Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME DOGHOUSE DAYS AND DISTRACTIONS One of the more humorous moments this season in Brian Kelly's weekly conferences with the media was the Dec. 20 session prior to Christmas break. In a year‑end review of the personnel, Kelly was asked how freshmen wide receivers Corey Holmes and Justin Brent would fit into future plans. Neither was in the six‑man receiving rotation this year, and each of the top six could return in 2015. The Irish also have three verbal commitments at receiver for next season (Miles Boyin, Jalen Guyton and C.J. Sanders) — and senior DaVaris Daniels, who has 80 career receptions, might return in 2015 after sitting out 2014 because of academic reasons. With the 6‑0½, 184‑pound Holmes, Kelly said it's more about the typical DENNIS STARK: 1923-2014 Known as "the father of Notre Dame swimming," Dennis Stark died Dec. 22 in South Bend. He was 91. The Detroit native served in World War II before graduating from Notre Dame in 1947. Because drowning was a primary cause of so many deaths during World War II, Stark would oversee swimming tests for Notre Dame freshmen to help ensure their ability to swim, or otherwise be enrolled in his physical education swimming class. Stark founded the men's swimming program and served as the Irish men's swimming and diving coach from 1958-85. His teams produced a 27-year record of 167-137 (.549) in dual meets, highlighted by an 11-1 mark in 1974-75. He also coached the Irish women's team in the first four seasons of its existence from 1981-85 and compiled a 31-14 record (.689) in dual meets. His final Notre Dame women's squad finished 11-1 and won the 1985 North Star Conference title for the second straight season. Stark, the head of Notre Dame's physical education department from 1975-81 and an official at the 1972 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, continued to teach for many years after his retirement as Irish head coach and also served as longtime director of the Rolfs Aquatic Center. A longtime Special Olympics advocate in the community (his youngest son, Kenny, was born with Down syndrome), Stark and his family were strong supporters of the Special Olympics and played an integral role in the 1987 International Summer Special Olympics held on the Notre Dame campus (serving as manager of swimming and diving). The Notre Dame Monogram Club in 2010 presented him with its Moose Krause Distinguished Service Award. When Logan Center, a school for the developmentally disabled, was located just south of the Notre Dame campus, Stark created a program that invited its students to swim in the Rockne Memorial pool, with many of Stark's swimmers and other Notre Dame students volunteering their time at Logan. Stark was known as "the father of Notre Dame swimming," founding and then serving as the coach for the men's team from 1958-85. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS