Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/542018
"What any year brings, we'll see. We analyze those years when they are done. But I feel great about the pro- gram, I feel great about the leadership of the program, because we are in po- sition to compete for national champi- onships." Leadership within is what Swarbrick underlines as a crucial X-factor. "The deltas in our sport are so small, those marginal differences," Swarbrick said. "And by far, after coaching, the biggest one is student- athlete leadership. We invest a lot in trying to get that right, and it is a very imprecise science. When you've got it, it's powerful. When you have a Skylar Diggins, you get the results you get. "People often ask me to reflect on Shamrock Series And International Games To Continue The annual Shamrock Series football game for Notre Dame that began in 2009 when the Irish defeated Washington State at neutral site San Antonio is a tradition that vice president and director of athletics Jack Swarbrick is determined to continue and enhance. In his office, he points to a photo of 1913-17 head coach Jesse Harper, who assembled a 1913 national schedule with trips to Army, Penn State, St. Louis and Texas in November that helped put Notre Dame on the national map. "Since Coach Harper built Notre Dame football, there is clarity about its purpose to promote the University," Swarbrick said. "It's to benefit the University, and there are few things we do that help do that as effectively as the Shamrock Series. "It has far exceeded my expectations. People now plan their years around it, want to know when it is and where it is because they're going to take vacation time. Our ability to go into those com- munities and really introduce Notre Dame in powerful ways through Mass in prominent Cathedrals, social service projects, academic seminars — it is doing everything we wanted to do and more. It's a very important part of our future." Notre Dame is scheduled to play Boston College in Fenway Park this year and Army in San Antonio's Alamodome in 2016. The school is exploring several other options in major metropolitan markets in iconic venues. Swarbrick also said international games are on the future docket, although the logistics are more difficult. Notre Dame hasn't played on foreign soil since the 2012 opener versus Navy in Dublin, Ireland. "We will continue to have international games," he said. "I'm interested in the NCAA relaxing its rules on them. It's something I think we need to talk about. The educational value of this is such that we need to be careful about placing any limitations on it, but we absolutely will go international again. "The timing of it is critical. It has to be either the first game of the season or coupled with a bye week. It's complicated, but we will do them again." When asked if Australia is in the mix (Baylor and California cancelled an appearance there earlier this year), Swarbrick said no, but wouldn't go into further detail when asked about China or Mexico. "We're in discussions with a number of places," he concluded. — Lou Somogyi