Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? ethos he has embodied in his own life. His mind allowed him to gradu- ate from Harvard Law School in 1983 — reportedly the first and lone NFL player ever to do so — after complet- ing his undergraduate degree in busi- ness at Notre Dame in 1975. His body and athletic talents blessed him with the skills to be a three-year starting linebacker at Notre Dame and play five years in the NFL, where he was a two-year starter. Most importantly to him was Notre Dame's spiritual aspect that enriched him and now has him nearing his sec- ond decade in his role of bringing ma- jor sporting events and teams to the state for the nonprofit Oregon Sports Authority. Prior to that, Mahalic had taught law school in Ireland and worked for the United Nations in Geneva, Swit- zerland, in the promotion of human rights. "Notre Dame had instilled in me this sense of having purpose in your life and to be a force for change in the world," Mahalic said. "I think that's what distinguishes Notre Dame from any other university that I'm aware of. It doesn't just teach you just what's in the books. It tries to make you a better man, a better woman … I'm very proud that was instilled in me." While at Notre Dame, one of his most cherished courses was a theol- ogy and community service program started by Rev. Don McNeill, C.S.C., which evolved into the Center for So- cial Concerns. After moving from Geneva to Or- egon with wife Joan — an Oregon na- tive — Mahalic, with the help of fellow Notre Dame grad Mike Steele, taught at Pacific University and created what is called today the Pacific Humanitar- ian Center. "I basically copied what Notre Dame had created — a program for students to engage in community service for credit," Mahalic said. He would do the same at Portland State University before becoming the director of Oregon Sports Authority in A Huge Recruiting Weekend Fresh off the 1973 national title, junior linebacker Drew Mahalic and one of his best friends on the team, backup quarterback Frank Allocco, were asked by the Notre Dame coaches to host two quarterback recruits that January. Today, Mahalic acknowledges he was a poor host while doing some personal recruiting of his own. "We took them out and Frank and I saw two pretty girls, introduced ourselves and kind of ignored the two recruits," Mahalic recalled. "I don't know if they felt ignored, but my concentration wasn't on them." The girl Mahalic met that night — then Notre Dame freshman Joan Gambee — has been his wife the past 37 years and the mother of their three children, Stephen (a sportswriter for The Portland Tribune), recent Oregon State graduate Elizabeth and Joey, a 25-year-old redshirt sophomore quarterback at Cal after playing five years of minor league baseball. Despite the lack of attention, the two recruits, Joe Montana and Gary Forystek, decided to attend Notre Dame anyway. — Lou Somogyi