Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Five Questions With … ASSOCIATE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR MICHAEL DANCH Michael Danch is a Notre Dame graduate and lifelong resident of South Bend. Danch oversees and manages all of the campus' sports facilities among other duties in the athletics department. The longtime manger of the Joyce Center started working with the arena before it was built. Danch handled the advertising and promotions for the new building at his first job at the South Bend Tribune. He later joined the university payroll on July 1, 1972. Danch has helped give the athletic facilities a major facelift during the past decade. He also coordinates a big chunk of the off-site home games that the Irish football team plays each year. He sat down with Blue & Gold Illustrated recently to talk about the big changes on campus and plans for more up- grades in the future. Blue & Gold Illustrated: You've been very busy in the past few years. Were all the facility upgrades the major initiative for athletics director Jack Swarbrick when he arrived? Danch: "Some of these things were really a result of the master plan made in 2001 with [former director] Kevin White. … There are a couple things that are still out there that haven't been completed yet as part of that campaign: A boathouse for the women's rowing team and the men's club team is one. "An upgrade of tennis facilities is the second, and then a kind of a stadium venue around the new track. Those are three things that I can think of that haven't been completed yet." Blue & Gold Illustrated: Now that the hockey team has moved into their new building, what is the plan for the empty half of the Joyce Center? Danch: "The initial direction that we are looking at now is to try to do something for our fencing program. "They are challenging for a national championship year in and year out. So, try to give them a better home than what they currently have with improved day-to-day locker rooms and office space." Blue & Gold Illustrated: The off-site football games have done well in the past three years. What's the biggest challenge you've faced in creating that series? Danch: "I think the most challenging place, because we were the first to play there, was Yankee Stadium. We had to make sure the field fit and they had to alter some of the dugout area to protect the players. With the quarterback pecking or- der established (see pages 22-25) for the Dec. 29 Champs Sports Bowl against Florida State, head coach Brian Kelly and his staff were able to move to the next order of business, which is the actual game preparation. Bowl games generally represent a one-game season that bridges the regular season just completed to a form of dress rehearsal for the next campaign. "You're living in the now, but you have to have an eye towards the fu- ture," summarized Kelly after the first practice, which was held Dec. 6. "I don't want to be all about the fu- ture. I want both. That's how we've operated all year." While the seasoned veterans en- gaged in weight room work and get- www.BLUEANDGOLD.com "The game announcer for baseball sits behind home plate, but that doesn't work in football when the field is running one hundred yards away from you. Or the coaches' booths, we had to use suites in right center field for those things." Blue & Gold Illustrated: Yankee Stadium gave fans a chance to see what a video board would be like in Notre Dame Stadium. What are the odds of that happening in the near future? Danch: "I think there is probably more discus- sion about the possibility, whether they actually pull the trigger on it or not, I'm not sure. We got a lot of good comments about the video presentation in Yankee Stadium. "The people that went to Danch, a Notre Dame graduate, oversees and manages all of the campus' sports facilities among other duties in the athlet- ics department. that game certainly had their eyes opened in terms of how meaningful these things are. … it has every potential to add something without necessarily being as commercialized as some places." Blue & Gold Illustrated: What are the major areas of focus for the next 10- year plan with Notre Dame's facilities? Danch: "That's what we're trying to get our arms around now. What are the next big things that might be included down the road? "Some of the things that continually go on are a little less glamorous than, say, a new building, but they're significant investments in our future." — Dan Murphy Irish Balancing Present And Future ting back their football timing, the first 45 minutes of football practice on Dec. 6 worked specifically with the younger players who have seen minimal to no game action this sea- son, and included a short scrimmage at the end. Thereafter, the veterans worked their way back into the prac- tice. The next two practices weren't until Dec. 9 and Dec. 10, before scal- ing back during final exams week from Dec. 12-16. The heaviest workdays were expected to be in the days there- after before taking a few days off for Christmas break. The players were expected to meet as a team in Orlando, Fla., by the afternoon of Christmas Eve and hold their first practice in the city on Christmas Day. In personnel matters: • Freshman wide receiver Mat- thias Farley had an operation af- ter the regular season to clean up bone spurs in his leg. If junior Theo Riddick remains at running back, Farley's role is expected to expand in 2012, potentially at slot receiver, where junior Robby Toma is now the starter. • Junior tight end Jake Golic has had a painful back injury that has kept him sidelined, and his playing status in the future is uncertain. • Senior running back Jonas Gray recently underwent a successful surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament tear he sustained against Boston College. Kelly said Gray is aiming to be healthy enough to work out for NFL scouts during Notre Dame's pro day in the spring. JANUARY 2012 11 PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS