Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2023 15 70 Years Ago: March 10, 1953 Although the policy of not attending football bowl games remained because the national title was decided at the end of the regular season, Notre Dame took a step forward by rescinding its prohibition on postseason basketball. On this day, head coach John Jordan's Fighting Irish played and won their first-ever NCAA Tour- nament game with a 72-57 victory against East- ern Kentucky at the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Coliseum. Three days later, the Irish defeated Penn 69-57 in Chicago to advance to the Elite Eight of the 22- team tournament. But on the ensuing day, they Irish fell 79-66 to eventual national champ Indiana. 65 Years Ago: March 14, 1958 Led by All-American Tom Hawkins, Notre Dame advanced to the Elite Eight for the third time in six years following a 94-87 victory versus Indiana, after having dispatched Tennessee Tech 94-61 in the second round. Like five years earlier, though, the Irish lost to the eventual national champs — Kentucky (89- 56), on its home floor — in the round of eight. 60 Years Ago: March 13, 1963 With spring practice about to begin, Notre Dame head coach Joe Kuharich turned in his res- ignation after a four-year record of 17-23. Kuharich had been the head coach of the Wash- ington Redskins from 1954-58 before returning to his alma mater, but when offered the newly cre- ated position of "supervisor of officials" by fourth- year NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, he accepted. Rozelle had been Kuharich's student publicist at the University of San Francisco from 1948-51. With no time for a coaching search, Notre Dame promoted freshman coach Hugh Devore to interim coach, a position he also held in 1945 during World War II. 50 Years Ago: March 25, 1973 Under second-year head coach Digger Phelps, who debuted with a 6-20 mark and began Year 2 with just one win in its first seven games, Notre Dame lost 92-91 to Virginia Tech at the horn in the 16-team National Invitational Tournament. The NIT was prestigious back then because all the games were in New York's Madison Square Gar- den, and the 25-team NCAA Tournament took only conference champions and at-large independents. The Irish upset Pac-8 runner-up USC 69-65, plus they knocked off Louisville 79-71 and North Caro- lina 78-71 — both of which advanced to the Final Four the previous year — prior to the heartbreak- ing loss. Irish junior center John Shumate made 20 consecutive field goals against the Cardinals and Tar Heels and was named Tournament MVP. 45 Years Ago: March 19, 1978 For the first time in 15 NCAA Tournament ap- pearances, Notre Dame won three consecutive games in "The Big Dance," capped with an 84-64 victory over DePaul to finally make the Final Four. The Irish were so depth-laden that the second unit featured three players who would play at least 10 years in the NBA: junior center Bill Laimbeer, fresh- man forward Orlando Woolridge and sophomore guard Bill Hanzlik. The No. 2 unit was rounded out by future No. 25 overall pick Tracy Jackson at forward and another freshman, Stan Wilcox at guard. The starting five featured junior center Bruce Flowers, senior Dave Batton and freshman Kelly Tri- pucka at forward, and senior Don "Duck" Williams and sophomore Rich Branning in the backcourt. Tripucka was named the regional MVP with 18 points and 11 rebounds versus DePaul, while Branning added 15 points and 7 assists. A month earlier, the Blue Demons — under Notre Dame graduate Ray Meyer — had defeated the Irish on the road, 69-68 in overtime. "Our top five players can beat Notre Dame's top five players," Meyer said after the defeat. "But our top 10 players against their top 10, no way." 20 Years Ago: March 22, 2003 After surviving a potential buzzer beater against No. 12-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the NCAA first round for a 70-69 victory two days earlier, the No. 5-seeded Notre Dame knocked off No. 4-seeded Illinois 68-60 in a West regional second- round game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. For head coach Mike Brey, who celebrated his 44th birthday with the big win, it marked the first time he guided the Fighting Irish to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. It also marked the Irish's first trip to the regional semifinals since Digger Phelps led them there in 1987. Dan Miller, a 6-foot-8 guard/forward who transferred to Notre Dame after three years at Maryland, matched a career high with 23 points to lead the way for the Irish. Sophomore point guard Chris Thomas added 17 points. "This is huge for our program," Brey said. "In the summer we talked about playing on the sec- ond weekend. I'm happy this group set a goal and achieved it." Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: March UNDER THE DOME Kelly Tripucka scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Notre Dame to an 84-64 victory over DePaul that punched the Irish's ticket to the Final Four for the first time in program history. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS