Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1474524
48 AUGUST 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE T he obvious lead story for Year in Review this time last year was how Notre Dame survived and thrived in 2020-21 under a COVID-19 cloud that disrupted every Fighting Irish sports program. With crowds back inside arenas and stadiums, and pandemic protocols eased, 2021-22 brought a welcome re- turn to normalcy for both Irish fans and student-athletes, and one of the best all-around showings in Notre Dame athletics history. And, lest we forget, in addition to myriad competition successes, the de- partures of two well-known Irish head coaches — football's Brian Kelly and baseball's Link Jarrett — made 2021-22 as memorable behind the scenes as it was between the lines. Immediately before Jack Swarbrick named his popular hire of Marcus Free- man as Kelly's replacement, the Notre Dame director of athletics celebrated a healthy environment inside the foot- ball team that rippled through his entire department. "The culture built in this program isn't Jack Swarbrick's culture, it's not Brian NORMALCY BRINGS EXCELLENCE After a year that was shrouded in pandemic problems and protocols, Notre Dame student-athletes returned strong and successful in 2021-22 2021-22 LEARFIELD DIRECTORS' CUP FINAL STANDINGS Rk. School Points 1. Texas 1,449.50 2. Stanford 1,352.25 3. Michigan 1,245.25 4. Ohio State 1,184.50 5. Florida 1,180.75 6. North Carolina* 1,087.25 7. Arkansas 1,050.75 8. Notre Dame* 1,021.00 9. Kentucky 979.75 10. Oklahoma 968.50 11. Virginia* 942.50 14. Florida State* 910.00 17. NC State* 870.00 21. Duke* 849.50 33. Virginia Tech* 688.25 34. Louisville* 663.50 45. Wake Forest* 530.00 50. Miami (Fla.)* 516.00 65. Clemson* 357.50 68. Georgia Tech* 352.25 72. Syracuse* 304.00 73. Pittsburgh* 298.00 109. Boston College* 165.50 * ACC schools The Notre Dame baseball team celebrated the program's third all-time appearance in the College World Series. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS