Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2024 13 70 Years Ago: March 12, 1954 In its second NCAA Tournament appearance ever — after previous self-imposed school bans — Notre Dame advanced to the Elite Eight following a 65-64 upset of No. 1 and reigning national champion Indiana. The game, held in Iowa City Field House, marked the first time since the advent of the Associ- ated Press poll in 1949 the Fighting Irish toppled the top-ranked Hoosiers. Senior center Dick Rosenthal — who went on to serve as Notre Dame's director of athletics from 1987-95 — scored 25 points and grabbed 15 re- bounds, and also limited three-time All-American Don Schlundt to 1 field goal and 10 points. The victory by head coach John Jordan's No. 5-ranked crew improved the Irish to 22-2, extended their winning streak to a school-record 18 and made them the favorite to capture the national title as the highest remaining ranked outfit. Alas, in the ultimate letdown the following day, Notre Dame lost to Penn State 71-63 and La Salle — led by Tom Gola — went on to win the national championship. 60 Years Ago: March 7, 1964 Former Notre Dame quarterback John Dee was introduced as the Fighting Irish's basketball coach after John Jordan's 13-year tenure ran its course. The primary topic on the agenda after finishing with a losing record in four of the last six seasons, including 10-14 in 1964, was the school's promise that within the next four years a new arena would be built to replace the Old Fieldhouse in an effort to upgrade recruiting and finances in the sport. Dee started at quarterback in the 21-0 win against Georgia Tech in 1944 and also was a two-year starter in basketball before graduating from Loyola Chicago in 1947. The eclectic figure later earned his law degree from Notre Dame, became the youngest head coach (28) in NCAA history at the time while leading Alabama to a four-year mark of 68-25, win- ning the SEC with a 14-0 mark in 1956, and also worked as an attorney and auditor. 25 Years Ago: March 30, 1999 Kansas assistant coach Matt Doherty was intro- duced as Notre Dame's new men's basketball head coach three weeks after John MacLeod (1991-99) was coerced into resigning. After Notre Dame president Rev. Edward "Monk" Malloy C.S.C. rejected the candidacy of Utah head coach Rick Majerus, the 37-year-old Doherty, a starter with Michael Jordan on North Carolina's 1982 national champs, was chosen over five other head coaches who interviewed: Delaware's Mike Brey, Princeton's Bill Carmody, Siena's Paul Hewitt, Gonzaga's Dan Monson and Xavier's Skip Prosser. "I've dreamed of this job," Doherty said, while breaking down into tears at his introductory confer- ence. "I've envisioned this job, I've ached over this job. … I planned this." 10 Years Ago: March 3, 2014 The earliest start ever to modern spring practice began in minus-4 degree temperatures, but fortu- nately was held indoors at 7:30 a.m. on Meyo Field in the Guglielmino Athletics Complex. It was highlighted by the return of quarterback Everett Golson, who as a sophomore starter helped the Fighting Irish to a 12-0 regular season and a bid to the BCS National Championship Game, but who was disassociated from the school during the fall semester of 2013 because of an academic violation. The other highlight was bringing in the NFL ex- pertise of two new coaches: defensive coordina- tor Brian VanGorder and quarterbacks coach Matt LaFleur — who later went on to become the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. 5 Years Ago: March 30, 2019 The Notre Dame women's basketball team notched its eighth Elite Eight appearance in the last nine seasons — and its 10th in program history — with an 87-80 win over Texas A&M in the Sweet 16 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The No. 1 Fighting Irish were led by senior guard Arike Ogunbowale, who poured in a career-high 34 points on 14-of-26 shooting. Senior forward Jessica Shepard contributed 24 points and 14 rebounds, while junior guard Jackie Young scored 10 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory. "Thought it was a really entertaining game to watch with a lot of big shots," Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. "Jessica Shepard was unstoppable down low with a double-double. Arike hit big shot after big shot. I thought the steal and the layup late in the game sealed it." UNDER THE DOME Senior center Dick Rosenthal scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Notre Dame to a 65-64 upset of No. 1 and reigning national champion Indiana to advance to the Elite Eight in 1954. The Irish were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament one game short of the Final Four, though, falling 71-63 to Penn State the next day. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME SPORTS INFORMATION Anniversaries In Notre Dame History: March DID YOU KNOW... ● Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. ● It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP. ● Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include periodical mail. 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