Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? A starter in the 1970 and 1971 Cotton Bowls, he now heads up its operation BY LOU SOMOGYI I t took 45 years for Notre Dame to eliminate its ban on going to bowl games, from the Jan. 1, 1925 Rose Bowl to the Jan. 1, 1970 Cotton Bowl. It was in the latter game that Fighting Irish sophomore offensive lineman Dan No- vakov made his starting debut, versus No. 1 Texas. Now, another 45 college football sea- sons later, Novakov and the Cotton Bowl are in the news again. On June 20, the 1972 Notre Dame graduate and North Texas attorney was elected to a two-year term as CEO of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association (CBAA), the sponsoring agency of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. The timing couldn't have been more perfect in the initial year of the College Football Playoff. First, the Cotton Bowl has regained its status as one of the six "major" bowls after losing it during the Bowl Champi- onship Series era from 1998-2013. Second, the Cotton Bowl will now be held in the palatial AT&T Cowboys Sta- dium, which has become possibly the nation's most appealing venue. Finally, in addition to the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl at noon, Novakov and Co. will be hosting the first national title game in the College Football Playoff era on Jan. 12, also in AT&T Stadium. Having lived in Texas since 1976, No- vakov has been a member of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic's board of directors starting in 2006 and has served on the organization's executive committee as vice chairman the past four years. When Novakov played at Notre Dame, the Cotton Bowl was one of the Dan Novakov, 1970-72 Offensive Lineman Novakov started every game at center for the Irish in 1971 and '72. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME SPORT INFORMATION