Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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56 AUGUST 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Notre Dame in 2009 and Quinn at the University of Buffalo. This is Lea's first go-round as a coor- dinator, and Quinn likely will face the same type of scrutiny that Jim Colletto did in 1997-98 while having to replace the revered Joe Moore (1988-96) — es- pecially with the Joe Moore Award for the nation's best offensive line in 2017 going to Notre Dame. Both will be dif- ficult acts to follow. Meanwhile, five different head coaches had to be replaced this year in the athletic department, unoffi- cially a school record. Bobby Clark, who led men's soc- cer to the 2013 national title, stepped down at age 72, while women's ten- nis coach Jay Louderback retired after 29 seasons, highlighted by 19 conference titles and Final Four ap- pearances in 2009 and 2010. Unexpectedly, women's soccer coach Theresa Romagnolo resigned this winter to spend more time with her family, while volleyball head coach Jim McLaughlin — who did superb work in his three seasons to turn around the program — resigned in June because of health reasons. In May, the university also an- nounced that cross country/track and field coach Alan Turner would not be retained. 5. EARLY SIGNING & HIGH VOLUME In college football's debut with an early signing period in recruiting (Dec. 20-22), Notre Dame saw all 21 verbal commitments ink with them. Six more were added during the an- nual first Wednesday of February. The 27 total — including a record seven early enrollees in January — marked the highest number of football signees since 2006 when 28 joined the squad. Although there was no five-star prospect signed, the well-balanced unit was led by quarterback Phil Jurk- ovec. Two running backs, five receiv- ers, two tight ends, four offensive line- men, three defensive linemen, four linebackers, three cornerbacks and three safeties rounded out the troops. Recruiting services ranked the group anywhere from No. 9 to No. 11, which has been par for the course over the past five cycles. The question is whether it possesses the star power and can be developed enough to someday rival or even overtake the current "Big Three" of Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. 6. A BAD VACATION On Feb. 13, the NCAA denied Notre Dame's appeal of the decision to vacate 21 victories — 12 in 2012 and nine in 2013 — because of academic misconduct that resulted in the use of ineligible players those two seasons. In August 2014, Notre Dame self- reported an investigation it had con- ducted on its own and held out five players from practice and competition (four when one cleared). Although at the time school president Rev. John I. Jenkins C.S.C. stated the school would accept penalties, including vacating victories, when the appeal was denied he lashed out at the decision in a letter to the alumni, stating, "our concerns go beyond the particulars of our case and the record of two football sea- sons to the academic autonomy of our institutions, the integrity of college athletics and the ability of the NCAA to achieve its fundamental purpose." Vacating the 21 wins dropped Notre Dame from a victory over Michigan this Sept. 1 that would have put it No. 1 in all-time winning percent- age in football to No. 4 overall. Far worse was the black eye incurred by the school whose foremost pride has always been integrity and transparency in go- ing about its academic mis- sion the right way, with an excellent history to back it up. Unspoken was how worse transgres- sions at other schools — notably North Carolina — had been covered up for years yet left relatively unpunished. 7. A LEGEND DEPARTS On Aug. 2, 2017, A r a P a r s e g h i a n passed away at age 94, and his life was celebrated a few days later at Notre Dame's Sacred Heart Church. On the Mount Rushmore of Notre Dame football coaches, Knute Rockne (1918-30) was George Washington in the for- mation of the Union, Frank Leahy (1941-43, 1946-53) was the Thomas Jefferson in expanding it tremen- dously, while Parseghian (1964-74) was Abraham Lincoln by preserving it amidst tumultuous times. In 1964, Parseghian inherited a football team that was 2-7 the year prior and 34-45 overall in the eight years before his arrival. In his first season, he led the Fighting Irish to a share of the national title when the National Football Foundation awarded them the MacArthur Bowl. Overall, Parseghian fashioned a glittering 95-17-4 record and added two more consensus national titles (1966 and 1973) to the trophy case while finishing in the top 10 nine times and never lower than No. 14. In honor of his legacy, the 2017 football team wore "ARA" on its headgear, and had a comeback cam- paign of its own. 8. BASKETBALL BAD BREAKS Whereas women's basket- ball parity is still a work in progress, men's basketball has slim margin for error, and Notre Dame used it all up, and then some, in 2017-18. All-American Bonzie Colson, a bona fide National Player of the Year candidate (and another "C" figure), was shelved Jan. 2 with a fractured left foot that side- lined him nearly two months before eventu- ally reinjuring it. Shortly thereafter, se- nior point guard Matt Farrell also missed several contests with a sprained ankle that would hamper him, and on Jan. 16 top-50 freshman recruit D.J. Harvey was sidelined with a knee injury that possibly could result in a medical redshirt in 2018- 19. Junior guard Rex Pflueger also became a human ice pack as the season progressed. Despite seven con- secutive defeats from Jan. 10 to Feb. 3, Notre Dame rallied enough to basically become the "first team out" when NCAA Tournament bids were extended. A sec- ond-round loss to Penn State in the NIT con- cluded the campaign on St. Patrick's Day. Notre Dame legend Ara Parseghian died on Aug. 2, 2017, at age 94, prompting both mourning and celebration of his life. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH DIGITAL MEDIA