Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2024 11 UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT PHOTO BY TYLER HORKA IRISH ON SOCIAL MEDIA 1st Women's coach at Notre Dame to be honored with a statue on campus is MUFFET MCGRAW. It was officially unveiled in front of the Joyce Center on Dec. 17. McGraw led the Irish wom- en's basketball program for 33 seasons, compil- ing 848 wins, nine Final Four appearances, seven NCAA championship game showings and two national championships. Notre Dame also has five statues at Notre Dame Stadium that recognize the five individuals who have won one or more national titles as Irish head football coach. The sculptures are located at the various stadium entrance gates — with Knute Rockne at the north tunnel, Dan Devine at Gate A, Ara Parseghian at Gate B, Frank Leahy at Gate C and Lou Holtz at Gate D. "I just want to say that because holiness is often hidden, I want to leave it an open question whether this statue is of a saint or not. Only God knows that, but certainly a great coach." — Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins during Muffet McGraw's statue unveiling ceremony — the first time in school history that a woman "who is not a saint" was featured on campus as a statue (South Bend Tribune) 35.46 Points per game averaged by Notre Dame during Marcus Freeman's first two seasons in charge. That ranks second among Fighting Irish head coaches through two seasons since 1913, per Notre Dame media relations. Notre Dame also noted that Freeman ranks No. 2 in points allowed per game (19.92) among Irish coaches through two seasons in charge since 1986. POINTS PER GAME BY IRISH HEAD COACHES THROUGH TWO SEASONS Since 1913 Rk. Coach (Years) PPG 1. Jesse Harper (1912-13) 36.93 2. Marcus Freeman (2022-23) 35.46 3. Charlie Weis (2005-06) 33.72 POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME BY IRISH HEAD COACHES THROUGH TWO SEASONS Since 1986 Rk. Coach (Years) PPG 1. Lou Holtz (1985-86) 19.00 2. Marcus Freeman (2022-23) 19.46 3. Brian Kelly (2010-11) 20.46 When I play to win, good things hap- pen. I know I have a tendency to force things when things are not going my way, but today it was a learning experience for me. I feel like I made a big jump, with just finding my teammates, playing together and trusting everybody around me." — Freshman point guard Markus Burton after helping Notre Dame defeat Virginia 76-54 on Dec. 30 Imagine telling someone in the pre- season that by late December, [Olivia] Miles hadn't yet played and [Sonia] Citron had been limited to three games … but Notre Dame was 8-1 and ranked No. 14. They would say, 'How?' "'Hidalgo' is the answer. Like USC's Watkins, she wasn't in our preseason rankings as a freshman, but has vaulted into the top 10. Hidalgo is making a huge impact on both ends of the court: She leads Division I in steals and ranks fourth in scoring average." — ESPN's Michael Voepel on ranking Notre Dame freshman point guard Hannah Hidalgo as the 10th-best player in women's college basketball