Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 SEPT. 2, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME SAM HARTMAN USES NIL TO GIVE BACK TO NOTRE DAME TEAMMATES Notre Dame graduate student long snap- per Michael Vinson said it best. It's like Christmas every day with Sam Hartman. In a span of three days, Notre Dame's official social media accounts released videos of the Fighting Irish's graduate student quarterback gifting every player on the football team two impressive — and rather costly — items: Under Armour SlipSpeed training shoes and custom golden Beats by Dre headphones. Both handouts landed on Hartman's teammates well. There was Vinson's com- ment. There was graduate student line- backer JD Bertrand taking his headphones from a Notre Dame staffer only to say, "I want Sam to hand it to me." That's coming from a fellow team captain, one who is en- tering his fifth season with the program. The next cut in the video literally showed Hartman giving Bertrand his headphones. "My senior citizen Sam Hartman blessed us," freshman offensive lineman Charles Jagusah quipped. Notre Dame had a seven-plus hour flight to Dublin, Ireland, for the season opener. Hartman gave them something to drown out the noise over their ears and something comfortable to slip on their feet for the ride. Not a bad way to get the guys motivated to play around QB1 in Week 0. And for anyone wondering how Hartman is doing on the name, image and like- ness front in South Bend, look no further than his ability to get two major brands in their respective markets to fork over quite a haul of accessories by the dozens. According to the On3 NIL 100, Hartman has the No. 20 NIL valuation of any high school or college athlete in the country. The On3 algorithm estimates Hart- man's NIL valuation to be $1.1 million. That slots him No. 14 among current col- lege football players. For reference, Arch Manning of Texas has the highest On3 NIL valuation of any current college football player. His figure is $2.9 million. — Tyler Horka NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RELEASES NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE Football season is here, yes. But basketball season is right around the corner. An in-your-face indicator of that was Notre Dame women's basketball's nonconference schedule reveal for the 2023-24 campaign on Aug. 23. The Irish already knew when, where and against who they'd open the season. Notre Dame plays South Caro- lina Nov. 6 in Paris, France. We now know, though, that the Irish will have an exhibition against Purdue Uni- versity Northwest Oct. 30. Other previously unknown additions to the schedule included a home date against Purdue Dec. 17 and a road trip to Connecticut Jan. 27. In June, news broke that Notre Dame would play at Tennessee Nov. 29 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. Between facing South Carolina overseas, Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., and UConn in Storrs, Conn. Notre Dame has quite a solid slate away from Purcell Pavilion. The other road trips are a date with the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, N.J., on Nov. 12 and a ride down to Muncie, Ind., to face Ball State on Nov. 25. Notre Dame is playing Purdue for the first time since the 2017 NCAA Tournament and for the first time in the regular season since 2012. The Boilermakers have a 14-13 edge in the all-time series and head coach Niele Ivey and the Irish would like to even up that slate. The game against NJIT will be a first for Notre Dame, as will a home game against Lafayette on Dec. 6. Notre Dame has not faced Chicago State since 1980, but the programs will end that 43-year drought in South Bend on Nov. 21. Notre Dame beat UConn 74-60 last December. The last time the Irish went to Storrs, though, the Huskies ran away with a 73-54 victory on Dec. 5, 2021. This Notre Dame schedule surely isn't devoid of intrigue and opportunities for Ivey's team to prove its worth in her fourth season as head coach. The Irish will be battle tested from the start against a Gamecocks team that has been the class of women's college basketball for going on half a decade now. Then the last non-ACC foe until tournament time is none other than Geno Auriemma and UConn. Buckle up. — Tyler Horka JOE ALT, BENJAMIN MORRISON EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA NODS Notre Dame junior left tackle Joe Alt and sophomore cornerback Ben- jamin Morrison each landed on two All-America lists in the week leading up to the Irish's season opener. Alt was named a preseason first-team All-American by the Associated Press and Sporting News, while Mor- rison landed on both media outlets' second teams. Those are two of the five outlets that determine consen- sus All-America status at the end of each season. — Tyler Horka With an NIL valuation of $1.1 million, grad- uate student quarterback Sam Hartman was No. 14 in On3's College Football Rankings as of Aug. 25. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER 2023-24 NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE Date Opponent Nov. 6 vs. South Carolina* Nov. 12 at NJIT Nov. 15 Northwestern Nov. 18 TBD Nov. 21 Chicago State Nov. 25 at Ball State Nov. 29 at Tennessee Dec. 6 Lafayette Dec. 17 Purdue Dec. 21 Western Michigan Jan. 27 at Connecticut * in Paris, France Junior left tackle Joe Alt was tabbed as a preseason first-team All-American by both the Associated Press and Sporting News. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER