in. A search is on for restaurants to replace Allegro and Tomassito's. Work is already in progress to transform the former Alumni Room into a Starbucks. Students were dissatisfied with the current selections mainly because of their inconsistent hours of operation. Starbucks was chosen because it would be attractive beyond the typical meal periods and would most likely be open until the early hours of the morning. The Starbucks will be offering a new line of products consisting of salads and sandwiches. Remodeling began over Christmas break and an April opening is anticipated. There is the likelihood that an Italian restaurant will be placed in the basement. The University is currently speaking to Sbarro, which is known for pizza and Italian dishes. Speculation has a Mexican restaurant replacing Tomassito's. Relative unknown Eddie Peppers is being considered. Taco Bell (also known as "The Bitch" by some Vermin) has also been mentioned. All of the restaurants would accept both flex points and domer dollars and be owned and operated by the University, similar to a franchise agreement.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Well, Gipplings, that's about it for this issue. Before going, though, the Gipp would like to ask you for help in overturning an oppressive administrative precept. You see, Gipp fans, the Gipper is almost 107 years old, and he is having a bit of trouble coaxing his aging manhood back into its old "Wiffle-ball bat" glory days. To his great delight, he received a Viagra offer in his e-mailbox last week with the claim that "in less then 5 minutes you can complete the on-line consultation and in many cases have the medication in 24 hours." Unfortunately, after he built up his courage and clicked on the link, the Gipper was met with a distressing message: Users of the campus network are banned from visiting the provider's site. Looks like the OIT has been cutting straight to the jugular with this new security initiative.
Hall Notes:
And the #1 Water Drop of All Vermin time....
1. The Great Fire Marshall Drop, 1983.
This is probably the single incident most responsible for Fr Steve's demise as a rector. Having become bored with the same old waterdrops, something spectacular was needed. So, in the middle of the night someone pulled a false fire alarm and everyone filled their trash cans with water. When the campus fire marshall and the fire fighters approached Carroll... you know how it ends...Direct Hit.
NDSportscenter:
February 6th is signing day and the names keep filtering in. The biggest player so far is a Pennsylvania receiver. He's one of the top 2 receivers in the country and is compared to Randy Moss. Check this.... he's 6'5" and 215 lbs. Seeing as how we have basically NO experience coming back at receiver, he could start right away.
Plenty o lads in pads were putting themselves on display for NFL scouts. It began at Christmas with the Blue-Gray Game. The Hula Bowl was played this last weekend. David Givens and Grant Irons were in the Blue-Gray Game. Kurt Vollers, Tony Fisher, and Rocky Boiman suited up for the East-West Shrine Game. Irons, Boiman, Givens, and Vollers made the Hula Bowl. Anthony Weaver was our lone representative in the Senior Bowl.
Weaver was also honored as a 2nd team All-American by ABC Sports Online. Football News had Weaver, Jeff Faine, and Tyreo Harrison as honorable mention All-American.
Kevin White continues to make his presence felt. He has earmarked $120 million in improvement projects for athletic facilities. $60 million alone will go into the JACC. Awhile back news was given on the upgrading of the basketball arena. Well, the hockey rink will also be improved. The seating will jump from around 2,700 to 3,600. Permanent bleachers will be provided on 3 of 4 sides with chairbacks. Canopies will be provided to separate the rink from the rest of the Dome. No idea how JPW accommodations will be affected.
Women's basketball junior walk-on Karen Swanson is quite the entrepreneur, as well she should be. Swanson got the idea to put together a calendar of her teammmates in casual attire at specific locations around campus. Karen is in Management 320: "Intro to Entrepreneurship." The prof gave each student $20 and said: "Go make a profit." Swanson had to abide by NCAA regulations and donate all the profits to charity. So far the calendar sale has netted $4,500. After all have been sold, the money raised will be given to the New York City Children's Relief Fund that was founded after September 11th.
Campus News:
No decision has been made yet on the future of Juniper Road. With campus growth continuing east of Juniper, school officials are studying ways to protect pedestrians who are constantly crossing to and fro. Executive vice president Rev. Timothy Scully stated, "We're in the analysis phase of several alternatives with the county engineer and our consultants." Possible proposals range from making changes to Juniper designed to slow vehicles to requesting that St. Joseph County close or move the road. Meetings with the community are scheduled for the spring. About 10,000 vehicles a day travel Juniper Road. About 20,000 pedestrians cross the street each day classes are in session. As many as 40,000 are expected in the coming years. Any proposal to close or move Juniper would have to be approved by the St. Joseph County Council. The community is none too pleased. Letters to the Editor in the South Bend Tribune have not been positive. One citizen told the University to wise-up and simply build a walkway (or two) over the road. Not a bad idea.
A separate possible road project that is being studied would realign Angela Boulevard/Edison Road east from Notre Dame Avenue. That road now curves northward just east of Notre Dame Avenue. The plan would seek to extend Angela/Edison straight east from ND Avenue. Such a realignment would take the road east through an undeveloped area known as the Notre Dame Woods and soccer fields south of Edison.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The second quote is, as the tipster himself suspected, "too foul to print," so allow the Gipper to merely suggest its contents. A young woman attendee of Boston College was at a bar the night before the ND-BC game, doing plenty of what people do in bars, and decided that she needed a good pick-up line to grab a young man's attention. She was successful. Let's just say, the Gipper will never think of a Wiffle-ball bat again without calling to mind this woman's colossal boast. If you're having trouble figuring this one out, maybe that's for the best.
Hall Notes:
The #2 Water Drop of all Vermin time. (This one is just plain nuts. And it's only #2!)
2. Vermin alumni waterdrop of Fr Sullivan, 1985.
Fr. Sullivan had just taken over from the well-liked Fr. Steve. Several alumni happened to be in town from a home football weekend. Based on the reports about Fr. Sullivan, they knew what must be done-- Direct hit. Unfortunately, they were all caught, and banned from university property for life.
NDSportscenter:
After the completion of all the Fall sports we are 14th in the Sears Directors' Cup for athletic achievement. Not great, but not bad.
Coach Willingham seems to have his staff complete. Kent Baer will be the defensive coordinator. He also specialized with the linebackers while at Stanford. Bill Diedrick, as mentioned before, is the offensive coordinator and will by bringing a West Coast offense. Buzz Preston will coach the running backs. The tight ends and tackles will be led by Mike Denbrock. John McDonnell is assigned to the centers and guards. The 6th Stanford assistant to relocate to the Bend is Phil Zacharias, the defensive ends coach. The final two assistants come from Minneapolis. They were with the Vikings and were released after head coach Dennis Green was fired. Trent Walters will command our secondary. Charlie Baggett, Willingham's roommate and fellow quarterback during their days at Michigan State, will work with our receivers.
We have 12 verbal recruits as of now. Two players have de-committed. One verbaled to Michigan and the other to Penn State. We are still in the hunt for California's all-time leading high school rusher and one of the top wide receivers in the nation who is 6'5" and 200 lbs.
Yves Auriol will step down after the 2001-02 season. He has been our fencing coach since 1985. Yves was named Coach of Year last year and has produced 59 All-American overall. That total is about to go up as our team is poised for another run at the National Championship. Both the men's and women's teams are currently ranked #2.
Campus News:
Once again the University has brought in a top-notch speaker. A couple weeks before the close of the first semester the administration welcomed Jack Welch to campus. Jack is the former head honcho for General Electric and is still making headlines as his autobiography - "Jack: Straight From the Gut" - is still firmly planted in the top 10 after four months on the non-fiction best-seller list.
Yet another member of the Notre Dame Family has been summoned by President Bush. Ralph McInerny, a philosophy professor, was recently appointed to the President's Arts and Humanities Committee. McInerny and 22 others have been asked to help devise ways of raising funds and interests in arts and humanities. The professor has taught at the University since 1955 and has published more than 60 books. In addition to teaching philosophy and medieval studies, McInerny is the founder of both Catholic publication Crisis Magazine and the Catholic Dossier.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
One of the great things about being the Gipper is that you hear about all sorts of things that people say when they don't think anyone's listening. The Gipp would like to pass along two such tidbits for your delight. The first:
Overheard at a recent home game, uttered by two young women attired in SMC gear:
Girl 1: "You are such a slut. You had sex with that guy for some dope!"
Girl 2: "Man, I was just taking one for the team. You smoked it, too."
(#2 quote next week.)
Hall Notes:
Water drops. Apparently this was a form of Vermin shenanigans in the glorious decade of the '80s. Garbage cans were filled with water. The upper floors were utilized. Gravity did the rest. The top 3 waterdropping gems come courtesy of Al Musgrove '88. (One number will be revealed a week.)
#3. John Horan's waterdrop of St. Anne, 1986.
Unannouced to the Carroll residents, Morissey and Lyons planned a picnic in our back yard without asking our permission. John, not being one to let such an affront pass lightly, quickly filled a trash can. It just so happens that one of Lyon's RA's, known as St. Anne because of her saintly (naive) nature, was walking below the side window in a white cotton sun dress. Needless to say, John scored an eye-opening direct hit. Luckily, Roland Hughes was present to prevent John from getting his ass kicked by about five extremely upset Morissey guys.
NDSportscenter:
More basketball on the tube: We play at home versus Georgetown on Monday January 21st. The game is on ESPN at 7 pm EST.
Finally the race card has been removed from the deck. For the time being anyway. Well, the press worked us over with the whole Willingham issue. They presented false information, expounded on other media stories that were also irresponsible, and did not even do the basic research. Initially we were trashed because it was reported that we asked permission to speak to Tyrone but - according to reporters - we never supposedly talked to or met with Willingham. Television journalists said we were just playing to the crowd with a politically correct move. They were playing the race card in a big way. The truth is that the FIRST coach Kevin White talked to was Tyrone. They just didn't tell the media until AFTER he was hired. White has known Willingham for 23 years and their relationship goes beyond color.
Both Tyrone and O'Leary interviewed for the position. Willingham is subdued and laid-back in nature. The out-going O'Leary showed great passion for the job. That's what separated him and got him the head coaching position. When Tyrone got a second chance he did not hold back HIS passion for the job. In fact he told White he "hired the wrong guy" when O'Leary was named. White had re-established contact immediately after Stanford's bowl game and the rest is history.
The media did not even bother to apologize for insinuating a black coach would not even be legitimately considered. Some still feel this coaching move was just a self-serving ploy. The media also falsely reported we didn't talk to Tyrone the first time (again, that was false) because of his buyout. The buyout was NEVER an issue. However they chided us as hypocrites for not hiring him because of money the first time. The media used other media stories to blast us even AFTER we hired Tyrone. Journalism at its poorest. And it was all based on race, not fact. Please read the latest articles posted. One is about Monk and it certainly shows that those insisting he was acting according to race were flat wrong. The other article comes from the Observer.
Greg Mattison has indeed been kept on to coach. He is the only remaining member of Davie's staff. He will not be the defensive coordinator as he was under Davie. His responsibilities will lie within the defensive line.
Campus News:
The students all came back this weekend to begin the second semester. It caps a rather odd Christmas break. The hiatus actually began on a Thursday as opposed to a Saturday. Normally first semester classes end on a Wednesday. This year - because of a desire to get students home sooner before Christmas - classes ended on a Tuesday. Another alteration was in the studay days. Normally there are two, but the past Fall semester only had one. Exams were held on Friday and Saturday, but not on Sunday. Then testing resumed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. This academic calendar was set back in 1998.
The Olympic torch passed through the Bend on January 4th. Two members of the Notre Dame Family were able to tote it for a stretch. Volleyball coach Debbie Brown had the honor. Brown had been the captain of the National Team back in 1980 but was unable to attend the Olympics due to the U.S. boycott of the games. The other torchbearer was none other than Father Hesburgh. The 84-year-old was not content to walk. He shuffled along south on Juniper beyond the stadium. The crowd cheered him on the whole way.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The other freshman prank: Apparently a number of Keenan's latest batch have developed an obsession with grappling hooks and self-abuse. (Not the kind of self-abuse the Catechism talks about.) The young would-be ninjas, according to a plethora of bewildered tipsters, would hook their bikes to a stationary bike rack and pedal away as fast as they could, until the grappling rope went taut and the rider was flipped over the handlebars onto the quad. The Gipper can only imagine the accompanying conversation.
Idiot Keenan Frosh: "Ouch. I think I swalloed my retainer. Also, I'm blind now. I want to do it again."
Idiot Keenan Frosh's Dopey Sidekick: "No, it's my turn. I'm already starting to feel my arms again."
NDSportscenter:
Look for two Irish hoops games on the tube. We play at Syracuse on Monday January 14th at 7pm EST on ESPN and we play Kentucky in the JACC on Saturday January 19th at noon EST on CBS.
Coach Willingham is bringing his offensive coordinator to the Bend. Bill Diedrick is going to implement an entirely new scheme. He led the Stanford offense the past four years with a West Coast style. So the option is gone. Moronic sports reporters questioned Willingham on day one about the offense he planned to use. They asked if he would deviate from the "Notre Dame tradition." Huh? The option was really only used under Carlyle and Tony Rice. Montana, Theismann, Mirer, Powlus...those guys were all drop-back passers. Our running formation was more the Power-I than anything the past decade. Last year Stanford rushed for 200 yards a game and passed for 250 yards per game. We are starting from scratch with every player and every position. There may even be some position changes.
Greg Mattison may stay on with Willingham. Two Stanford coaches are definitely not coming. The secondary and interior d-line coaches will not move to the Bend.
More erroneous ESPN reporting: The network reported we would be paying Tyrone $2 to $3 million per season. Not really close. The most accurate local reports say the salary is most likely no higher than $1.5 million per. ESPN also reported we would have to pay $2 million plus for Tyrone's buyout. False. Willingham's agent would not state a number but said the ESPN figure was "excessive." ESPN claimed we would be paying the $1.5 million buyout on O'Leary despite him resigning due to breach of contract. Wrong. We aren't paying a dime. AD White was quoted as saying "all aspects of the contract are null and void." And then there's the issue of the cream-puff interview done with O'Leary by ESPN's Mike Tirico. O'Leary said he was forced to resign. Funny how ESPN apparently now believes a proven liar. Feel free to read a local article concerning the ESPN interview on the Articles of Interest page. Me thinks ESPN should stick to showing sports and not reporting on them.
More coaching news next week.
Campus News:
A junior took the University to court just before the first semester ended in hopes of lifting a suspension. He was suspended based on an accusation of sexual misconduct. A female student had claimed she was touched in a sexual manner without her permission after a party in September. After an administrative hearing in early October, he was permanently dismissed from school and banned from campus under the threat of arrest for trespassing. The decision was upheld on appeal but the penalty was reduced to a two-year suspension with no guarantee of readmission.
This latest courtroom move by the student was in an attempt to seek a temporary restraining order to prevent the University from carrying out the suspension. The defendant denied the allegation on the stand and claimed he was denied a fair and impartial disciplinary hearing by the school. The University had determined the student was apparently guilty despite the fact that the South Bend Police Department determined there wasn't probably cause for criminal charges due to their levels of intoxication and unclear and incomplete recollections. During the University's hearing the accused had no legal assistance and was unable to confront his accuser or subpoena his own witnesses.
The junior, though, lost his latest motion in court. A St. Joseph County judge upheld the University's suspension. The judge ruled the student wasn't likely to succeed at trial with his motion. The fact that the University is a private institution gives it the power to administer and implement its own rules and procedures. The judge found du Lac to be "fair and reasonable" and that the University acted in accordance.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The Gipp has received widespread reports of pointless freshman stunts in the last few weeks and has chosen two of the more-notorious among them to share with you.
The first: A pair of young practical jokers of the Sorin ilk decided to clamber up a tree behind LaFortune and stage a round of cherry drops into crowds of passers-by. One of the fresh-fellows would stand aside and give a signal when a group was approaching, and the other would come toppling out of his hideout in the branches, flattening himself on the sidewalk in mock agony. The grand finale involved both of the pranksters in the tree, the second following his companion after a few seconds' delay.
(Stunt #2 next week.)
Hall Notes:
Cris "Pimpi" Diaz '96 left with a BA in marketing and hoped to further his education at the University of Florida. He's still in the process of going after his master's degree. The official degree is Master of Arts in Exercise and Sports Sciences majoring in Sports Management. To quote Pimpi: "Kind of ironic my master's will say 'Exercise' in it." Achieving the degree, though, has taken longer than usual as Pimpi is also working full-time. He is an Assistant Manager within the athletic department. His primary responsibility is the merchandise catalog which includes production, execution, buying, processing, and customer relations. Diaz also handles event merchandising by stocking and staffing a stand at every athletic event including football games when he runs a store in the stadium. After his thesis is complete, Cris plans on continuing in the field of intercollegiate athletics and would eventually like to become an AD at some point. Pimpi's proudest moment of his professional career came this past Fall. Diaz had visited ND in September and was swept up in the patriotism of the first home game. He wished to creat a shirt to commemorate Sept. 11th for Florida. A total of 28,000 t-shirts were sold and $175,000 was donated to the Red Cross fund. Definitely something to be proud of.
NDSportscenter:
It's official: Stanford is our minor league farm system. Last year we claimed their men's soccer coach. Now we take their football coach Tyrone Willingham. At high noon on January 1st, we announced Willingham as our new coach. He signed a 6 year deal rumored to be worth about $1.5 million per season. Willingham, 48, had just completed his seventh season at Stanford. He was 44-36-1 with four bowl game including the Cardinal's first Rose Bowl in 28 years. Stanford won the PAC-10 in '99 and Willingham was named PAC-10 Coach of the Year twice. This past season the Cardinal led the PAC-10 in scoring, total offense, rushing offense, and rushing defense.
Tyrone was a walk-on quarterback for Michigan State. After graduating in 1977, he spent the next 12 years as an assistant at Michigan State, Central Michigan, North Carolina State, and Rice. His specialites were the defensive secondary, special teams, and receivers. He became the Stanford running backs coach in '89 and left that position in '92 to be a similar coach for the Minnesota Vikings. Tyrone became a head coach for the first time when he took the helm at Stanford in 1995. 2001 capped Tyrone's 25th year of coaching.
Recruiting news: So far none of the verbals have bailed. However, one hopeful was lost. Larry Dibbles, a 6'3", 275 lb. USA Today 1st Team All-American defensive end, verbally committed to Texas because of the coaching turmoil....Signing day is February 6th....Willingham as coach has been regarded as a big boost for recruiting among analysts. Supposedly our lack of diversity was being used against us by other schools....Tyrone has proven to be an excellent recruiter at a school that has even tougher standards than ours. Our last class average SAT score was 899 (12th) while Stanford's stood at 1,051 (1st).
One last note for the week: At the press conference the media attempted to bait Willingham into talking about the race issue. He didn't bat an eye and dismissed it entirely with a swift "No."
More coaching news next week.