Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS BY ANDREW OWENS I f there were two sports unlikely to benefit from Notre Dame's transition from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 2013-14 school year, they were the baseball and vol- leyball programs. Baseball coach Mik Aoki's squad went 22-31 during a difficult maiden voyage in the ACC, a powerhouse league when it comes to that sport. Vol- leyball, meanwhile, went a combined 19-41 in its first two seasons of ACC competition, leading to head coach Debbie Brown's dismissal in January. "Debbie has probably understood what Notre Dame and its student-ath- lete experience is about as well as any coach on our staff," director of athlet- ics Jack Swarbrick said in a statement. "She has represented the university in exceptional fashion in her time here. "However, our expectations regard- ing competitive performance are also high, and we regrettably have not been able to meet those in recent years. I'd like to thank her for all she has done for the program and, in particular, for all she has done for the student-athletes who have played for her." Brown had led Notre Dame to 21 consecutive winning seasons through 2012 before the program plunged dra- matically. One month after Brown's departure, the Irish hired former Notre Dame as- sistant Jim McLaughlin to head the pro- gram. McLaughlin is the only coach to lead both a men's and women's pro- gram to NCAA titles. He earned Na- tional Coach of the Year honors while Volleyball Program Gets A Fresh Start On Jan. 17, Notre Dame hired Jim McLaughlin, a former Irish assistant, to head its volleyball pro- gram. PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON