Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2018 57 9. FOR THE RECORD On Jan. 3, 18th-year Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey set the school record for most wins in Notre Dame men's basketball history with his 394th, an 88-58 wipeout of North Carolina State. Brey's 403-201 career record with the Irish (.667) practically mirrors the 20-year reign of Digger Phelps, whose 393-197 ledger also comes out to .667. The good news is the best could still be ahead for Brey after land- ing his largest class at Notre Dame, ranked No. 18 nationally by Rivals, with four of the five prospects earn- ing four-star accolades. 10. A NEAR HAT TRICK Seldom, if ever, has Notre Dame had a two-week run like it did from March 25 to April 7 this year. On March 25, the fencing program captured its 10th national title in the past 41 years. On March 30, women's basketball vanquished No. 1 and 36-0 UConn in overtime, and then toppled No. 2 and 37-1 Mississippi State April 1 to earn its second national title. On April 7, head coach Jeff Jack- son's hockey team — in its second straight Frozen Four and fourth in 11 years — nearly completed the hat trick before falling to Minnesota Du- luth 2-1 in the final. Even so, hockey set a school re- cord for longest winning streak (16) while winning the Big Ten title in its maiden voyage in the league. ✦ Multiple Titles The 2017-18 academic year marked only the fifth time in school history Notre Dame won at least two national championships: women's basketball and fencing. The most was three during the 1943-44 school year, with football in the fall and then tennis and golf in the spring. The other times it occurred were 1977-78 (football and fencing), 2004-05 (women's soccer and fencing) and 2010-11 (women's soccer and fencing again). Here are the 31 total either recognized by the university and/or NCAA: Football (11): 1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977 and 1988 In 10 other seasons, Notre Dame received some mention as the national champion, highlighted by winning the 1964 MacArthur Bowl, presented by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, an award emblematic of one of the four outlets recognized by the NCAA (along with Associated Press, the coaches' poll — which used to be the UPI — and the Football Writers Association of America's Grantland Rice Trophy). Notre Dame, however, does not count those other 10 because either they are not "consensus" or are not recognized by the NCAA. The Irish were No. 1 or legitimately in the running for it on nine other occasions before losing or tying on either the last day of the regular season or the bowl: 1938 (13-0 at USC), 1948 (14-14 at USC), 1964 (20-17 at USC), 1970 (38-28 at USC), 1974 (55-24 at USC), 1980 (20-3 at USC), 1989 (27-10 at Miami), 1993 (41-39 versus Boston College) and 2012 (42-14 to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game). It demonstrates just how challenging it is to finish a full season unbeaten and/or untied (achieved only twice in the last 68 years, 1973 and 1988). Fencing (10): 1977, 1978, 1986, 1987, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2017 and 2018 The men won the 1977, 1978 and 1986 titles, while the women earned it in 1987. In 1990, the NCAA went to a combined (men's and women's) cham- pionship. Since 1979, the fencers have finished second 14 times, including five in a row from 1996-2000. Women's Soccer (3): 1995, 2004 and 2010 Notre Dame's 30-year history in the sport has also had five runner-up finishes: 1994, 1996, 1999, 2006 and 2008 — all to North Carolina. The Tar Heels have won 21 of the 35 women's soccer national titles. The Irish are second with three. Women's Basketball (2): 2001 and 2018 A two-point win over Purdue won it all in 2001 for head coach Muffet McGraw, who took the reins of the program in 1987 and led the Irish to their initial Final Four in 1997 and five consecutive from 2011-15 before winning it all again this spring. Men's Tennis (2): 1944 and 1959 The Irish shared it with two other teams in '44 while finishing 9-0 under coach Walter Langford, and in '59 with head coach Tom Fallon the 14-0 Notre Dame team shared it with Tulane. Men's Soccer (1): 2013 At age 68, 12th-year head coach Bobby Clark captured his first NCAA title, one year after losing as the No. 1 seed in the round of 16. Men's Cross Country (1): 1957 Coach Alex Wilson's team won the title held in East Lansing, Mich. Since 1987, coach Joe Piane guided nine top-10 finishes, including No. 3 in 1990 and 2005. Men's Golf (1): 1944 The final piece to the 1943-44 school year that resulted in three national titles. Note: Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach George Keogan's cagers were retroactively declared the 1927 and 1936 national champs by the Helms Foundation, but that is not recognized by the NCAA. — Lou Somogyi One week after the fencing program won the national title March 25, the women's basketball team captured its first national championship since 2001. Nearly a week later, the Fighting Irish hockey team nearly won a third for only the second time in an academic year at Notre Dame. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH DIGITIAL MEDIA