Club
Headlines: News
and Events
Holy Smoke! 
2010 Student Sendoff -- Sunday, August 8, 3PM-5PM
Brian Williams: ND 2010 Commencement Address
Is it September yet?
2010 HUB, ND Football Ticket Exchange
Link to the 2010 Lottery Results circa July 7
ND Football Dream Weekend Fundraiser
"They'll see the Fighting Irish
are the Fighting Irish yet."
Joyce Kilmer,
When the Sixty-ninth Comes Back, 1917
|
2010 Club Dues and Membership Form Do It Online
2010 Hesburgh May Service Project Photos
Thank you letter from Dorothy Day House
Cole Barker Story
Pray.nd.edu
-- Today's Prayer and More
Sycamore Trust
Nowhere Else But Notre Dame
A Fun Video: Rudy II
Here Come the Irish Cathy Richardson Live
Listen to the Notre Dame Folk Choir 
Listen to the Notre Dame Glee Club 
Click to Listen
The University of Notre Dame Glee Club
Profile: Arienne Thompson, ND '04
Ted Drake's Legacy
Project Career-Shift: A Job/Career Support Initiative
Notre Dame Business School Achieves #2 Rank
2009-2011 ACE Teachers
Student Care Packages from the ND Club
Photos: St. Mary's Soup Kitchen, Friday, April 17
Tribute to Tim Brown: Hall of Famer
Tribute to the Master
New Notre Dame Students for Fall, 2008
Photos: An Evening with Coach Charlie Weis
2008 Notre Dame Cheerleader: Meghan McMahon
Legacy: Ed and Clare Charbonnet
Madison's 1st Notre Dame Gameday Experience
Sister Connie's 1st-graders' Lesson Stirs Irish in 'em
Lacy Winters' Interview with Sister Connie: the Video 
Life in a Jar: the Irena Sendler Story
History's Team
Re-igniting the Spirit
1966: Birth of the Baby Bombers
2007: Terry Hanratty Roasts Ara
Best ND Cornerbacks of the Past 25 years?
Chris Zorich Inducted in College FB Hall of Fame
The Whole Nine Yards
35 Years Ago
Holtz Statue Next
ND -- No. 1 in
Intramural Sports Participation
with a Related Bengal Bouts Video
Spotlight
on Students 
New Notre Dame Students for Fall, 2008
2007-08
Roster of Local ND Students
2008 Notre Dame Cheerleader: Meghan McMahon
Clare
Charbonnet Spotlighted in ND Scholarship Manual
Phillip
Albonetti Spars in the 2006 Bengal Bouts
A
Semester in Spain: A Report by Sebastian Lara '07
Matt Shelton's final home game: photos and article
ND
Freshman, Dan Gibson, in Lacrosse Action
Letter to the Club from Joe
Murphy [ND Class '08]
Notre
Dame Students for 2005-06 Announced
2006 Student Sendoff
Photos
2005
Student Sendoff Photos
2004
Student Sendoff Photos
General
Interest
Nowhere Else But Notre Dame
Online Contributions to Notre
Dame [via credit card]
Notre Dame Task Force on Catholic Education
The
Fan-tastic ND Shopper: an ND Gift Guide
Michael's
Wish [video]
Hesburgh
Jubilee School Project Updates
Volunteers Needed for Hesburgh Jubilee
School Project
God, Country, Notre Dame: Memorial Day 2008
Mario G. "Motts" Tonelli
Mario G. "Motts" Tonelli, 1916-2003
Rocky Bleier
Charlie Weis in Iraq: The Diary
Charlie Weis at the White House
Charlie Weis at the White House: Press Release
2010
Past Events
2010 UND Night: Thursday, June 3
Bat for the Cure: Red Bird Game, Sunday, June 20
Hesburgh Lecture: Tuesday, May 18
Hesburgh May Service Project: Saturday May 22
2009
Past Events
Universal Notre Dame Night, June 2
Click here to make UND Night Reservations
2009 HUB, ND Fotball Ticket Exchange
2009 Bus Trip, ND-USC Game, October 17
Thanksgiving: Community Service & Club Mass
Soup Kitchen, Saturday 8/23: Volunteers Needed
2009 Summer Service Interns
St. Augustine Jubilee School: Tutors Needed
Notre Dame Folk Choir Concert, May 22
Spring 2009 Newsletter
Club Hosts The Notre Dame Glee Club -- March 12
Easter Community Service: Soup Kitchen, Friday, April 17
A Letter from New ND Club President, Dave McManus
Very Important Message for All Club Members
2008
Past Events
Raymond H. "Mickey" Moran, Rest in Peace
Thanksgiving: Community Service & Club Mass
2008 Student Sendoff, Sunday, August 17, 5:00PM
2008 Summer Service Interns
An Evening with Coach Charlie Weis, April 24
2008 Hesburgh Lectures
April 21 and March27:
Hesburgh Lecture, Fr. Patrick McGaffney, March 27
Father Nuzzi Speaks on April 21
Catholic Schools Still Make a Difference!
Good Article in The West Tennessee Catholic
Bud Dudley, Rest in Peace: Three Articles
Profile: Father Ted at 91 [article from The Observer]
President Bush Praises ACE
Notre Dame Fencer Wins First U.S. Gold in
Beijing
Notre Dame fencer Mariel Zagunis celebrates
2007
Past Events
Death
in the Family: Joseph S. Signaigo
'Everyone
knew' Fighting Joe
2006
Past Events
2006 ND Club of Memphis Yearend Review
Hesburgh
Lecture, November 9
2006 Hesbugh Lecture,
March 29
2005
Past Events
NDAA Excellence in Teaching Conference
Ted Drake's Legacy
Theodore W. Drake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Theodore "Ted" W. Drake (September 2, 1907 - May 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, graphic artist, and sports artist. Ted Drake is probably best remembered for the creation of the Notre Dame Leprechaun for which he was paid $50.
The Leprechaun was first used on the 1964 football pocket schedule and later on the football program covers. An immediate success, the Leprechaun was featured on the cover of Time magazine in November, 1964.
Excerpts from an email from
Jon Walker [Ted Drake's agent] to the webmaster:
"The four horsemen painting was done for the anniversery of the four horsement of Notre Dame. All of the living descendants of the original four players were here for a reception. The reception for the families was held in the press box of the new stadium. The painting was presented to the University on loan for this occasion."
"The original oil painting of the four horsemen is located on the cornerstone of the Notre Dame Stadium. The cornerstone of the stadium is located just inside the Media Entrance to the stadium (small door just south of the main west entrance....usually next to the NBC Dish trucks during a ballgame). This is the door to get to the press box, the radio & tv booths, and the University booths."
The Four Horsemen
by Theoodore W. (Ted) Drake
[Permission by Jon Walker, Ted Drake's Agent]
" ... for your information, I own the actual original leprechaun. I have the artwork on loan to the University. It is located in the new Eck visitor center in a sealed display case just west of the ladies in the reception desk just outside the alumni office."
"Attached is a picture of the original leprechaun that is on display in the Eck visitor center. The couple on the left are friends of ours from our former home in southern Illinois where I was reared. They came up for a ND football game with us and brought their daughter for a ND visit. My sister-in-law, Sally, is on the right."
"PS: I have attached the only picture I could find of the four horsemen...but my wife, Sondra, and I are in it."
* * * * *
An earlier prototype from Ted Drake
The
Fan-tastic ND Shopper:
an ND Gift Guide
Some
of you are always looking for gift ideas, particularly for Notre Dame
stuff, whether it be for others or for self. Many don't know
where to shop nor what's available. Welcome to The
Fan-tastic ND Shopper, a peripatetic look at ND stuff.
If we find it, we link it. Scroll down for the links.
The
Fan-tastic ND Shopper will entertain future suggestions
to be included in this corner of ndmemphis.com.
Also, if you are looking for something specific and can't locate it,
drop us a line. One caveat, if you are looking for
football tickets or pictures of the poodle, forget it. Otherwise,
send an email to The
Fan-tastic ND Shopper.
Disclaimer:
The ND Club of Memphis does not endorse any of the products or sellers
of such merchandise or any of the sites referenced.
The
Chicken Soup Game [a children's book] 
The
Notre Dame Bookstore
The
ND Alumni Association's ND Marketplace
UND.com
Official Store
ND Music: The Band
of the Fighting Irish
ND Music: The Glee Club
The
ND Fan Shop
BlueandGold
Traditions ND Shop
Irish Eyes
[premium website subscription]
Blue and Gold [premium
website subscription]
Irish Illustrated
[premium website subscription]
Irish Sports Report
[premium website subscription]
Irish
Envy [premium website subscription]
Contributions
to Notre Dame [via credit card]
More to come ...
Clare
Charbonnet spotlighted in ND Scholarship Manual
The
March 2006 issue of the ND Scholarship and Fellowship Manual
spotlighted Clare Charbonnet. Clare is mentioned as holder
of the "J. & M. Dailey Memorial Scholarship."
The
text remarks: "Majoring in engineering is actually majoring
in problem solving and analytical thinking," says Clare Charbonnet,
a junior civil engineering major who utilizes those skills to tutor
freshman in math each week. In addition, Clare also plays interhall
soccer for Cavanaugh Hall and is an Eucharistic minister in both
her dorm and in the Basilica. Of Notre Dame, she says, "The
traditions that live from class to class throught the decades comprise
the essence of Notre Dame -- traditions such as academic excellence,
spiritual nourishment, and athletic achievement."
Clare
is the daughter of Ed [ND '71] and Michelle Charbonnet.
Phillip
Albonetti Spars in the 2006 Bengal Bouts
The
Bengal Bouts is one of Notre Dames's oldest and finest traditions
for more than 75 years. A brief history is provided at http://bengalbouts.nd.edu/historymain.html
.
Phillip
Albonetti, a first year graduate student from Memphis, entered the
fray in the 2006 rendition of College Boxing's best scenario. Phillip
won his first bout in a split decision but, alas, lost in his second
fight. Fortunately, Phillip is pursuing a PhD in English Literature
which will allow him several years to mature as a championship contender.
[l
to r] Phillip Albonetti along with two "gladiators" of
an earlier era
The
ND Club was prepared to support Phillip's venture with a small ad
in the Bengal Bouts' program but this effort was usurped when an anonymous
benefactor [Pat Arnoult, '60, a Bengal Bouts champion
himself, currently the club's senior alumni coordinator] subscribed
for a full-page ad. A win-win situation for all parties involved.
Click here to see the ad.
A
Semester in Spain:
A Report by Sebastian Lara '07
I
just spent a wonderful semester studying at Notre Dame's study abroad
program in Toledo, Spain. We had 26 ND students in our group
and all lived with Spanish host families for our three months, what
an experience!
Click
on the photo to view more
Sebastian
with his host family
My
Spanish is up to snuff because when you sit down for dinner with
your Spanish family, you've got to participate. My family
was amazing, we still email each other back and forth. For
those three months, I had a little 9 year old brother David, and
we became great friends as he helped me with my Spanish.
As
a biology major, I thought for sure I would not have the time to
study abroad, but Notre Dame encourages it so highly that they work
with you to organize your schedule and make it work. In Toledo,
I took a break from the sciences and had classes in history, culture,
literature, and art.
Studying
abroad offers amazing opportunities in and out of the classroom.
For instance, in my art class, we would study a painting during
our morning class, then leave to go home for lunch and a siesta
(wow do I miss those), and then return to school, and get on a bus
to go see the actual painting in the Prado Museum in Madrid.
ND
students in Spain take 5 courses from an offering of about 12 classes
that range from European economics and Spanish business practices
to art culture and Spanish literature. The program has its
own facilities with classrooms a cafeteria and dorm rooms for those
that choose not to live with host families (although home-stay is
highly highly encouraged). Faculty are all local teachers but the
director there comes to ND once a year for meetings with our abroad-program
director.
With
no classes on Fridays, we had long weekends to catch a train or
plane and visit cities all over Spain and Europe. A bullfight
in Seville one weekend, the Al Hambra in Granada the next, and the
Guggenheim museum in Bilbao after that. I visited 10 cities
in Spain, and because Notre Dame has programs all over the world,
I had friends to visit in London, Dublin, Rome, and Paris.
I
am so glad that I studied abroad and am so lucky that Notre Dame
makes it so easy to do. It is something I would recommend
to anybody!
[Sebastian says that he would love to answer any questions
about
ND's semester abroad program. His email address is provided
below].
Go Irish!
Adios!
Sebastian
Lara '07
A
Note from the webmaster: the website welcomes all student
accounts of their Notre Dame learning experiences -- academic, cultural,
or service oriented. Contact Steve
Zeber or any of the club officers or board members listed on the
Contact page.
Death
in the Family: Joseph S. Signaigo
JOSEPH
S. SIGNAIGO, 83, of Memphis died at St. Francis Hospital, January
16, 2007. He was a graduate of Catholic High School and a graduate
of Notre Dame. He was known for his athletic abilities receiving numerous
awards not only during his high school and college years but also
with the Nation Football League.
He
served with the U.S . Marine Corp during WW II and the Korean Conflict,
and upon his return he worked for Tennessee Brewery and later started
his own company, Premium Brands, Inc. Joe was a communicate of The
Church of the Holy Spirit and selected as the outstanding Italian
American by the Memphis Chapter of the U.N.I.CO in 1983, where he
continued to be an active member.
He
was past president of the Liberty Bowl Festival Association, and served
also on the Board of Directors and team selection committee; President
of the Memphis Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall
of Fame; received the Distinguished American Award from the Memphis
Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame in 1984;
Distinguished Alumni Award from Memphis State University in 1986;
inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1985; Life Service
Award from the National Beer Wholesalers Association; Past Director
for the Mid South Fair, Better Business Bureau, the Boy Scouts of
America; past-president of the Memphis and Tennessee Malt Beverage
Association; and member of the Colonial Country Club and Summit Club.
Joe leaves his wife of 58 years, Thelma P. Signaigo, daughters, Sharon
Thompson, Janet M. Signaigo; son Stephen J. Signaigo; sister Clara
Crone; brother, Albert Devoto, nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his sister, Elena Signaigo Deming.
Visitation
will be 5-8 Friday, January 19, with a rosary at 7:30, at Memorial
Park Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be said at 11:00 a.m., Saturday,
January 20, the Church of the Holy Spirit with burial to follow at
Memorial Park Cemetery.Memorials may be sent to the charity of the
donor's choice. Memorial Park Funeral Home 901-767-8930.
Published in The Commercial Appeal on 1/18/2007.
Bud
Dudley and Joe Signaigo show off their ND Club of Memphis lifetime
achievement awards at the 2006 Notre Dame Night.
'Everyone
knew' Fighting Joe
By Phil Stukenborg
January 18, 2007
Joseph Signaigo played many successful roles during his lifetime.
He was a respected businessman and community leader. He was a decorated
Memphis high school athlete. He was a professional football all-star.
But all had to compete with the passion he displayed for his alma
mater, Notre Dame. Mr. Signaigo died Tuesday of complications
resulting from a Christmas Day fall. He was 83.
After a successful prep career at Catholic High, Mr. Signaigo was
awarded a football scholarship to Notre Dame. He started on the offensive
line and played on national championship teams in 1943, '46 and '47.
"The fact he was most proud of was his college career at Notre
Dame and playing on those national championship teams,'' said his
daughter, Janet Signaigo. Among his many civic roles was serving as
president of the Liberty Bowl Festival Association.
"He was a huge supporter of the Liberty Bowl and went to cities
to help select the teams," she said. "
Bill McElroy, also a past president of the Liberty Bowl Festival Association,
said Mr. Signaigo accompanied him on his first trip to Notre Dame.
"When we got on campus we couldn't move 10 feet without someone
coming up to Joe and saying 'hello.' There was a reunion of some of
the teams that weekend and everyone knew Joe."
During World War II, Mr. Signaigo served three years in the Marine
Corps then resumed his football career at Notre Dame, graduating in
1948.
Mr. Signaigo played three years of professional football -- beginning
with the New York Yankees of the All-American Conference. In 1950,
the All-America Conference and the National Football League merged
and Mr. Signaigo earned All-Pro honors.
He was recalled to active duty with the Marines during the Korean
War. When he returned from military service, he began a business career
in the beer industry. He later formed his own company -- Premium Brands,
Inc. -- in Memphis after working in Wisconsin and Georgia.
Mr. Signaigo, the husband of 58 years of Thelma Pieroni Signaigo,
also leaves another daughter, Sharon Thompson, and a son, Stephen
Signaigo, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Church of the Holy
Spirit.
Published in The Commercial Appeal on 1/18/2007.
ND
Club of Memphis Archives: 52 Years Ago
Hesburgh
Jubilee School Project Updates
How
many ND alumni/friends does it take to paint a statue of Our Lady?
Saturday,
July 21
St.
Augustine Jubilee School
8:30AM
to 11:30 AM
St.
Augustine's Principal Latonya Rayford says the statue of Our Lady
at the front entrance of the school needs to be painted.
Scraping & priming will be accomplished . painting may have to
wait for another day.
Depending
on the number of volunteers we receive, we may also be able to steam
clean the nearby marble statue of St. Joseph.
With
even more volunteers, we will be able to start prepping the window
behind the statue for a fresh paint job as well.
Anybody
have a green (Irish!) thumb? We could even plant some flowers/shrubs
around the statue!
Rick
Duerr says, "Donuts will be provided, provided you don't tell your
cardiologist (or his)!"
Please
contact David Wade if you wish to participate.
Phone
(901) 761-7794
Email david.wade@nmfn.com
DIRECTIONS
to St. Augustine School:
Take
the I-240 loop West past Millbranch Exit, past Airways Exit, and then
veer NORTH, staying on the 240 loop.
Take
Exit 28A onto South Parkway heading EAST (i.e., turn right onto South
Parkway). Pass the old Coletta's restaurant, and turn right on Greenwood
(2nd street on your right).
Drive South on Greenwood for approximately two blocks, at which point
you will see St. Augustine School directly in front of you!
1169
Kerr Avenue
Memphis, TN 38106-5922
Principal: Ms. LaTonya Rayford
(901) 942-8002
FAX (901) 942-4560
Web: www.staugustinememphis.org/school
David Wade,
Jr.
ND Club Community Service Coordinator
VIRTUS
Training
Attemtion:
All Irish Fans with Hearts of Gold (aka: club members planning to
participate in volunteer tutoring this year at our adopted Jubilee
School: St. Augustine):
All
volunteers, ages 18 and over, must complete VIRTUS training!
The next training opportunity is Saturday, July 14,
9
AM to 12 Noon at Resurrection School, taught by Dr. Rafael
Rondon, Principal of Resurrection School.
What
is VIRTUS Training? VIRTUS training is part of
the US Catholic Bishops' "Protecting God's Children" program designed
to increase awareness and decrease occurrence of sexual abuse of minors.
This three hour VIRTUS program includes video presentation and group
discussion of the harm and very real threat that sexual abuse of minors
poses in contemporary society.
Directions:
Drive South on Ridgeway Road. Ridgeway becomes Hickory Hill. Continue
on Hickory Hill to Winchester Road. Turn right (West) on Winchester
Road. Continue 0.8 miles to Emerald Street. Turn Right (North) on
Emerald Street. Continue 0.2 miles. You will see Resurrection Church/School
on your left. Pull into parking lot and enter front door. The VIRTUS
classroom is inside, through the foyer, to the left.
5475
Newberry
Memphis, TN 38115-3651
Principal: Dr. Rafael Rondon
(901) 546-9926
Rainchecks: There will be other VIRTUS
training opportunities through the summer. Click on the following
link from time to time for dates & locations of upcoming VIRTUS
course opportunities in Memphis: http://www.cdom.org/protectgodschildren/safeenvironment.htm
We
need ALL VOLUNTEERS to complete the course this summer so that we
will be able to hit the ground tutoring in full force once school
commences in August!
Please contact David Wade to RSVP for the July 14
VIRTUS session or if you have any questions about the Hesburgh Jubilee
School Project:
David
Wade
Community Service Coordinator
ND
Club of Memphis
Phone:
(901) 761-7794
Email: david.wade@nmfn.com
The
Hesburgh Jubilee School Project is the newest major community
service project of the Notre Dame Club of Memphis. The project
is intended to be a continuing long-term service opportunity.
The project title honors Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh, former president
of the University of Notre Dame, on his 90th birthday, May 2007.
The focus of the service project to aid the Jubilee Schools"
of the Memphis Diocese [St. Augustine School being one of the seven]
by volunteer tutoring and other associated opportunities to serve.
ND
Club of Memphis: "Club of the Year"
[L
to R] Gene Bastedo, David McManus, and Paul Christman
[Paul
is the current eleced Region 14 representative]
at
the May, 2007 NDAA Senate awards ceremony
The
Nore Dame Alumni Association has recognized the ND Club of Memphis
as the Oustanding Club of the Year in its category. The Memphis
club is categorized as a "C" club in the national alumni
association based on the number of alumni resident within the club's
geographical boundaries.
New Notre Dame Students for Fall, 2008
Seven
freshmen from the Memphis area will be
attending the University of Notre Dame. The ND Club of Memphis
congratulates them and bids them welcome to the Notre Dame family.
They are:
Lauren Aristorenus
Adamsville High School
Adamsville, Tn
lauren_Aristorenus@hotmail.com
Megan Bastedo
Saint Benedict at Auburndale
Germantown, Tn
mstedo66@gmail.com
Conor Bolich
Memphis University School
Memphis, Tn
conor.bolich@gmail.com
Max Gabreski
St. George’s High School
Southaven, Ms
mrg6290@gmail.com
Keith Nord
University School of Jackson
Jackson, Tn
keith.nord@yahoo.com
Kerry Olinger
Collierville High School
Collierville, Tn
Kerry.napoli@gmail.com
Elizabeth Walsh
Saint Agnes Academy
Memphis, Tn
eawalsh@saa-sds.org
2007-08
Roster of Local ND Students
GRADUATE
Students
Albonetti,
Phillip (English)
Haffey,
Bryan
Higginbotham,
Robert (Physics)
Latina,
John
Lyttle,
Sean
Shelton,
Matt
Taylor,
Scheroi
Tullis,
Jonathan
Zikoski,
Zachary (Engineering)
Law Students
Paul Krog
SENIOR
Duffy,
Cindy
Murphy,
Joe
Sullivan,
Allison
Thompson,
Amelia
Wetzel,
Rebecca
JUNIOR
Bugnitz,
Marie
Gibson,
Dan
Whalen,
Andrew
SOPHOMORE
Amido,
Angela
Clarke,
William
Duffy,
Bailey
McMahon,
Meghan
FRESHMAN
Joseph Choi
Joseph Evetts
Brigitte Githinji
Kelly Hunt
Karen Krog
Grace Orians
Kevin Ritt
2008 Summer Service Interns
Sara Johnson will be this year's intern at Missionary of Charity Mission. Sara is a sophomore from Detroit. She is a student in Liberal Studies and resides at Lyons Hall. She will be in Memphis for eight weeks, commencing May 18.
Kelly Marszalek will be the intern at St. Jude. She will be starting her assignment on this Thursday 5/22. She will be living with Mark and Linda Conger who are parents of an ND alum.
2009-2011 ACE Teachers
The Club welcomes the new contingent of ACE teachers who will serving in Memphis for the next two years.
The ACE teachers are Notre Dame students who have
committed themselves to a two-year teaching tenure at one of the Memphis
Diocesan Jubilee Schools. There should be an pleasant opportunity for you to meet and greet the Acers at the August 2 Student Sendoff.
Stephen Brennen sbrennen@nd.edu
Michael Debri mdebri@nd.edu
Kathryn Guida kguida@nd.edu
Timothy Mulvey tmulvey1@nd.edu
Kathryn Rivard krivard@nd.edu
Bryan Winther bwinther@nd.edu
Notre Dame Task Force on Catholic Education
In 2005, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., appointed the Task Force on Catholic Education in response to an invitation from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to help revitalize America’s unique Catholic school system.
This task force’s response, released Dec. 8, 2006 and titled “Making God Known, Loved, and Served: The Future of Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in the United States,” identifies 12 areas in which the University can support Catholic schools, and five recommended steps for Church and civic leaders.
For more information, see Making
God Known, Loved, and Served or access the task force final report on .pdf, The
Future of Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools
in the United States.
The
Future of Catholic Primary and Secondary
Schools
in the United States
Basilica Sunday Mass on TV or Internet
Sunday Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of Notre Dame is available on cable television or on the Internet.
The Saturday 5pm Vigil Mass is televised on a tape delay Sunday mornings at 7am EST on the Hallmark Channel, or live via the Internet.
The 11:45am Sunday Mass is now available by video podcast on www.ndprayercast.org - which also hosts a weekly audio prayercast for download at your convenience.
Worship for an hour of prayer! More information is available by clicking Liturgy.
First-graders' lesson in life stirs Irish in 'em
Sister Connie Tarallo with her first-grade class.
Photo by Matthew Craig
Notre Dame fight song rings as nun teaches about choices
By Michael Lollar
Friday, May 2, 2008
There's a reading class in one room, a math class next door. The hallways are hushed until you turn the corner to Sister Connie Tarallo's first-grade class at St. Ann Catholic School. Abruptly, it sounds like cheerleaders have converged on the Bartlett campus:
"Cheer, cheer for Old Notre Dame,
Wake up the echoes cheering her name,
Send a volley cheer on high ..."
Students, most of them 7 years old, are learning another lesson in life. It makes no difference whether you win or lose. It's how you play the game.
"Life is about making choices. You either make good choices or bad choices," Sister Connie tells her students.
You may choose to be a Vols fan. You may choose to be a Tigers fan or a Razorbacks fan, and that's all right. "But you also need to root for the team of the Blessed Mother," as Sister Connie will tell you. That means learning -- and singing -- the Notre Dame fight song. And -- here's another lesson -- Notre Dame is French for "Our Lady." Sister Connie's students sing more of Our Lady's familiar chorus:
"Shake down the thunder from the sky!
What though the odds be great or small,
Old Notre Dame will win over all ..."
About 15 years ago, one of Sister Connie's former students attended St. Mary's College not far from the Notre Dame campus in Indiana. Sister Connie went to the student's graduation and, since she was in the neighborhood, visited the Notre Dame campus.
"There's a spirit there when you go to that campus. You can't put your finger on it. It's very special," says Sister Connie, a Sister of Charity of Nazareth.
She was born 65 years ago in the Boston area. Her family members were Boston College fans. Sister Connie grew up rooting for the Red Sox and the Patriots, but her fateful visit to Notre Dame was like seeing the face of the Virgin Mary on a potato or as a welcome apparition. She was converted.
A Boston Red Sox pennant hangs in the back of her classroom, but it is overwhelmed by Notre Dame memorabilia and the blue and gold of Sister Connie's favorite Fighting Irish.
Sister Connie likes the basketball team, but she loves the football team. She went to Nazareth College in Bardstown, Ky., and to Marygrove College in Detroit, but she was in attendance last week as a special guest when Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis spoke to Memphis' Notre Dame alumni at The Racquet Club.
Weis' signed photo now hangs on the bulletin board at the front of her classroom between a poster that says "Trees Are Terrific" and a "Wild Wind" Weekly Reader cover.
There are leprechaun mascots sitting atop computers and one sitting on a bookshelf next to a photo of Mother Teresa.
Sister Connie's 20 students are accustomed to the St. Ann colors -- orange, white and blue, a combination to satisfy Vols and Tigers fans among them. Sister Connie also counts herself as a fan of both. "I love 'Rocky Top.' I really do. But when they play Notre Dame, you know how it is," she says.
She was in Knoxville in 2004 when Notre Dame beat the Vols, 17-14, but she has never attended a Fighting Irish home game in South Bend, Ind.
"When you're teaching first grade, you can't just take off," she says.
Most of her students are willing participants.
"I told my mom about Notre Dame, and she said she wouldn't even want to see them. She's for Iowa and Memphis," says Alexandra Theisen, 7, who is a Notre Dame fan, because, "Sister Connie is for them, and I like the fight song."
It takes students about two weeks at the beginning of each year to learn the song.
Matthew Bach, 7, says he loves it and sings it at home to his parents' protests."They say, 'It's OK, but it's driving me crazy,'" he says.
Sister Connie has felt neither compelled to confess nor seek absolution for her ardor. In fact, she has upped the ante by adding Our Lady's fight song as the ringtone to her cell phone. "I just hope it doesn't go off in church. Everybody would know it was me," she says.
Contact reporter Michael Lollar at 529-2793.
http://www.commercialappeal.com
Profile: Father Ted at 91
[article from The Observer]
Nearly 91, Hesburgh finds time for visitors
Former University president fills his days with prayer,
appointments and by keeping up with current events
Jay Fitzpatrick
The Observer, Issue date: 5/16/08
Sitting in his office on the 13th floor of the library named for him, Fr. Theodore Hesburgh has a busy schedule of meetings and appointments every day.
He sits with students, alumni and trustees - anyone who is willing to schedule time to meet with him. He reads - actually listens to books on tape or has students read to him due to his failing eyesight - and tries to stay up to date on current events. He fulfills his daily priestly duties and obligations.
But, as Hesburgh put it himself, his life is much simpler. All he does is "show up."
Hesburgh took the expression from former Dean of the College of Arts and Letters Fr. Charlie Sheedy, now deceased, who said, "Most of life is just showing up."
Now, as he approaches his 91st birthday on May 25, he makes sure to do just that every day.
While Hesburgh shows up every day, each day is always different from the last.
"I have very little schedule except that people make dates with Melanie and I have three or four sheets every day with people coming in," he said.
These sheets of paper usually contain two names of people - written in large enough print for Hesburgh to be able to read them - who scheduled appointments with him. In one day, these appointments were so varied as to include an alumnus and his daughter, a senior at Notre Dame, a member of the Notre Dame football team and three students who won lunch with Hesburgh at the annual Breen-Phillips Food Auction.
These daily appointments are run by Hesburgh's secretary and administrative assistant Melanie Chapleau, his assistant for around 20 years. Chapleau does more than manage his affairs; additionally, Hesburgh said, she "keeps me out of trouble."
But, like most senior citizens, Hesburgh has some heath issues, but nothing serious. He recently had dental work done to fix 10 of his teeth, which makes eating more difficult for him. He can still eat foods with softener in them, but mostly because he is able to swallow them whole.
The other issue is his eyes. Hesburgh has macular degeneration in both eyes, making him completely blind in the right eye and half-blind in the left.
This condition most affects Hesburgh in his personal time, when he can partake in one of his life's passions: reading. Three years ago, Hesburgh hired a student, then-freshman Lisa Russ of Farley Hall, to be his personal reader. She was volunteering at Holy Cross House, where her mother Mary Pat Russ works, and was eating lunch with the priests there. She sat with Hesburgh, who asked her to read to him - something she has done every week since then.
Even though Russ started off as a one-woman operation, she enlisted her friends from Farley, current junior Paula Alfonso and graduating senior Casey Bouskill, to join her in reading to Hesburgh.
"I used to read for three hours every Sunday, but that gets pretty tiring, so I had them [Alfonso and Bouskill] come in and we each do an hour every Sunday," Russ said.
The most important things for the students to read for him are the New York Times, The Observer and Time Magazine to stay up-to-date on current events across the world and at the University.
"I like to be up-to-date. News I can get on T.V., but for real news I go to New York Times, The Observer [and] Time Magazine," he said.
Hesburgh's goal is to have the week's newspapers and Time Magazine read by Sunday, regardless of the rest of his schedule.
He also reads books of various genres, but mostly he enjoys history. Russ said he receives a lot of books in the mail and always reads them.
Hesburgh said he has more than 200 books in his personal library signed by their authors, including "To Kill a Mockingbird" signed by Pulitzer Prize winner Harper Lee.
"He said she came to Notre Dame for a lecture and she only signed one copy and it was for him," Alfonso said.
Even though the students mostly read him newspapers, Hesburgh has his own method of reading books. He has a large collection of books on tape and a large variety of audio equipment - such as tape decks and CD players - for listening to them.
Bosukill said his favorite genres are World War II and the Civil Rights movement, in which Hesburgh was involved at the national level from 1957-1972.
In addition to the week's news and whatever books he can find, Hesburgh makes a point to answer the daily mail.
"By the time I get out of here at night, all the mail that has come in that day has been answered," he said.
Hesburgh's readers all agreed their time spent with him has been one of their favorite experiences at Notre Dame, mostly because of the little things he does for them.
Alfonso said she could not think of a specific favorite memory, but instead enjoyed the conversations they have had.
"Sometimes I feel I learn more from him just during that hour talking with him than during my classes that week," she said.
While Hesburgh carries an aura about him due to his years of public service to the United States and the University, Russ, Alfonso and Bouskill see him in a much different light.
Hesburgh's three readers described him as a "grandfather figure" at Notre Dame.
"We see him in such a comfortable atmosphere," Russ said. "Just him in his office, smoking his cigar, drinking his afternoon coffee. So it's really nice, but he's still really professional and has this air about him."
Bouskill agreed, saying he is actually very funny and can throw out wisecracks when appropriate during her time with him.
"He knows when to use humor and when to throw in a great zinger," she said.
Alfonso said that, for all his brilliance and wisdom, there are still some things he does not know. She described a time when she was reading a story in Time Magazine to him that mentioned spandex.
"He's the most brilliant man I've ever met and spoken with… and it's just so funny that probably the smartest man in the world is like 'What's spandex?'" she said.
Hesburgh also blesses the readers whenever they leave - just not always in English. He is fluent in seven languages, but is manageable in 12. Regardless of the language, Russ said she greatly appreciates being blessed by Hesburgh each week.
"Every time we leave, he blesses us and that will definitely stay with me," she said.
Celebrating the daily Mass is when Hesburgh's eyesight most affects him. As a priest, he must celebrate Mass and pray a different prayer every day, something that he is unable to do with his eyesight. To this end, he uses Chapleau or other aides to help with the Mass.
"I have the Mass by heart but it changes every day and I can't remember the whole year. So I have Mass, I have somebody alongside me, read me the parts like the Epistle and the Gospel that change every day and I can do the parts I know by heart," he said.
As for the daily priest's prayer, Hesburgh said he prays three Rosaries a day to Mary, the Mother of God, because, as he said, "I don't need to read to do the Rosary."
Bouskill said these daily, private Masses in Hesburgh's personal chapel in his office are her favorite memories from her time at Notre Dame.
"To have that homily and to hear his thoughts one-on-one is just irreplaceable," she said. "It's much more of a conversation, but he has a really great way of relating what he knows through his faith into that pragmatic action and love for humans."
Even with his failing eyesight, Hesburgh has managed to keep his priestly obligations. He said he has missed only three Masses during his almost 65 years as a priest, excluding days when Mass is not said such as Good Friday.
"Overall, I would say I have said thousands of more Masses than days I have been a priest," Hesburgh said. "Mass is the most important thing in my life."
This feat is even more impressive when considering the things he has done, especially since his retirement. Shortly after he left office in 1987, he and Fr. Edward Joyce, his executive vice president for 35 years, went on a 16,500 mile road trip across the United States and Canada, saying Mass every day in their van.
Hesburgh said the trip was one of his favorite experiences, and that his favorite places they visited were Alaska, "because not many people have been there," and the Rocky Mountains.
Even though he has traveled across the United States and the world, one of Hesburgh's favorite places is still Notre Dame. When asked where his favorite place on campus was, he jumped in before the question was finished to answer, simply, "the Grotto."
Before Hesburgh moved to Holy Cross House, the residence for retired members of the Congregation of Holy Cross priests at the University, he lived in a room overlooking the Grotto in Corby Hall. He said he asks his drivers to stop there whenever possible while on his way to or from his office.
Hesburgh's love of the Grotto started when he first got to Notre Dame. When he was studying for the priesthood at the University, Hesburgh lived in the now-demolished Holy Cross Seminary, which stood near where Columba Hall now stands. Even though it has such special meaning to him, Hesburgh could not remember his first visit to the Grotto because he has been there so often.
"Every day coming to any classroom building on campus I went by the Grotto on my way," he said.
One main reason for Hesburgh's love of the Grotto is its attachment to the Virgin Mary, who Hesburgh believes has always had an important influence at the University.
"I think we always must have special dedication to Mary, the Mother of God," he said. "I think all the blessings we've had as an institution are because the University is named for Mary. This is without a doubt the greatest Catholic university of all time and we should be proud of the name 'Notre Dame.'"
President Bush praises ACE at Faith-Based Schools Summit
By: Julie Hail Flory
University of Notre Dame
News & Information Newswire
May 13, 2008
Calling the need to soundly educate all American children one of the nation’s “greatest civil rights challenges,” President Bush singled out the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) as a key program that is helping to provide a more hopeful future for the country’s youths at a meeting of faith-based leaders, policymakers, and business and foundation leaders held last month in Washington, D.C.
Speaking at the White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools held April 23, President Bush said he was impressed by ACE, a program that provides college graduates an opportunity to earn master of education degrees while serving as teachers in understaffed Catholic schools nationwide.
“It's an interesting way to participate in making sure the Catholic schools and the faith-based schools stay strong, and that is to educate teachers – actually go in the classrooms to make sure that there's adequate instruction available,” the president said. “The people at Notre Dame commit to teach for two years as they earn their master's degree in education. And it turns out that when you get a taste for being a teacher, that you tend to stay. And so today there are about 650 ACE teachers and graduates who work at Catholic schools across the country.”
ACE’s founder, Rev. Timothy R. Scully, C.S.C., professor of political science and director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives (IEI) at Notre Dame, also presented an address at the summit. In his talk, titled “Higher Education: Signs of Hope,” Father Scully discussed the role of higher education in supporting inner-city and faith-based schools, especially during a time of crisis with Catholic schools closing across the country at an alarming rate.
“Ironically, we experience these closures at precisely the time when our country is demanding, desperately, what these schools are best at providing: demonstrably excellent education, with enduring results, especially for at-risk and minority students, in a cost-effective, adaptable and compassionate environment,” Father Scully said.
In his speech, Father Scully also highlighted the strategies that Notre Dame and ACE have developed to catalyze the renewal of the nation’s Catholic schools, emphasizing that Catholic higher education “must play a decisive role in sustaining and strengthening these schools, which, despite the recent losses, remain the largest, most effective, and most unique private school system in the world.”
A fellow of Notre Dame’s Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Father Scully focuses his research on comparative political institutions, especially political parties and democratic governability. He oversees the work of the University’s Center for Research on Educational Opportunity and ACE, Notre Dame’s signature program that provides hundreds of Catholic schoolteachers to under-served communities across the country.
Father Scully served as Notre Dame’s executive vice president from 2000 to 2003, and as vice president and senior associate provost from 1994 to 2000. He serves as a Fellow and Trustee of the University.
Ordained a Holy Cross priest in 1981, Father Scully was graduated from Notre Dame in 1976 and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of the Trinity Foundation Board in Dublin, Ireland; the Woodrow Wilson Center Board; and the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., as well as the New York Council on Foreign Relations. He serves as a trustee of the University of Notre Dame, Australia.
More than 85 recent college graduates from a wide variety of educational disciplines enter ACE each year. They take courses and participate in teacher training projects at Notre Dame during their two summers in the program and are assigned to full-time teaching positions at schools in more than 30 cities and 14 states during the academic year. After two years, the students graduate with a master’s degree, and about 75 percent elect to remain in education.
Accompanying Father Scully to the White House last month were a group of Notre Dame faculty and staff also invited to participate
in the summit: Rev. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., the co-founder of ACE and the program’s chaplain; Rev. Lou DelFra, C.S.C., program coordinator for the Office of Campus Ministry; T.J. D’Agostino, programs coordinator for the IEI; and Steve Perla, director of ACE consulting and a policy advisor on Catholic education for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Nicole Stelle Garnett, John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C., Associate Professor of Law, also was in attendance.
In his concluding remarks at the summit, Father Scully expressed hope for the future of faith-based, inner-city education. “The crisis we currently face is a crisis of imagination and of will – and that’s good news, for we lack neither,” he said. “Together, we cannot and will not fail. We know the dark statistics and the gloomy trends – it’s important we know them if we’re going to right them. But let us not get so used to looking at the darkness that we allow it to cover up the light: signs of hope abound if we have the imagination and will to see them.”
To watch President Bush’s remarks to the White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools in their entirety, click here.
The Notre Dame Club of Memphis is very supportive of the ACE program in Memphis: 2007-2009 ACE Teachers.
Charlie Weis in Iraq: The Diary
Charlie Weis Diary - Day One
Charlie Weis Diary - Day Two
Charlie Weis Diary - Days Three and Four
Charlie Weis Diary - Day Five
Charlie Weis at the White House: Press Release
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 26, 2008
President Bush Meets with NCAA Football Head Coaches
South Lawn
1:17 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: I just welcomed five of our nation's university coaches to the Oval Office to thank them for going overseas to boost the morale of our troops. It was very interesting listening to them -- Charlie Weis is going to say a few comments about what they saw and heard. But I wanted them to know how much I appreciate going to say to these young men and women "thanks for what you're doing."
This is Memorial Day, it's a day to honor not only those who have died in combat, but it's to honor those who continue to serve. And these men make a living motivating young men on the football field, and I am absolutely confident that when our soldiers and sailors and marines and airmen and Coast Guard men and women met them that they inspired them.
And most importantly I'm confident what they heard was America appreciates what they do. We can't thank our troops enough for the sacrifices they're making on behalf of the nation. And so I want to -- I'm so grateful to you all for going and I'm really grateful that you expressed the gratitude of the American people.
Charlie, you may want to say a few things.
MR. WEIS: Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Notre Dame man.
MR. WEIS: I think that Mr. President definitely had the inspired part right, but that inspire part definitely worked both ways. We went over there to help motivate the morale of the troops -- but I think we came home probably more inspired than even they were. I mean, it was just an unbelievable experience to watch the enthusiasm and the pride and the teamwork over there.
I mean, I can't -- we saw thousands and thousands of troops, and when they heard that we were coming to the White House on Monday, to a man and to a woman almost everyone said, "Could you just pass on one message to the President," and asked us to thank him for him supporting them. I mean, think about it -- they're there for four months, six months, a year -- it was just unbelievable -- from Germany, you know, seeing guys and girls that had gotten injured in battle; and their framework, their psyche; it was just an unbelievable experience.
And I think all five of us said we just wish we could have brought our players over there, you know, the 18-to-23-year-olds that we deal with, so they could see what maturity looks like at a young age and teamwork at its utmost. I tell you what, on behalf of all five coaches I can -- it was just an invigorating experience, one that we'll always treasure the rest of our lives.
And we got something special going on over there because there wasn't one person, of the thousands and thousands of soldiers we met, that had one negative thing to say -- and that's almost overwhelming to think about it; not one. Now, there were a couple at the end-of-their-year tours that were very much looking forward to getting their call to get home. But I'll tell you what, it was great. And what a perfect way to end up our trip, to end up at the White House on Memorial Day.
Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you all.
END 1:21 P.M. EDT
July 2, 2008
Holtz Statue Next
by LOU SOMOGYI
Senior Editor
When members of the 1988 national champions have their 20-year reunion during the weekend of the Sept. 13 Notre Dame-Michigan game, they will also be honoring their leader.
On the morning of the game, a statue of head coach Lou Holtz will be unveiled in a ceremony, similar to last year when a statue of 1964-74 head coach Ara Parseghian was dedicated the morning of the Michigan State game.
The statue will be near Parseghian’s at the “National Championships Gate” of Notre Dame Stadium. Jerry McKenna (Class of 1962), who has also sculpted statues of Knute Rockne, Moose Krause, Frank Leahy and Parseghian, is doing the same for Holtz, who earlier this year was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
A statue honoring Holtz will be unveiled
September 13th, the morning of the Michigan game
Along with former USC head coach John McKay (1960-75), Holtz also was the master of one-liners and maybe college football’s greatest comic. Here’s a list of some of the gems over the years, many of which can be applied to Notre Dame’s 2008 campaign.
On Making Himself The Enemy To Unify Players:
“If I was ever murdered, they’d have to cancel the investigation because there would be too many suspects.”
On Development:
“It takes nine months for a woman to have a baby – not matter how many men you put on the job.”
On Playing To Strengths:
“You do what you can get accomplished. You don’t go out in 20 feet of water to argue with Mark Spitz.”
On Notre Dame Expectations and Rankings:
“If they think we’re going to be good, they’ll put us in the top 3. If they think we’re going to be decent, they’ll put us in the top 6. If they think we have a chance to be good, we’ll be in the top 10. If they think we’re not going to be that good, they’ll put us in the top 15. And if they think we’re going to be horrendous, they’ll put us somewhere between 15 and 20.”
“The pressure mounts each and every game. I was thinking about how Frank Leahy was here for 11 years and Ara Parseghian was here for 11 years. But Frank Leahy was here for three years (1941-43) and then went to war (1944-45). I think sometimes that would be a welcome relief.”
“I’d be less than honest if I didn’t tell you this is not the type of job you can keep for 11 years…Sometimes you win too early. I think the best thing you can do is go 5-6, 6-5, 7-4, 8-3, 9-2, 10-1, 11-0, 10-1 and 12-0. If you can do it that way, you can last 11 years. The other way is a little bit more difficult.”
“When I first started, everybody said they just wanted us to be competitive. That first season in 1986 we went 5-6 and lost five games by a total of 14 points. But people said, ‘No, when we said competitive, we meant we want you to win.’
“So the next year we were 8-4 and played in a New Year’s Day bowl. But they said, ‘No, when we said we want you to win, we meant win them all.’
“So the next year we did win them all. We went 12-0 and won the national championship. But they said, ‘No, you don’t understand, we meant we want you to win big.’ ”
On Repetition and Fundamentals:
“It was Tchaikovsky who said, ‘If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, the experts know it, and if I don’t practice for three days, everybody knows it.”
On Assistant Coaches:
“The Bible says Abraham died by leaning on his staff. That wouldn’t be a bad way for me to go.”
The Flinch Test:
“When a guy hits you, the question is: ‘Do you flinch or not?’ Then you hit him back. Who flinches first? It’s like the guy who walks into the eye doctor’s office and says he needs a pair of glasses. The doctor gets him the glasses and say, ‘That’ll be $242.’ If the guy doesn’t flinch, then the doctor says, ‘Per lens.’ ”
On Speed:
“If you have speed with intelligence, you have an unbeatable combination. Speed with a lack of intelligence will get you in trouble. I’d rather have a slow guy going in the wrong direction than a fast guy going in the wrong direction. At least the slow guy won’t be as far out of position as the fast guy.”
On Depth:
“If you have a real good team you never have much depth. Woody Hayes used to always say that if you have three teams of equal ability, you have three third teams.”
On Great Backs/Running Games:
“If he is a great runner, you will discover that the rest of the team blocks better. The reason for this is the offensive linemen don’t have to block their men very long. The poorer the back, the longer you must block the defense, and this is difficult to do.”
Holtz's statue will join Ara's
in the Championship area in the southwest corner of the stadium.
When you want to get a good idea of who is going to win a football game, you see whose backs are falling forward and whose are falling backward.”
“A ‘bellcow’ back is one who carries the ball about 20 times on Saturday and doesn’t come to practice on Monday with a doctor, a lawyer or an agent.”
“When they put a back in his grave, they ought to be able to pry his elbow away from his body and find a football somewhere in between.”
On Happiness and Motivation:
“Every time I could smell the flowers, I began to look around for the coffin.”
“Happiness is nothing more than a poor memory.”
“The guy that complains about the way the ball bounces is usually the one that dropped the ball.”
“Motivation is easy. You eliminate those who aren’t motivated.”
Motivating offensive linemen:
“I tell them the offensive line is the last stop before the bus stop.”
“Don’t tell people about your problems because 90 percent don’t care and the 10 percent are glad you hurt.”
“I believe in being neat. It’s amazing what some paint, picking up a paper and putting garbage in a receptacle can do to somebody’s self-esteem. I’m a fanatic on cleanliness. There have been times when we’ve cleaned up our practice field, we just lined them up. If it doesn’t move, pick it up. And if you can’t pick it up, paint it white. Cleanliness just makes you feel better.”
“If it’s a chore for you to be on that show in front of that camera, then it’s a chore for people to watch you. People who have been the most successful, if you enjoy doing something, people will enjoy watching it.”
“I just hope I don’t have to hire pallbearers when I die.”
On ‘Southern Cal’ Being Politically Incorrect, with USC the proper term:
“I am glad you brought it to my attention. I was not aware of that. I am not trying to be offensive to anybody. To the Southern Cal people, I apologize.” [Thank you, Lou. You have earned your statue!]
On Recruiting hype:
“There are 18 mountains taller than Pike’s Peak, which shows you the advantage of publicity. You don’t hear about the others, but you hear about Pike’s Peak. Somebody publicized it.”
On Notre Dame:
“If you go to Notre Dame and say, ‘Okay, if there’s a mystique here, I want to feel it,’ you aren’t going to feel it. But I tell our players that if you believe in Notre Dame and the mystique, you will feel it. When a young man is a freshman at Notre Dame and I talk about the mystique and the great things about it, he doesn’t hear a word I’m saying. When they’re sophomores, they’re playing with their fingers while you’re talking. When they’re juniors, they look at you like they’ve never looked at you before. And when they’re seniors, they start to get a little moisture around their eyes.
“If you’re a senior and you’ve really bought into Notre Dame and tried to live within the parameters of Notre Dame, you feel something special. Even when I talk about it now, I get chills. Believe me, there’s a mystique there, and it’s not in helping you win close games. It’s the development within your life.”
Advice To Successors:
“It’s different than anything you’ve ever done. You’ll never be prepared. You’ll learn on the job…I think the most thing here is being happy and to have a sincere love for the University, for the values that it has and not to try to change it. Don’t get frustrated by the way Notre Dame does some things. If you don’t come here because of your love for the University, you will get frustrated.”
35 Years Ago
Notre Dame vs. USC 1973:
Eric Penick's 85-yard touchdown
Notre Dame vs. Alabama 1973 Sugar Bowl: Al Hunter touchdown
Notre Dame vs. Alabama 1973 Sugar Bowl: Clements to Weber
 |
November 05, 1973
'twas A Great Day For The Irish
Not in a holiday mood, Notre Dame successfully barricaded Anthony Davisof USC and paraded to sweet-revenge victory
Pat Putnam [SI.com] |
All week people had been telling Ara Parseghian how to beat USC. No problem. Every time they snap the ball, just have 11 guys jump on Anthony Davis (see cover). Belt him with The Gipper. Run him down with the Four Horsemen. Drop the Golden Dome on him. Trip him getting off the bus. Get the son-ofaahggaggh! Do something!
Last season Davis shattered the Irish with six touchdown runs—on national television yet. In South Bend he is about as popular as the Rev. Ian Paisley. For days before the game they taped his picture on campus sidewalks. So they could walk on him. They hanged him in effigy. Sign painters denounced him. Fortunately for Davis , none of the students were versed in voodoo.On the morning before Notre Dame dispatched USC without having to drop the Dome on anyone, Parseghian closeted himself in his office and said he wished that stopping Anthony Davis was all there was to beating the Trojans, something the Irish had not managed to do since 1966.
"There isn't any way we are going to key on Davis ," he said. "In the first place, if we did they'd kill us with the passing game. And they have it. USC has a lot of weapons, and Davis is just one of them. Last year"—Parseghian shook his head and paused for a moment—"last year he scored six times but he only gained 99 yards rushing. No team had run back a kickoff for a touchdown against Notre Dame since I've been here. And he did it twice. Twice! That's what killed us."
A short distance away in Elkhart , in the cocktail lounge of a hotel sandwiched between two theaters featuring horror films, John McKay the USC coach, was saying that he was more worried about the noise volume at Notre Dame Stadium than in trying to guess what Notre Dame would try to do with Davis .
"It's an awesome experience to play there," said Lynn Swann , USC's superb senior flanker and a terror on punt returns. "The fans are almost in your lap. They yell so loud you can't hear. When I'm out as a flanker and the quarterback calls an audible, I try to read his lips. If I can't, I check field position and try to guess. If it's a run and I figure a pass, then I'm in trouble. I just have to take my chances."
"If we can't hear the count," said McKay , "we'll just walk away. We have the right to be heard. We're not going to try and outshout 59,000 people."
McKay 's blue Irish eyes twinkled and he grinned. He was thinking of the story circulating in South Bend how, after losing to the Irish 51-0 in 1966, he supposedly vowed he'd never again lose to Notre Dame. "I never did," he said mildly. "I'm stupid, but I'm not that stupid. That would be ridiculous. But talking about noise at that stadium, just think what I'll hear when I walk off the field if we lose Saturday. Still, I love it. It's all part of the game."When it was over on Saturday, and unbeaten Notre Dame had won 23-14 by matching USC touchdown for touchdown and adding three field goals, McKay got the verbal abuse he had predicted, and he left the field humming the Irish Victory March. "There was nothing else to hum," he said. For the defending national champions it was their first loss in 24 games.
The strategy Parseghian finally designed for Davis was simple but effective. On kickoffs, he was sent chasing long and low squibs to his left or to his right, and by the time he could turn upfield the Irish had effectively shut off all routes of escape. He returned three for 80 yards but none past the USC 35. "I'm glad they put him back there alone without Swann or those squibs would have cost us a lot of field position," said Parseghian.
And on plays from scrimmage, Notre Dame defensed him the way they do any other fine running back, with equal respect for an air assault. Parseghian had decided Davis could gain 100 yards and not seriously hurt them. He gained but 55 on 19 carries, the longest for nine. "He's a great running back," said McKay . "His only problem is that everyone expects him to duplicate the impossible."
Notre Dame's defense expected no such thing. To a man they felt they had made Davis a star and they resented it. "He may end up on his knees," vowed Greg Collins, a 220-pound junior linebacker, referring to Davis ' habit of sliding into end zones, "but he won't be doing it in the Notre Dame end zone. Last year he got six touchdowns. This year he'll be lucky to get six inches."
On his first carry, Davis managed two yards before being driven to the ground by Collins. Up rushed Tim Rudnick from his defensive back position to scream, "This isn't the Coliseum. Welcome to South Bend ."
Rudnick had a private rage. Since last year's loss to USC, he had been personally blamed for all of Davis ' scores. "And I wasn't even covering him," Rudnick fumed. "I'd be covering some receiver like J. K. McKay , hear a noise, turn around and there he'd be sliding past me on his knees. On all the All-America films, there he was and there I was with my mouth open."
Parseghian had hinted that he might throw away the book for USC. His record at Notre Dame was 79-15-4, but they claimed he never won a big one. "I guess they are only big if we lose," he said with a grin. Too, it has been mentioned that he never gambled if it might mean defeat. You do not win 79 games without an occasional gamble. Nevertheless.Notre Dame burned the book on the first series. With a fourth and two at the USC 36, Parseghian sent in orders to go for it, but a delay of game penalty canceled the gamble. Still, it was an indication the Irish meant business.
In the first half USC's punting was a disaster. The first, partially blocked by Rudnick, went 15 yards and out of bounds at the Trojan 28. Notre Dame turned it into a 32-yard field goal by sidewinder Bob Thomas . His first of three. USC responded with the aid of an Irish personal foul and a varied attack to move 65 yards into a 7-3 lead.
Davis got the last yard on a sweep.
But Thomas ' second field goal cut that to 7-6.With little more than five minutes remaining in the second period Notre Dame marched again, starting from USC's 47. Clements handed off mostly to Russ Kornman and twice completed passes to Pete Demmerle as the Irish arrived at the Trojan goal line with a fourth down and 30 seconds left in the half. Clements took the ball in himself to put Notre Dame into the lead."Go for two," shouted Parseghian, who had used up all his time-outs. With the bedlam on the sideline, no one heard him and when Thomas kicked the extra point to make it 13-7, Parseghian covered his eyes.
At halftime, Parseghian elected to go with two tight ends, so bolstered, to run the powerful Notre Dame sweep at USC's weak side. The Trojans, who had hoped to win with the big play, were killed by it. Eric Penick, who finished with 118 yards, which was 50 more than USC managed, swept left from the 15 on Notre Dame's first offensive play of the second half, stepped over the wreckage left by Guards Gerry DiNardo and Frank Pomarico and Fullback Wayne Bullock and took off. At the 35, USC's Danny Reece grabbed Penick around the hips but he slipped away, and after that no one got close.
But USC was hardly through. The Trojans snapped right back to 20-14 on four Pat Haden -to-Swann passes, the flankerback making a dandy catch of the last one, a 27-yarder, at the edge of the end zone. And soon after, when the Trojan defense forced Notre Dame to punt, it seemed the game had turned around. But on the punt USC was offside and the five-yard penalty gave the Irish a first down. Big play.
Minutes later it was fourth and one at the USC 38. With the snap the ball popped out of Clements' hands but it was grabbed on the run by Kornman, who gained five yards for another first down. Again, big play.
Although the drive stalled, Thomas kicked his third field goal to give the Irish a solid nine-point lead, 23-14. From there on the Trojans contributed some big plays of their own—negative big plays—like a Davis fumble in scoring position and a J. K. McKay fumble after a completed pass.
And so it was still 23-14 at the end and Ara Parseghian had indeed won a very big game.Afterward everyone wanted to know what kind of a move Penick had put on Danny Reece at the 35."On who?" he said. "I didn't know anybody had me. I didn't feel a thing. In fact, I can't remember anything except being loose and running it out. It's all by instinct."
Someone suggested that perhaps Penick should have completed his 85-yard trip by sliding on his knees in the USC end zone.
The 213-pound junior recoiled at the thought. "On my knees?" he said in disgust. "I'm no hot dog. This is Notre Dame."
The Whole Nine Yards July 9, 2008
Tim Prister
IrishIllustrated.com Senior Editor
How many times have we heard it through the years?
“The moment I walked on campus, I just knew,” says Football Prospect A.
“There was just something about the place,” says Football Prospect B.“
When I saw the Golden Dome, it was over,” says Football Prospect C.
To be accurate, there have been many more student-athletes who have walked onto the Notre Dame campus, talked to the academicians, took one look at the discipline and religious aura and said no thank you.The “lightning bolt” doesn’t strike everyone.But there’s something about the Notre Dame campus, the hallowed ground if you will, that seems to affect more football prospects than most other places.
It happened again recently when the Irish lured California cornerback Marlon Pollard away from UCLA, a school/program he had committed to last July.“When I stepped on (the Notre Dame) campus I had a feeling I was going to end up there,” said Pollard to IrishIllustrated.com editor Pete Sampson.
“When I walked on campus the people, even the ones not on the football team, were people like me, people like my mom. They were very focused people. It’s a great surrounding there.”Pollard’s sentiments are common among those who eventually choose Notre Dame.
“I remember seeing the Golden Dome for the first time lit up at night,” said former offensive lineman Aaron Taylor who, like Pollard, arrived from California. “Something about that triggered a visceral response in my body that let me know that this was right.“
Literally, the moment I arrived on campus, my gut, my instincts, the bells, all that stuff was going off. I knew this was a special place and this was where I wanted to be.”For some, they can’t even explain what it was that prompted them to choose Notre Dame. They just knew.“I flew back home and got off at Newark, N.J.; my mom and dad were there, and my dad said, ‘What do you think?’” recalled former Irish quarterback Joe Theismann of his recruiting trip to Notre Dame.“I said, ‘I have to go to Notre Dame!’ He said, ‘Why?’ I told him, ‘I can’t tell you why!’ I just felt like that was where I belonged. I’m sure you’ve had feelings where you’re someplace and it’s where you have to be—with no real logical explanation. That’s what happened to me.”The reality is that very few people are ever in a place and are suddenly struck by the feeling that “it’s where you have to be.”
But it happens all the time at Notre Dame.I was born and raised in South Bend. The only time in my 48 years that I didn’t actually live in South Bend was from September of 1978 through May of 1979 when I attended school in Indianapolis. After that, not only did I return to South Bend, but I attended Notre Dame, and then began a 26-year journalistic career in which much of my work was conducted on the campus.So I’ve literally spent my whole life in the shadow of the Golden Dome, and here’s what I know, or rather, what I believe the lure of Notre Dame is for so many people.
• Religion/God—The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., is the center—or one of the centers—of Catholicism. There is an undeniable feel on the campus, particularly at places such as the Grotto and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, that this is “holy ground” and a “home base” for the Catholic Church/Christianity.Religion is indeed the opiate of the masses, and being at a place like Notre Dame has a drug-like effect on people. There is a great feeling of satisfaction and comfort for those so inclined when they are on the campus of Notre Dame. It feels good to be at Notre Dame and “in the presence of God.”Here’s the way I’ve always put it, with a bit of hyperbole for effect: God is everywhere, but he chooses to live at Notre Dame.
• Discipline/Values—Many people, or at least those blessed with ambition, crave discipline and the adherence to core values. As youngsters we sometimes fight it. We want our freedom. We want to enjoy life.But as we mature, we cling to those moral values and need that discipline to feel complete and whole. Notre Dame provides that.Many who choose to work at Notre Dame epitomize those values. I’ll give you an example: Chuck Lennon, executive director of the Notre Dame Alumni association. He lives, eats, sleeps and breathes the true meaning of Notre Dame. His existence centers on helping people. He is just one example. When you’re a football recruit and are open-minded enough to recognize such people when you come in contact with them during your visit to the campus, you quickly understand the value—and values—of Notre Dame.
• Education—Are there other schools in the country where one can get a better education? No doubt about it. But the education at Notre Dame is real and—combined with all of its other assets—truly unique. Athletes don’t get free rides in the classroom. There are some paths of study that are easier than others. But a degree from Notre Dame is legitimate.How many times have you heard the phrase that choosing Notre Dame is not a four-year decision but a 40-year decision? There are hundreds of quality schools out there, including many state schools. But tell somebody that you graduated from State University and they’ll nod their head. Tell someone that you graduated from Notre Dame and his eyebrows raise and he walks away impressed.Now go out and try to find a job. Put the University of Notre Dame on the line that asks for one’s education. Notre Dame opens doors. It’s a proven fact.
• Football/Tradition—Oh, yeah, there is that football program. But I laugh when people say that if it wasn’t for football, Notre Dame would just be this little Catholic school in little South Bend, Ind., that few care about.There is truth to that statement. Without football, Notre Dame certainly wouldn’t be as renowned as it is, and those raised eyebrows wouldn’t be quite as frequent.But without football, Religion/God, Discipline/Values and Education still would be bullet points when it comes to explaining the appeal when one walks on the campus of Notre Dame. The success of the football program through the years and the worldwide appeal because of Knute Rockne’s flair for the dramatic and “barnstorming” history simply enhanced those bullet points.
Yet football didn’t make those other things more real. They already were real. They just became better known because of the football team’s success. Father Sorin didn’t establish Notre Dame with the notion that the football team would become a national sensation. Notre Dame was founded upon Religion/God, Discipline/Values and Education. Football came much later.People like Joe Theismann, Aaron Taylor and Marlon Pollard likely would have never ended up at Notre Dame if they weren’t football players. That goes for 98 percent of all the football players at Notre Dame through the years. But when it comes to the appeal of Notre Dame to prospective student-athletes, there is an aura on the campus that lures people to South Bend. A television contract with NBC doesn’t hurt, but that’s not what struck Theismann, Taylor and Pollard when they realized they had to come to Notre Dame.When that lightning bolt strikes, it reverberates to the soul, much deeper than the surface of a football player with aspirations to play professionally.
The lure of Notre Dame. Whether 9-3 or 3-9, it remains unlike any other.
Life in a Jar: the Irena Sendler Story
This is an amazing story of a little-known WWII hero related in four video clips. This is not about Notre Dame but all Notre Dame people should view and cheer.
Irena Sendler, a Catholic hero
Irena Sendler - Life In A Jar
Irena Sendler vs Al Gore
Irena Sendler: A Tribute
Best ND Cornerbacks of the Past 25 years?
Calling All Corners
From BlueandGold.com
by TIM O'MALLEY
Writer
This is the first of many former player comparisons set to appear on BlueandGold.com in the coming months. Sometimes we’ll know the answer before researching the questions. And sometimes the pesky little “facts” will get in the way of one of our long-held opinions. It’s even possible I’ll omit a viable candidate for the discussion…but I doubt it. Regardless, we want to know your opinions.
Today’s Poll Question: Who is the best Notre Dame Cornerback of the last 25 years?
The Candidates:
Todd Lyght, Bobby Taylor, Shane Walton, and Tom Carter.
Missed the 25-year cut-off point: Stacey Toran
Also Considered: Allen Rossum and Vontez Duff
Todd Lyght (1987-1990) 6’1” 184 lbs.
Statistically Speaking (Career): 161 tackles (4 for loss); 20.5 PD; 11 INT (1 TD); 1 FF, and 1 blocked punt. Added 13 tackles (1 for loss), 1 sack, and a 2-1 Record (including a National Title) as a starter in three bowl games (Fiesta, Orange, Orange).
Best Season: His junior year, 1989, Lyght was named as one of three Thorpe Award finalists (given to the nation’s best defensive back). The Irish were defending National Champions and in the midst of a 23-game winning streak. Lyght recorded 6.5 PD and 8 INT (1 TD), which remains the highest single-season interception total at ND since 1972.
Intangibles: Posted a 33-4 W/L mark in three full seasons as a starting CB, covering every opponent’s No. 1 WR from kick-off to final whistle. In his three seasons as a starter the Irish were never ranked lower than No. 13 and were No. 1 for 21 separate polls over a 27-game stretch, facing 14 ranked teams in that span. Lyght was a two-time consensus All-American selection (’89, ’90) and a 1990 Co-Captain. More importantly, he looked cool in that old school No. 1 jersey.
Why Lyght Might Not be No. 1: If forced to nitpick, Lyght was a bigger playmaker as a junior (and possibly as a sophomore) than as a senior, though the loss of three starting DB entering his final campaign certainly didn’t help, as opponents often avoided throwing in his direction. The 1990 Irish pass defense (Lyght’s senior season) was a weak point of the team.
Why Lyght Might Be No. 1: Recruited as a WR, Lyght’s ball skills were second-to-none in recent Irish history and opposing QB who chose to test him one-on-one near the goal line usually paid the price. From his sophomore through senior season, Lyght helped guide the Irish defense to victories over ranked rivals Michigan (3-0), Miami (2-1), Penn State (2-1), Tennessee (1-0), and USC (3-0).
Stats are for dorks...this is why he was the best: Selected Todd Lyght video highlights
Bobby Taylor (1992-1994) 6’3” 200 lbs.
Statistically Speaking (Career): 143 tackles (2 for loss); 2 sacks; 23 PD; 5 INT (2 TD); 3 FR (1 TD); and 4 blocked kicks. Added 9 tackles, 1 blocked FG, and 1 FR in two Cotton Bowl victories as a freshman and sophomore (2-1 overall in bowl appearances).
Best Season: His sophomore year, 1993. Taylor converted from FS as a freshman in ’92 to CB, became a consensus All-American, and was named as one of three national finalists for the Thorpe award at season’s end. Taylor routinely dominated opponents’ top receivers in one-on-one matchups, including Michigan’s Amani Toomer, Stanford’s Justin Armour, USC’s Johnnie Morton, and FSU’s Kez McCorvey.
Intangibles: An unmatched combination of size and speed, coupled with incredible agility, leaping ability, and versatility made Taylor one of the most dominant defensive backs in Irish history. His emergence as a starting free safety as a freshman helped one of the most underrated Irish teams of the last 25 years to a 10-1-1 record in 1992, a No. 4 final ranking, and the lingering feeling that National Champion Alabama and this Irish team would have been the best matchup at season’s end.
Why Taylor Might Not be No. 1: His final season in South Bend was a comparative disappointment as the Irish finished a disappointing 6-5-1 after posting a 23-2-1 mark in Taylor’s first two seasons. Taylor courageously played injured (ankle) in the infamous 1993 loss to BC…but it showed in the 41-39 loss.
Why Taylor Might Be No. 1: Taylor is the most physically gifted DB I’ve seen in 27 years attending Notre Dame Football games. He likely would have produced the finest four-year career of any DB in Irish history had he returned for his senior season. While many of the categories rankings above are up for debate, versatility is not one of them. Taylor was a fantastic FS as a true freshman and a dominant CB for the remainder of his career. He and ’07 graduate DL Trevor Laws rank as the best ND FG/PAT blockers I’ve seen in almost three decades.
Stats are for dorks...this is why he was the best: Selected Bobby Taylor video highlights
Shane Walton (1999-2002) 5’11” 185 lbs.
Statistically Speaking (Career): 151 tackles (7 for loss); 1 sack; 18 PD; 11 INT (3 TD); 1 FF and 1 FR. The biggest PD of his career is not officially recognized (2-point conversion attempt), but it sealed a 25-23 victory over Michigan in 2002.
Best Season: His senior year, 2002. Consensus All American selection, Nagurski Finalist (below), and the straw that stirred the drink for a team that started 8-0 on the strength of an opportunistic, often dominating defense.
Intangibles: If there’s been a tougher, more confident, aggressive leader playing so far from the Center in the last 25 years I’d like to meet him. Walton was the instrumental factor in victories vs. Maryland, Michigan, and Stanford as a senior.
Why Walton Might Not be No. 1: Prior to his senior season it would have been absurd to include Walton in this discussion. Fellow CB Vontez Duff was a high-impact player as well and more than capable of taking on the opponent’s top WR if the situation dictated. While Lyght, Taylor, and Carter posted two or three dominant campaigns, Walton didn’t enter that rarified air until ’02, his 5th season. The previously impenetrable Irish secondary was torched in a season-ending loss at USC.
Why Walton Might Be No. 1: Walton was one of the most improved Irish defensive players of the last 25 years, beginning his career as a scholarship soccer star, walking onto the football team for the 1999 season, and finishing his senior season as a consensus All-American and Bronco Nagurski Award (National Defensive Player of the Year) finalist. In the aforementioned ’02 season he was both the defense’s X-Factor and top performer, making every player on the unit better with his leadership, intensity, absurd playmaking skills, and willingness to support the run off the corner. The ’02 Duff/Walton tandem ranks with any CB duo in team history.
Stats are for dorks...this is why he was the best: Selected Shane Walton video highlights
Tom Carter (1990-1992) 5’11” 185 lbs.
Statistically Speaking (Career): 89 solos; 12 PD; and 10 INT (1 TD). Also totaled 9 solos and 5 PD in two bowl victories vs. Florida (Sugar) and Texas A&M (Cotton).
Best Season: His junior year, 1992. Carter finished with 40 tackles, 9 PD, and 5 INT, limited the nation’s leading WR, BYU’s Eric Drage, to three catches, PSU’s O.J. McDuffie to three receptions in the Snow Bowl, and one week later recorded the game-saving end zone INT at USC (covering Johnnie Morton) with less than 10 seconds remaining. Voted 3rd team All American by the A.P. for the 10-1-1 Irish.
Intangibles: Started six games at FS his freshman year then converted and starred at CB for his sophomore and junior seasons. Carter was perhaps the best Irish CB defending vs. fade patterns and jump balls in the last three decades.
Why Carter Might not be No. 1: Carter is likely a forgone senior season from seriously contending for the top spot in this poll - his defection to the NFL after his junior season accompanied that of star FB Jerome Bettis. The presence of a senior Tom Carter in 1993 along with All-America CB Bobby Taylor, All America S Jeff Burris, senior S John Covington, and the probable move of senior CB Greg Lane to a nickel role would have given the Irish their best secondary in generations. Consider this note a bitter, unwarranted venting by the author against Carter, who obviously made the right decision to turn pro as a 1st-round pick of the Washington Redskins. But oh the possibilities…
Why Carter Might Be No. 1: His skill-set of speed (4.38), leaping ability, and overall athleticism rival that of Taylor, and both early 90s stars made successful transitions from FS to CB, earning All American recognition along the way. Carter’s Irish teams finished with a 28-7-1 record and a 2-1 bowl mark with wins vs. Florida (Sugar) and Texas A&M (Cotton) and a controversial loss to Colorado (Orange).
Stats are for dorks...this is why he was the best: Selected Tom Carter video highlights
| Category |
Lyght |
Taylor |
Walton |
Carter |
| Coverage Skills |
x |
x |
|
|
| (Deep) Ball Skills |
x |
x |
|
x |
| Run Support |
x |
|
x |
|
| Big Play Ability |
|
x |
x |
|
| vs. Top WR |
x |
x |
|
x |
| Big Game Performance |
x |
|
|
x |
| Production |
x |
x |
x |
|
| Versatility |
|
x |
|
|
| Improvement |
|
|
x |
|
| Leadership/Intangibles |
|
|
x |
|
| Speed/Athleticism |
|
x |
|
x |
| Team Performance |
x |
|
|
|
• An “x” signifies a strong argument could be made that they rank as the best of the four in that category
• NFL performance is not part of the discussion
Chris Zorich Inducted in College Football HOF
From IrishEyes.com
By Christian McCollum Staff Writer
Posted Jul 19, 2008
Chris Zorich has come a long way. From the meanest streets of Chicago to the University of Notre Dame to the NFL to philanthropy to law school and now to the College Football Hall of Fame. Zorich was one of 12 Division-IA players and the 42nd from Notre Dame to be enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
Zorich accepts the 1990 Lombardi Award
The Enshrinement Class of 2008 also included former Boston College quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, former USC linebacker Richard Wood, former Oregon wide receiver and TV personality Ahmad Rashad, former Texas A&M Kingsville and Minneosta Vikings star John Randle and Penn State head coach Joe Paterno.
“I’m ready to die and go to heaven right now. This is great,” Zorich said before being enshrined on Saturday night. “I’m living the life, the dream of every rabid college football fan out there. This is the epitome of my athletic career.”
Regarded as one of the meanest players on the field during his playing career, Zorich has dedicated his life after football to helping others.
From the day that Zorich enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, it was obvious that there were two Chris Zorich’s: Chris Zorich the player and Chris Zorich the person. Chris Zorich the player was too intense in practice even for Lou Holtz, who kicked him out more than once. But Chris Zorich the person could be seen on the west end of campus feeding ducks at St. Mary’s Lake.
Zorich would read the poetry of Robert Frost off the field, but his on-field demeanor caused his high school coach to present him with a plaque that read “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil cause I'm the meanest son of a bitch in the valley.”
Zorich once admitted to a Sports Illustrated reporter that he would pick flowers for his girlfriend before saying that his goal as a player was “to knock the quarterback's head off, then watch it go rolling down the field.”
In order to understand Zorich, you need to understand where he came from and the most influential figure in his life, his mother Zora. Growing up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Chicago was rough for Zorich, but his mother kept him straight. Zorich grew up in a section of the city that was dominated by gangs like the Blackstone Rangers, but with his mother’s urging he avoided that lifestyle.
“Growing up in a single-parent family we had a lot of challenges. I grew up in an area that really wasn’t conducive to a white woman raising a biracial child,” he said. “Often times she was mugged, people broke into our house.”
Diabetes prevented Zora from working and although the family received public assistance money, many times it was not nearly enough.
“A lot of the time the money that we got for the month wouldn’t last. So there were times when we had to go through the garbage for food,” Zorich recalled. “Seeing her determination, her discipline of doing what she needed to do to allow her child to survive put life in perspective for me at a very young age.
“You’re talking about being nine or ten and thinking about how to get your mom out of the neighborhood. 10-year-olds shouldn’t be thinking about that.”
Zorich knew that he was going to make his mother proud even before he knew how. He attended Chicago Vocational High School, the same high school as Dick Butkus, but Zorich did not know what an athletic scholarship even was when he got to high school.
“I went to a high school that was for vocations. Auto mechanics, metal welding those were the classes that I took because I thought that I was going to get a job to get my mom out of the neighborhood,” he said.
Before high school, Zorich had never played sports because his mother did not want him to get hurt and refused to sign any permission slips. But when CVS football coach John Potocki saw the 250-pound freshman, he knew he had to get him to come out for football. Potocki became a father figure for Zorich and shaped him into one of the nation’s finest high school linebackers.
“My idea was, ‘Hey if I can con a school to give me a scholarship then that might be even better,’” he said. “Then the University of Notre Dame was interested in me. I had no idea where the hell Notre Dame was, I thought it was in France. When I finally find out that it was 90 minutes away, I realized that this might be a place for me. When I found out that the graduation rate for athletes was 98.98%, I realized that if I went here I could get a better job coming out of college.”
While Potocki was a big man with a large presence, Holtz was able to reach Zorich on a different level. “Coach Holtz probably weighs 80 pounds soaking wet with 50-pound weights in his pocket,” Zorich joked. “I had a chance to spend some time with him when I was a senior in high school and I came down for a visit. He got me excited about doing homework and I figured if an individual can get me excited about doing homework than I would love to play for the guy.”
The academics did not come easy, but Zorich gave it all he had and was able to succeed in the classroom.
“It was very hard for me academically here my first year so I realized that I had to pay attention to school and my academics if I really wanted to have the opportunity that I had,” he said.
As far as the football field, Zorich’s accomplishments at Notre Dame were plenty.
He was moved to the defensive line and became the starting nose tackle on the 1988 National Championship team, recording 70 tackles and 3.5 sacks as a sophomore. He graduated with 219 tackles, including 21 for a loss. Zorich was an All-American in 1989 and 1990, a unanimous selection as a senior and was the 1990 Lombardi Award winner as the nation’s top lineman.
Zorich said that for him playing with aggression was the only way to make it. “I was trying to survive. There were guys out there twice my size,” he said. “I knew that football was an opportunity to let out aggression, but when you walked away from the field you couldn’t go out knocking heads and stuff.”
Zorich’s final game at Notre Dame was the 1991 Orange Bowl defeat to Colorado, the infamous “Clip Game.” In the 10-9 loss, Zorich made 10 tackles was named the game’s Defensive Most Valuable Player.
With the NFL Draft a couple of months away, Zorich was on the verge of a signing a contract that would finally allow him to move his mother out of the neighborhood. But unbeknownst to him, his life was about to change forever.
Zorich had spoken with his mother after the game, but when he returned home from Miami the following day, there was no answer at the door. He broke down the door and found his mother’s body on the floor, dead at 59 from natural causes.
In 1993, the Christopher Zorich Foundation was established Zora’s memory. Chris established Zora Zorich Memorial Scholarships that provide financial assistance for Chicago-area students in need at the University of Notre Dame and Lewis University where he was a member of the Board of Trustees.
“The example that I saw that she faced and was able to overcome gave me the idea of being able to succeed, being able to overcome a lot of odds,” he said. “So she is definitely my main focus.”
The Foundation’s purpose is to provide assistance and opportunities to disadvantaged people in Chicago. The Foundation sponsors activities for urban youths, a holiday gift giving program, Thanksgiving Day food deliveries and celebrates the recognition of women each Mother’s Day by delivering flowers and cosmetics to women’s shelters. Altogether, the Christopher Zorich Foundation has provided aid to over 150,000 individuals since its founding.
In 1991 he was selected by his hometown Chicago Bears in the second round of the NFL Draft. Zorich played six seasons for the Bears and one season for the Washington Redskins before retiring.
“I played seven years (in the NFL) and I loved it, but the best four years of my life were at the University of Notre Dame,” Zorich said.
So Zorich returned to Notre Dame to pursue his law degree which he earned in 2002.
After graduating from Notre Dame Law School, he worked for the Chicago law firm of Schuyler Roche, P.C. as Community Outreach director and Marketing Consulant. Zorich has also served as a motivational speaker and hosted sports television programs about the Bears and high school athletics.
In June of this year Zorich returned to Notre Dame as manager of student welfare and development. He is in charge of programs designed to assist student-athletes in academics, athletics and personal development. He will also be helping athletes to get involved with the community and in preparation for their careers after sports.
For Chris Zorich, the distinction between on the field and off the field was a clear one and he has proven himself worthy of Hall of Fame honors in both arenas.
Also, from the blog, BlueGraySky:
WNDU has a few video clips of the event and an interview with Zorich, who is now working in ND's athletic department.
For those who were too young to watch him play, here's a video highlight reel of Zorich, though it's a bit light on actual highlights. Congrats again Zorro.
St. Augustine Jubilee School: Tutors Needed
As you know, the ND Club of Memphis has "adopted" St. Augustine Jubilee School, and we assist in tutoring students there.
YOU ARE INVITED. If you would like to join or learn more about the project, please email David Wade or call
(901) 761-7794. Or ... talk to David at the Student Sendoff.
Please note: All volunteer tutors over the age of 18 must complete a VIRTUS training course before they can tutor. To learn more about VIRTUS training, please visit this link.
Upcoming VIRTUS training classes are as follows:
St. Ann Church Bartlett
Facilitator Angela Kinsella
9/6/2008 8:00 am
9/10/2008 7:00 pm
9/18/2008 9:00 am
9/24/2008 7:00 pm
Time to DIVE RIGHT IN!.
Madison's 1st Notre Dame Gameday
Steve and Mary Ann Zeber and son Neal and Madison, Neal's 8 year-old daughter, trekked to the 2008 ND-Michigan game. It was
Madison's first visit to Notre Dame.
View the slideshow from the two Shutterfly links below. It is hard to
believe that any kid ever had a better 1st ND Gameday experience.
Part I: Thursday and Friday
Pictures from Thursday and Friday at Notre Dame. Madison met some
ND cheerleaders [including cheerleader Meghan McMahon from Memphis], the Leprechaun, and Chris Zorich at the Bookstore. She saw Lou Holtz and went to the pep rally.
After the rally, she got to see a Notre Dame women's soccer game as well as meet a few of the players. Following the soccer game, she visited Maury's Pat's Pub in Mishawaka where she met Dave Casper.
A pretty busy day and more to come!
Part II: Gameday
It rained and rained and rained, and then rained some more, but we
made it out alive! Best of all, Notre Dame won! Here are some pictures from Saturday. Lots of pictures of the ND campus nad its many statues. Shee met a few more former players. Tony Rice, quarterback for the 1988 Championship team; Allen Pinkett, one of the great former running backs, and Nick Eddy, a former runnung back from the 60's who finished third in Heisman voting his senior year (1966 I think). We had a great time and Madison did a few push-ups at the game!
Easter Community Service: Friday, April 17
For the third time, the ND Club of Memphis will man the "Soup Kitchen" at St. Mary's Catholic Church. This community service event is scheduled for Friday, April 17. Volunteers are needed now!
Kickoff is at 7:15 a.m. at the Parish Hall building of St. Mary's Catholic Church (see details and map below). Volunteers will serve God's poor by working the soup kitchen until approximately 10:00 a.m.
Please RSVP so we know how many volunteers to expect!
RSVP to: David Wade at david.wade@nmfn.com
Did you know that ... St Mary's Soup Kitchen has served hot meals to needy persons in Memphis since 1870. St. Mary's Catholic Church Soup Kitchen has been operating continuously for one hundred-thirty-six years! The soup kitchen serves the poor, the homeless, the less fortunate and the marginalized in our community. We serve more than 50,000 meals each year. Read more ...
This is a souper opportunity to give serve the unfortunate in a meaningful and very Notre Dame way. Bring the whole family.
St Mary’s Catholic Church
Soup Kitchen
Parish Hall building
155 Market Street
Memphis, Tn
[see Map below]
April 17, 2008
Friday at 7:15 A.M.
Please RSVP
so we know how many workers to expect!
To RSVP, please email
David C. Wade, Jr.,
Community Service Coordinator,
Notre Dame Club of Memphis
|
Click to Enlarge
Raymond H. "Mickey" Moran, Rest in Peace
RAYMOND H. “Mickey” MORAN died peacefully at home on December 18, surrounded by his loving family. He died of lung cancer at the age of 76. He is survived by his wife, Pat Moran, his three daughters, Lauren Waddilove (Gordon) of Marietta, Georgia; Erin Lynch (Michael) of Nashville, Tennessee; and Katie Moran of Austin, Texas. He also leaves six grandchildren, Taylor, David and Matthew Waddilove, and Megan, Mia and Charlie Lynch. He is survived by his Mother-in-Law, Julia Taylor; his brothers, Jack Moran (Pat) of Memphis, Bill Moran (Carol) of Chicago and his sister, Therese Schlueter of Cincinnati. His brother Eddie Moran of Atlanta passed away in 1975.
A native Memphian, Mickey attended Christian Brothers High School and the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated cum laude. After college he served in the Army for two years at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Mickey was a recognized national leader in the insurance industry. He served as President of the National Association of Life Underwriters, which later became the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and was a member of AHIA and AALU. He was Chairman of the Life Board, as well as a 30 year Life and Qualifying Member of the Million Dollar Roundtable. Mickey was owner (along with his nephew, Tim Moran) of the Moran Company, affiliated with the UCL Financial Group in Memphis.
Mickey was active in many civic groups, including the Presidency of the University Club of Memphis. He was President of the Memphis Museums Incorporated, President of Les Passees Children’s Rehabilitation Center, Member of the Christian Brothers Hall of Fame, and Chairman of the Finance committee at St. Peter Catholic Church. He also enjoyed tennis at the University Club and golfed frequently with his many close friends at Germantown Country Club.
Visitation will be at Canale Funeral Directors on Monday, December 22 from 4 pm to 7 pm, followed by the Rosary at 7 pm. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, December 23 at St. Peter Catholic Church at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, please send any donations to Church Health Center, St. Peter Church Literary Society, or charity of donor’s choice. Canale Funeral Directors 901-452-6400.
[Published in The Commercial Appeal, 12/20/2008]
Sycamore Trust
Many alumni have received emails or have heard about the Sycamore Trust articles and bulletins, critical of Notre Dame's direction as a Catholic University. The Sycamore Trust was founded by a group of Notre Dame alumni, headed by Willliam H. Dempsey, in 2006.
The mission of Sycamore Trust is "to provide a source of information, a means of communication, and a collective voice to Notre Dame alumni and others in the Notre Dame family who are concerned about preserving the Catholic identity of the University."
Although the Notre Dame Club of Memphis does not endorse the aims or content of Project Sycamore, the issues related to Notre Dame's Catholic identity are important to her alumni. To that end, here are some links to the past and continuing Project Sycamore articles and some links to other related articles, including several from Fr. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and additional sources on the topic.
Sycamore Trust Website
Current and Archived articles from Sycamore Trust
Related Sources of Information on Catholic Higher Education
Leadership of Sycamore Trust
Project Career-Shift:
A Job/Career Support Initiative
Project Career-Shift is a new Notre Dame Club initiative to provide some free intelligent support to members of the Notre Dame family in the Mid-South region who need strategic help in finding a new position or a career-shift
The initiative is being led by Dr. Charles T. Kenny, a former president of the Notre Dame Club of Memphis and a board member of the Club for many years.
Dr. Kenny is knowledgeable in state of the art outplacement services and can refer people to a variety of resources and provide advice about how to use cover letters and resumes and how not to use them
Anyone who has lost a job and is looking for a new position or is planning on a career change is encouraged to contact Charlie Kenny: 901-682-8569 or email.
This new Club activity also needs volunteers to help provide assistance and advice and to participate in networking. For more information, please contact Charlie.
Student Care Packages from the ND Club
One of the many unpublicized activities underwritten by the Notre Dame Club of Memphis is student care packages. This Spring, the Club
will be providing 25 packages at a total cost of $250.00 to provide nutritional sustenance to each of our Memphis area notre Dame students. The delivery of the care packages typically coincide with the mid-term exam periods, Fall and Spring. The Club has been providing this service several years now and, can you imagine this, there have been no complaints.
Thank You Notes from Students
The care packages seem to be popular with our students. Here is what they say [edited to ensure anonymity]:
Thank you very much for the care package. It has been a very eventful semester and ... this most certainly puts today as a special one. Hope all is well in Memphis, I'm working hard for the club, I've finally found my niche in majors and I couldn't be happier. Have a wonderful day and thanks again to the ND Club of Memphis for this lovely surprise.
Thanks for supplying the care package I got today! It means a lot to have support from back home.
My name is ..., and I would like to say "thank you" for the care package I received from the Notre Dame Club of Memphis. During this stressful time of papers and finals, I can truly say that the package was a delightful surprise. The candy has definitely helped me stay awake during long study sessions, and I am looking forward to the pizza break my friends and I plan on having soon. Thank you again. Your thoughtfulness has truly brightened my week.
I want to sincerely thank you for the care package I recently received. It was very thoughtful and I greatly appreciate it.
Thank you so much for the finals food! (although I've already eaten half of it and it's still a week until finals....oops). That's so nice that you do that for us; a lot of my friends have been getting the same thing from their hometowns and we think it's pretty awesome. (What college kid doesn't love free food?!) Thanks again, and have a good summer!!
Thank you so much for the care package! I greatly appreciate it and it really meant a lot to know that I have someone back home rooting for me.
I just wanted to thank you for the care package from the Alumni Club in Memphis. That was very thoughtful, and I will definitely appreciate as I am preparing for my exams. It will be nice to have some snacks as I am studying.
Thank you very much for the care package. I received mine the the other day and have really enjoyed it. Things have been getting pretty hectic with exams looming and it will be nice to have a break from it all over the summer. I am looking forward to be able to go to some of the club events this summer and hope to see you and the rest of the local alumni there.
Thank you so much for the finals week care package! I really appreciate it and it will definitely help me get through the next two weeks!
Thank you so much for the care package that the club sent last week. It is great to know that you guys are thinking about us during this stressful time of year. This semester went by so quickly, it is amazing that it is already time to take finals and go home.
Notre Dame Business School Achieves #2 Rank
ND Newswire
BusinessWeek ranks undergraduate business program No. 2
Carol Elliott • Date: February 27, 2009
The Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame is ranked No. 2 nationally in Business Week’s fourth annual ranking “The Best Undergrad B-Schools.” The rankings were announced Feb. 26 and will be available in the magazine’s March 9 issue on newsstands March 2.
Notre Dame jumped a spot from its No. 3 slot in 2008. The University of Virginia’s McIntire School finished first, while last year’s No. 1, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, fell to third.
A high rating in the area of student satisfaction was one of the main reasons the Mendoza College moved up to second, according to BusinessWeek. The college also earned “A+” ratings in teaching quality, facilities and service, and job placement.
“While I am delighted for Notre Dame to be recognized, I feel privileged to work with incredibly dedicated colleagues on the bigger purpose of developing young leaders who will lead with uncompromising integrity and professionalism,” said Carolyn Woo, the Martin J. Gillen Dean of the Mendoza College of Business. “The current environment shows that principled business leadership is absolutely essential to the health of our country. This has been the Mendoza mission since our founding.”
Woo further commented that while the Mendoza College is named in the ranking, the University as a whole and Notre Dame’s strong alumni base deserve credit, as well, particularly in view of the efforts put forward toward student satisfaction and job placement.
In fact, BusinessWeek noted that the schools that excelled put an intense focus on guiding students through the career search. The editors noted that this was especially true of Notre Dame, where administrators tap the school’s well-connected alumni network to scout jobs and offer advice to students.”
This focus was particularly important this year, given the job market’s uncertainty, said the editors. In the 2009 survey, 54 percent of responding seniors nationwide lacked an offer as of January, compared with 44 percent in 2008.
Business Week ranked 101 programs using nine measures, including surveys of 85,000 senior business majors and nearly 600 corporate recruiters, median starting salaries for graduates, and the number of graduates each program sends to top MBA programs. The magazine also calculated an academic quality rating for each program by combining SAT scores, student-faculty ratios, class size, the percentage of students with internships, and the number of hours students devote to class work. Click on the links for the Business Week "Best of the Best" rankings and a slide show and profile of the school.
The Mendoza College of Business currently enrolls 1,669 undergraduate students in four majors: accountancy, finance, management and marketing. After completing the University’s innovative First Year of Studies program, Notre Dame business majors enter the Mendoza College in their sophomore year.
The Mendoza College also offers graduate degree programs, including a master of business administration, executive master of business administration, master of science in accountancy, and master of nonprofit administration.
Contact: Carol Elliott, director of newswriting, Mendoza College of Business, (574) 631-2627 or Elliott.37@nd.edu
Notre Dame Folk Choir Concert, May 22
The Notre Dame Folk Choir will visit Memphis and give a free concert at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Friday night, May 22nd at 7 pm . The choir
is attempting to raise money for a Catholic school in New Orleans [St. Joan of Arc in the 9th ward] that was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.
Turn on your speakers and click on the audio links below.
The performance will include Catholic sacred ritual music from the Americas, the Emerald Isle, Africa, Abbey of Gethsemani, and the Hispanic church. This performance will include a wide range of instruments: djembe, bodhrán (Irish drum), claves, conga, flute, violins, cello, guitar, and organ. See the choir's website.
Volunteers Needed:
The Club
will provide housing for 30 students for Friday night, May 22nd after the concert. If you would like to be a host family for two or more students, please contact Steve McBride: email or
(901) 818-5198.
Listen to a great sampling of
the ND Folk Choir's repertoire
2009 Summer Service Interns
The club will be supporting 2 summer services students this year. Lindsey McAlarnen will intern at St. Jude’s Children Hospital. Katie Valko, a sophomore, Farley Hall resident from Detroit, who is studying management and Latin will be working with the Missionaries of Charity.
Profile: Arienne Thompson, ND '04
Arienne Thompson is an assistant editor and reporter for USA Today, where she covers fashion, celebrities and entertainment for the Life section. Arienne has interviewed dozens of stars from the fashion, television, music, and movie worlds, including Reese Witherspoon, Heidi Klum, Vera Wang, James Earl Jones, Jay-Z, Marc Jacobs, Ben Affleck, Sidney Poitier, and George Lucas – just to name a few. She came aboard the nation’s leading newspaper in 2006, after interning there as a graduate student in 2005.
Arienne is a native Memphian who graduated from White Station High School in 2000, with honors from Notre Dame in 2004, and received her master’s degree in print journalism from American University in Washington, D.C. in 2005.
Arienne currently serves on Notre Dame’s Black Alumni Board of Directors and is active in the Notre Dame Club of Washington, D.C. She recently attended the Notre Dame Alumni Association's 2009 Senate. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her sister, Amelia Thompson, who also graduated from Notre Dame in 2008.
Here is a link to most of Arienne's work at USA Today, which you can browse at your leisure.
Hesburgh Lecture: Tuesday, May 18
Richard W. Garnett, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at Notre Dame will be speaking on "Religion in the Public Square".
Dean Garnett is an engaging speaker who will be very interesting. Please see his biography for more information.
This Hesburgh Lecture will be held at 7:00 PM at the Christian Brothers High School Auditorium, Tuesday May 18,
Please contact Charlie Kenny for more information.
For additinal event information:
May 18 Hesburgh Lecture Flyer
May 18 Hesburgh Lecture Press Release
Hesburgh Month of May Service Project:
Saturday May 22
On Saturday May, 22 the ND Club will be performing our Hesburgh Month of May Service Project at the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality in Memphis.
Dorothy Day House of Hospitality
1429 Poplar Ave .
Memphis TN 38104
[Click Here for Map]
The Dorothy Day House is directed by Sister Maureen Griner, (Notre Dame, MS '87). It is a Catholic ministry which focuses on providing transitional housing and support services for homeless families here in Memphis: www.dorothydaymemphis.org. They rely heavily on volunteers who help maintain the house, provide transportation, cook meals, mentor the children, solve legal problems, serve as advocates in the schools, etc.
The Notre Dame Club will be painting and assisting with general maintenance and repairs. Workers and/or tools are needed. The following items that will be needed during our project:
Ladders – 10 to 12 feet
Pressure washer
Electric sanders (2 should be sufficient – but the larger the better)
Drop cloths for painting (plastic ones will work)
Circular saw
Work bench
Heavy-duty extension cords
Paint (primer and finish)
Lumber to replace some of the back steps
Hammers and nails
This is great opporutnity to give back. Please contact Bill Whitman: bwhitman@bassberry.com for more information.
Bat for the Cure: Red Bird Game,
Sunday, June 20
On Sunday June 20th, the ND Club will be disseminating infomration at the Memphis Red Birds game to raise awareness for prostate cancer as part of “Bat for the Cure.” "Bat for the Cure" is a national outreach community service program sponsored by the Notre Dame Senior Alumni [NDSA] in conjunction with local ND alumni clubs.
The Club needs 4-6 volunteers of any age to assist in passing out information before the game at AutoZone Park. Please contact Ed Charbonnet for more inforation.
Cole Barker Story
Notre Dame football: Notre Dame spirit lives on through Barker
Article published May 24, 2010
South Bend Tribume
Former Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis,
left, is pictured with Cole Jacob Barker. |
 |
By ERIC HANSEN Tribune Staff Writer
After the last teardrop fell and the search for normalcy kick-started, perhaps futilely so, the phone call pierced the temporary numbness.
Literally minutes after saying good-bye to their 26-year-old son at Calvary Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa, Randy and Nancy Barker received yet another in-your-face reminder of just how alive the legacy of their late son, Cole Jacob Barker, truly was.
Cole did eventually succumb glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer on May 5 -- if you can call it succumbing. He was given three-to-five months to live by doctors after the persistent headaches Cole suffered in the fall of 2004 were revealed in mid-November of that year to be the result of a tumor in the frontal lobe of his brain.
He was a senior at Notre Dame at the time, but had to drop out of school to undergo surgery.
"When Cole first died, I said I didn't ever want to go back to Notre Dame," Nancy said, her voice crescendoing with emotion, "because when I miss him really bad, I pretend he's there."In more ways than not, Cole is there. And what the most ardent Notre Dame football fan Sioux City has every seen leaves behind has little to do with how he died, and everything to do with how he lived.
"I was reduced to tears, and my wife was too, when they told him that November day how little life he had left to live," Randy said. "Cole looked them square in the eye and said, 'I don't think so. I'm going back to Notre Dame and graduate,' and he did."
With a double-major, no less, in philosophy and pre-med. But not before he underwent surgery that claimed a large section of his frontal lobe.
Then he enrolled in med school at Indiana University at South Bend, but not before he had to undergo a second surgery, almost immediately after graduation in May of 2006, in which an infected bone plate was removed from his skull.
The operation so negatively affected Cole's visual memory that he had to put med school on hold and take some undergrad classes to learn how to study in a different way.In the meantime, he was pressed into dialysis when a medication triggered complete kidney failure. There was chronic queasiness from his cancer treatments, the pain, the fatigue -- even the occasional clean MRI that teased those who loved Cole into hoping that somehow he was going to completely turn medical science on its ear.
"Cole fought this whole battle with grace and humility," said
Nancy, a retired bakery foreman in Sioux City. "He never said, 'Why me?' He was never angry. He wanted to be a pediatrician. He wanted to take care of kids. And he never felt sorry for himself.
"He had great faith. I have no doubt he went right straight up to the front of the line."
"It's kind of funny," interjected Randy, an instrument control technician. "A lot of people give Nancy and I credit for raising a son like that, and we look at each other -- we learned so much from him. He was just ... a godsend."We got a lot of strength from Cole. I don't know if that makes any sense. He carried us when we couldn't go. And yet he was the one who had the problem."
"And he loved that school," Nancy added.
And that school, Notre Dame, loved him back.
The post-funeral phone call on May 10 was just the punctuation mark.
"I recognized the voice right away," Randy said. "I had heard it in person years before, but recognized it from the interviews on TV."He says, 'Randy Barker, are you Cole's dad?'
"And I said, 'Yes, I am.'
"He said, 'This is Charlie Weis.' I said, 'Nancy get on the other phone.' ... I can't say enough good things about the guy."
Weis, Notre Dame's recently deposed head football coach and first-year offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, first apologized for not being able to come to the funeral in person.
He had been following Cole's story from a distance ever since the two met at a Notre Dame Glee Club benefit for the Barkers back in April of 2005, when Weis was only about five months into his five-year run at ND."Randy's dad called me about an hour or two later -- he just couldn't keep the call to himself," said Rhett Ruehle, a childhood friend of Cole's and a pallbearer at his funeral.
"I had heard stories about him, but I always had a high opinion of Charlie Weis, because I knew he did a lot of things that nobody knew about, like this, when he was the head coach. But to do it when he was no longer at the university was even more special, just calling to make sure Randy and Nancy were doing OK."
The call took Nancy back to the Glee Club Benefit on April 10, 2005. Many of the members of the Glee Club had shaved their heads to support Cole. They also reached out to Weis, hoping his presence at the event would help raise funds to help offset the mountain of medical and tuition bills the Barkers are still chipping away at to this day.
"Charlie came in and signed a football for Cole," Randy said. "I'm looking at it right now, as a matter of fact, in our living room, in a case. It says, 'Cole, to a true example of the Fighting Irish, Charlie Weis.' "
"When I saw Charlie waltzing in, I was tickled for Cole, because I knew what it would mean to him," Nancy said. "It had been a whirlwind for Charlie. He still had to coach the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, then recruit, and now he was in the middle of spring practice. We knew how busy he was. By the time they got the message to him, he said, 'Why would you think I wouldn't show up?'"Football was Cole's passion. He played in high school (Bishop Heelan) until he got a concussion. He was quite the statistician. He would have made a heck of a coach, because he just loved drawing up plays.
"That's why he was so tickled to see his prized guest at his benefit, Charlie Weis. It brought out the coach in Cole. It's funny, Cole wanted to talk about football, and Charlie wanted to talk about life."
In those moments, Randy and Nancy saw just how intertwined football and life really were.
In the days that followed, they came to believe that when a sports columnist oversimplified something like the poaching of a football recruit or an athletic department decision laden with dollar signs as evidence that Notre Dame "had become like everyone else," it was a misguided notion at best.
"Charlie was just one of many who stuck by him," Nancy said. "When we went to the benefit, we didn't know if Cole would be able to come back to school. It wasn't that long after his surgery. But the people at Notre Dame told him, 'You come back and we'll enroll you.'"Notre Dame never gave up on him. They backed him all the way. They battled the insurance companies for us. They sent the plane that brought us out there for his benefit.
"They came here to our town," Randy said. "They didn't do it for no fanfare. Father (Mark) Poorman came. One of the vice presidents, Bill Kirk, came, plus Cole's roommates. Notre Dame paid for all of that, brought all his roommates here, and they did it because it was the right thing to do.
"Trust me, we're not rich by no means. We live in a very small house. It isn't like we were ever going to be in the position to be big donors or anything like that."
But they are family. Notre Dame family. When they hung up the phone with Weis, Randy and Nancy Barker realized they did need to come back to campus.
"Our sons (Cole and 24-year-old Cieth) were both Catholic school boys from grade school all the way through high school," Nancy said. "When Cole got accepted at Notre Dame, he cried. He said, 'Mom, they want me, and it's really hard to get in there.'"But once in, Nancy came to believe, it never leaves.
"On one of our visits, we had a chance to meet with Father Hesburgh," Nancy said of the iconic former university president Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh. "We were looking out his window on the top of the (Hesburgh Library).
"He said, 'As long as I can see that Lady on the top of the dome, I know everything's going to be OK.' That's the way I feel. When you step on the Notre Dame campus, you just have a feeling that everything's going to be OK. So maybe we need to come back there, very soon."
2010 UND Night: Thursday, June 3
All are invited to participate with the Club's annual Universal Notre Dame Night celebration with guest speaker Bill Lewis. There will be a reception with a cash bar at 6:00 PM, followed by a buffet dinner at 7:00 PM.
The Club will auction 2 tickets to the 2010 Notre Dame - Michigan football game [September 11]. Net proceeds will benefit the ND Club of Memphis Scholarship Fund. Can't you envision a skunkbear mounted in your Notre Dame room? Life is special!
Bill Lewis
Holiday Inn
University of Memphis
3700 Central Avenue
Memphis, Tennessee
Thursday June 3, 2010 @ 6:00 PM
An RSVP attendance form must be completed in advance. The RSVP form and payment may be made online using PayPal or the form and payment may be mailed in to the Club. Please click here to register for UND Night attendance.
If you have not yet paid your 2010 Club dues, a membership form and payment may be made online using PayPal or the form and payment may be mailed in to the Club. Please click here for membership and dues.
Bill Lewis will address the club for the banquet.
Bill is currently serving as the Director for
Athletic Community Relations at Notre Dame. He is
the former defensive back’s coach for three years at
Notre Dame under Charlie Weis, and the Miami
Dolphins. Previously he had been the head football
coach at both Georgia Tech and East Carolina. Bill is
known as an extremely dynamic speaker who will be
able to update us on all that is going on in the
athletic department.
ND Football Dream Weekend Fundraiser
Melissa Cook Memorial Foundation Presents its 2nd Annual ND Football Dream Weekend Fundraiser
Prize Package Includes:
- 2 press box tickets to the ND vs. Pittsburgh game
- 2 round-trip flights on Southwest Airlines between any 2 cities within Southwest Airlines system – travel by July 1, 2011
- 2-night stay at Hyatt Place - South Bend, Oct. 8-10, 2010
- 1 VIP parking pass to the game & 1 dinner gift certificate
To get more info or to enter online, visit www.melissacook.org. Suggested donation amount is $25. Each $25 donation thereafter will provide an additional entry. Fundraiser runs until Aug. 31, 2010. Winner will be notified on Sep. 1, 2010. Melissa Cook Memorial Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Sponsored by:
Excerpts from a letter by Christine Maroules:
My name is Christine Maroules. I am the cousin of Melissa Cook, class of ’94, and serve on the Board of Directors for the Melissa Cook Memorial Foundation a 501(c) (3) non-profit educational foundation. Our mission is to award need-based post-secondary scholarships to students that best embody the sprit and characteristics of Melissa Cook.
Melissa Cook, proud member of ND Softball ’91,’92 and Monogram recipient died tragically in downtown Chicago on the eve of her thirtieth birthday in March of 2002 when scaffolding fell from the John Hancock building. Melissa’s parents, Paul and Linda Demo donated a large portion of the settlement received to build the Melissa Cook Softball Stadium, the current home of ND Softball as well as funding the Melissa Cook Memorial Foundation.
...
...
It is my privilege to not only honor Melissa’s memory, but to perpetuate the spirit of Notre Dame by helping those in need fulfill their potential. Thank you for your time and consideration in supporting the Melissa Cook Memorial Foundation. For additional information regarding the group please visit www.MelissaCook.org or our page on Facebook. Please contact me via email if you have any questions regarding this fundraiser and/or the Melissa Cook Foundation.
Kind Regards,
Christine Maroules
Maroules@aol.com
2010 HUB, ND Football Ticket Exchange
Welcome to the HUB. The HUB is the command post of the Notre Dame Club of Memphis for ND football ticket information to serve the Club’s membership. Commencing its seventh season, the HUB is now accepting information requests.
If you have tickets to exchange or sell or
if you need tickets, you need the HUB!
The HUB
The HUB is an email network devoted to provide timely game-specific supply and demand data so that buyers, sellers, and swappers can best quell their Fighting Irish thirst. The Club expects all HUB participants to abide the policies of the University of Notre Dame athletic department. In other words, no ticket prices should exceed face value. Face value of 2010 home game tickets is $70 each.
How does it work?
-
Submit your information request via email by clicking on The HUB.
- Specify the game of interest and how many tickets. Specify if you wish to buy, sell, or swap tickets. Specify your name, phone number, and email address by which you can be contacted.
-
Specify a brief remark if it is really important.
If you are not a member of the ND Club of Memphis, provide some bona fides. If you are a professional ticket broker, please go away. If you are a fan or alumnus of the enemy, please go away.
-
Once you have entered a request with the HUB, please keep the HUB informed of any changes to the status of your request. This is very important.
What does the HUB do?
-
The HUB is activated by the presence of supply and demand of ticket info. Once it is established that there is a ticket supply and a demand, the HUB will send a group email to all participants with an updated Excel spreadsheet attachment listing specific ticket information.
From the spreadsheet, participants can easily contact other participants via email or telephone.The HUB will send an updated spreadsheet whenever there is a changed or new data available.
- The HUB has only one function, which is to provide an information center for the club. The HUB does not handle payments, tickets, or parcel delivery.
How much does it cost?
-
The HUB is a free service of the Notre Dame Club of Memphis.
Non-member participants are urged to consider joining the club.
- The club web site provides a glimpse of club events and activities at www.ndmemphis.com and contains a membership page with information on dues and registration.
Caveats
The Hub Master makes a deliberate effort to vet all participants but there is no way that the Club nor the Hub can screen the participants fully. If you are concerned about a suspicious deal, feel free to contact the Hub Master. If you do not know the person involved in a ticket exchange, please click on this link, Beware Ticket Scams, provided by www.ndnation.com which provides some good common sense guidelines.
Helpful Info:
Link to the 2010 Lottery Results
Notre Dame Stadium Seating Chart
2010 Student Sendoff –-
Sunday, August 8, 3PM-5 PM
Location: Rick & Lisa Duerr’s Home
1401 Yorkshire Drive
Memphis, TN 38119
Please join us as Rick and Lisa Duerr host this year’s annual student sendoff in their beautiful pool area and home to “The Shrine” – Rick’s homage to Our Lady on the Dome and her football teams.
This is the largest event of the year for our members and gives us a chance to see all of our new and returning students from the Memphis area before they head up to South Bend.
There will be plenty of BBQ and beverages for everyone. The event is free, but please RSVP to rduerr@evanspetree.com so that we can get an accurate head count for food.
All club members and their families are invited along with all students and their families.
