Vol.167No. 7
Notre Dame men's and women's lacrosse hoping to deliver signature springs
This time last year, during my senior year at Notre Dame, I typed away on this same keyboard following Notre Dame’s 11-2 season. I made the argument that Notre Dame fans needed to recognize the elite position the program was in and that the team could win a national championship in the next two seasons.
Given the circumstances: a new offensive coordinator, brand new offensive skill position starters across the board, and limited offseason practices, it was unrealistic to expect the Irish offense to come out firing on all cylinders in their first game. With that being said, as No. 7 Notre Dame prepared for another home contest against the University of South Florida, there were still plenty of questions to be answered.
The 2020 football season was one of unprecedented changes for top programs across the country, including the Fighting Irish. The season marked the beginning of Tommy Rees’ tenure as offensive coordinator…
Notre Dame finished the season at 10-2, marking its fourth straight season with 10 wins and its second trip to the College Football Playoff in three years. To add to that, the Irish haven’t lost…
The coronavirus pandemic has made scouting and player evaluations even more difficult this year than in years past, so the upcoming NFL Draft will be filled with heightened uncertainty. After a…
For the first time in over 27 years, Notre Dame football defeated the No. 1 ranked team in the nation with a thrilling double-overtime victory over the Clemson Tigers.
On Dec. 19, the undefeated Fighting Irish arrived at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., marking the beginning of the playoff season for the team. The ACC Championship set the stage for the highly anticipated Notre Dame-Clemson rematch, after the No. 4 Irish defeated the then-No. 1 Tigers during their regular season matchup in South Bend.
It was a matchup that was supposed to happen on Sept. 26 at Wake Forest, but because of COVID-19, the game was rescheduled to Dec. 12. Unfortunately, seven Notre Dame football players tested positive for the virus several days before the originally scheduled game, which resulted in the isolation of 13 players. Furthermore, the Notre Dame football program wanted to ensure the safety of the rest of its players, so it paused all football-related activities for several days. Head coach Brian Kelly stated that “with student-athlete health and safety our primary focus, we will continue to follow our prevention protocols and ongoing testing procedures.” In the meantime, it was time for the team to redirect its attention to the upcoming game against Florida State.
With everything that is different about this season for Notre Dame women’s basketball –– a new head coach, new teammates, new protocols, and a uniquely designed schedule –– the team’s steadfast commitment to causes bigger than themselves and to helping others remains unchanged.
With an impressive 6-1 record at the conclusion of the fall ACC volleyball schedule, Notre Dame is ranked No. 5 heading into their spring schedule, which will allow them to compete for a national championship.
The coronavirus has radically transformed the landscape of college sports, and after initial worries, Notre Dame fans are fortunate to still enjoy a 2020-21 season. Student attendance at games, even in a limited capacity, has helped to elevate the atmosphere and maintain the feeling of excitement despite coronavirus-related adjustments.
Despite COVID-19 disrupting countless aspects of a normal season, all of the pieces appear to be falling into place for the Notre Dame football team as they approach the season’s marquee matchup against Clemson.
This weekend, South Bend will host an undefeated matchup between No. 1 Clemson and No. 4 Notre Dame.
A graduate defensive end, Daelin Hayes has played a significant role on the stout Notre Dame defense throughout his collegiate career. Hayes was a top-300 recruit coming out of high school from Bellville, Mich., and in his freshman year, he played in all 12 games.
100 — The percentage of Notre Dame football players who have registered to vote. One way to make change is through voting, and the Irish football players are leading by example at the moment.
With everything that was different about this off-season for third-year Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea, the need to replace last season’s graduated talent remained unchanged.
“These unprecedented times” are the words that seem to populate every email and TV advertisement seen today. The four-word phrase may be overused and somewhat annoying to hear so often, but it nevertheless rings true, and is felt very heavily on a game day in South Bend.
Last year, in his second season as the head coach of his alma mater, Nate Norman led the Fighting Irish women’s soccer team to an 11-8-2 overall record, as well as to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.
The second week of March saw the sports world grind to a complete halt. In just one week, athletes went from preparing for tournament runs, an upcoming season or the biggest event of their lives, to sitting home waiting for what would come next. But no one knew what the future would hold for collegiate and professional athletics in the United States.
In the summer of 2015, rising college freshman Jack Savage and rising sophomore Nick Savage consumed oxycodone and alcohol at a grad party, and then went home and went to bed. When their mom woke up the next day, both were dead.
Take a second to put yourself in a pandemic-free world, and the Notre Dame football team would have just returned from Dublin, hopefully after a victory against Navy. With a win, all would be right in the world.
Throughout the summer, questions about the state of college athletics popped up around the country. Although NCAA President Mark Emmert stated, “We cannot, at this point, have fall NCAA championships,” the NCAA is hoping to host fall championships in the spring. Notably, this statement does not apply to college football, as the NCAA does not have oversight of the Football Bowl Subdivision championship, the College Football Playoff. While details surrounding various fall sports seasons and championship formats remain unclear, Notre Dame fall sports athletes have begun to practice.
525 – The jersey numbers of Jack (5) and Nick (25). The name was inspired by a photo of the two in their jerseys displaying these numbers.
As a young girl growing up in West Chester, Pa. during the 1960s, Ann “Muffett” O’Brien was constantly reminded of what she couldn’t do, especially when it came to athletics and playing basketball with the boys.
As the team jogged off the diamond after securing their first midweek win of the season and their seventh in a row, everything seemed to be going right for Notre Dame baseball and first-year Head…
36 — The number of days since the last Notre Dame athletic competition.
Like almost everything else, the future of sports may be changed forever because of COVID-19. Currently, all professional and collegiate sports have been postponed or canceled; Wimbledon and The Open have also been canceled. This has led to the question: when will we get sports back?