Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1496419
44 MAY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE B en Capdevielle had never even heard of Lou Somogyi, let alone carried any awareness of how ingrained the late Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor was with Fighting Irish foot- ball and the entire South Bend community. In fact, when Capdevielle was asked about the financial as- sistance he received during the last two academic years from the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship fund, the Notre Dame junior struggled to pronounce the scholarship's namesake. "So-moe-gee?" he inquired. The fact that these two will never meet or become familiar is irrelevant. Because the stories of gratitude Capdevielle humbly shared for the opportunities a few thousand dollars are providing him as a Notre Dame student, shows that he'll never forget the financial aid he's receiving on Somogyi's behalf. "Coming to Notre Dame, the opportunities are limitless," Capdevielle celebrated. "You can do whatever you want and chase whatever dreams you desire. And this scholarship defi- nitely made that possible for me. I'm forever grateful." Since the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship was estab- lished shortly after Somogyi suddenly died of a heart attack on April 17, 2021, the fund's endowment has already swelled to $151,218, an increase of about $25,000 from this time last year. To illustrate how many lives Somogyi touched during his 58 years with us, the scholarship fund was built from almost 200 individual contributions, ranging from $5 to $100 to $1,000 to $25,000 to $100,000, with varying amounts in between. One donor cleverly made a donation of $88.88, an obvious reference to the 1988 Notre Dame national championship team that Somogyi was so entrenched with. The generous $100,000 gift came from Coman Publishing Company. Somogyi and Stu Coman, the company's owner, began working together in 2009 when the latter bought Blue & Gold Illustrated and BlueandGold.com. Coman and Somogyi collaboratively improved the presen- tation and content of their magazine and website, and built a strong working and personal relationship along the way that stretched well beyond any news office or football field. Coman Publishing's significant gift lifted the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship fund above the threshold necessary for aid to be assigned and appropriated to qualifying students. "We planted the first seed, and the Blue & Gold community and other Lou fans then stepped up big time," said Coman, adding that when the sports media conglomerate named On3 bought Coman Publishing Company in 2021, the new own- ers agreed to donate 10 percent of its subscription sales from BlueandGold.com to the scholarship fund. WHO GETS IT? A 1984 graduate of Notre Dame, Somogyi began his college journey across the street at nearby Holy Cross College before transferring to the only school he ever wanted to attend. And like Somogyi, Capdevielle was also a "gateway" student who began his studies as a freshman at Holy Cross in 2020-21 before transferring to Notre Dame as a sophomore in 2021-22, with the help of the Somogyi scholarship. "Transferring and now being at Notre Dame has been such an incredible experience," shared Capdevielle, 21, who grew up in South Bend where he attended Trinity School at Greenlawn. "I felt so well-prepared because of my time at Holy Cross, and so welcomed by Notre Dame coming over." And that's the primary mission of the Lou Somogyi Memo- rial Scholarship, to help Holy Cross students from the South Bend area make the transfer and transition to Notre Dame, in the same way Somogyi did 42 years ago and Capdevielle did two years ago. The criteria hierarchy for the Somogyi scholarship looks like this: 1. South Bend-area students who transfer to Notre Dame from Holy Cross College. 2. Any student who transfers to Notre Dame from Holy Cross College. 3. Any Notre Dame student who has a financial need. Capdevielle, a political science major, along with Notre Dame junior, South Bend native and Holy Cross transfer Eric Zheng, an electrical engineering major, were the first two beneficiaries of the Somogyi scholarship, which will aid these two young men each year for as long as they're enrolled at the university. Capdevielle — whose parents and five siblings still reside in South Bend — said he's set to graduate next spring, and when he does, his scholarship aid will be transferred to another qualifying student. Notre Dame builds its scholarship funds from the interest The Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship Is Already Making An Impact As a South Bend native and Holy Cross College transfer to Notre Dame, Ben Capdevielle met the primary funding criteria of the scholarship. PHOTO COURTESY BEN CAPDEVIELLE