Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 NOV. 23, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED T he year was 2006, my sec- ond football season writing for Blue & Gold Illustrated. In September of that year, I crossed paths for the first time with former Irish head coach Gerry Faust in the Notre Dame Stadium press box before a game against Purdue. A bit starstruck, I minded my own business and tried to si- lently walk by the former Notre Dame skipper with a smile and a head nod. Instead, Faust stopped me to shake my hand and com- pliment the work we were doing at BGI under the leadership of our late senior editor Lou Somo- gyi, another Irish legend whom Faust had forged a strong friend- ship with. S t u n n e d b u t a p p re c i a t ive that Faust recognized our work, I ended up chatting with the popular Irish coach for about a half hour. Faust talked, and I listened, as the Dayton, Ohio, native shared stories about how recruiting had changed, how Notre Dame Stadium had changed, how the monetary influences had changed, and how everything in and around campus had changed, except for national cham- pionship expectations. Make no mistake. Faust held no re- sentment toward a university that let him go in 1985 after he went 30-26-1 during his five seasons on the job. Instead, his message was one of rev- erence and respect as he spoke about his time at Notre Dame, and how he would forever hold this campus dear to his heart. Faust remained a fixture in the Notre Dame Stadium press box for years. Out of routine, he attended four Irish home games each season, and he wasn't shy to share stories with anyone willing to listen. You could hear Faust's raspy and booming, yet gentle voice from anywhere in the room. "The first thing I do when I arrive [on campus] every time, is visit the Grotto," Faust said in a 2015 story for the Notre Dame magazine Strong of Heart. "And the first thing I do there is thank the good Lord for having had the opportu- nity to coach at Notre Dame." Gerard Anthony Faust, the Irish head coach from 40 years ago, died on Nov. 11, at age 89. The Faust family released a statement via social media to announce their pa- triarch's passing. "Throughout an extraordinary life driven by unwavering and deep devo- tion to his Catholic faith, he was a be- loved mentor to countless young men both on and off the playing field," the statement read in part. "His work ethic, optimism, leadership and humility were legendary." These are the thoughts that need to be shared upon the passing of Gerry Faust, appreciative tributes that stretch well beyond his .535 winning percentage at Notre Dame, and a 58-7 loss to No. 4 Miami to finish his Irish career. A solid recruiter, the final class that Faust built in 1985 became the senior stalwarts on the 1988 national championship team that Lou Holtz coached. And in 1984, Faust found and offered a schol- arship to a young high school wide receiver out of Dallas named Tim Brown, a move that is forever appreciated by the 1987 Heisman Trophy winner. "Today, we lost the man that had the nerve to offer a kid a scholarship who was on a team that won four games in three years in high school," Brown posted on social media in trib- ute of Faust's passing. "When no one else saw anything in me, he offered me a scholarship." Faust's Irish coaching debut came in 1981 when his No. 4 Irish beat LSU 27-9. Following the game, Notre Dame was im- mediately lifted to No. 1 in the country, and some newspaper headlines proclaimed that Faust may never lose a game at Notre Dame. The following Saturday, No. 11 Michigan beat the top- ranked Irish 25-7, marking the first of four losses for Notre Dame in its next five outings. The Irish never won more than seven games in any of Faust's five seasons, and they were unranked more than they were ranked during his 57 games on the job. But I still write this because during these modern times of college athlet- ics, when winning games and earning money are all that matter, Faust put the student before athlete and touched countless lives in doing so. Be it in the press box or on the tele- phone, I stayed in contact with Coach Faust for about 10 years until his age caught up with him. And that's OK, be- cause like so many of his former play- ers, his friends, his family members and associates, I'm blessed to have been so graciously touched by the Irish coach with a lousy record, but the one who might best define the Blue and Gold. ✦ Faust will be remembered for the reverence and respect he had for Notre Dame, and for how he always put the student before athlete and touched countless lives in doing so. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS A True Notre Dame Man, Gerry Faust Will Be Missed Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com. UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE