Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Five Questions With … WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ASSOCIATE COACH AND RECRUITING COORDINATOR NIELE IVEY Niele Ivey is entering her ninth season as a member of head coach Muffett McGraw's staff, first as an assistant in May 2007 before adding the title of recruiting coordinator in 2012 and being promoted to associate coach this summer. She's helped Notre Dame sign top-five recruiting classes nationally each of the last four seasons. BGI: Has recruiting seen an uptick as the program has reached its current heights? Ivey: "We've definitely benefited from our Final Four appearances. After our first one, we started feeling those benefits immediately and were on every top kid's list. "Then the players we send to the WNBA, they see the development and the total package with the academics." BGI: How has social media affected the recruiting process? Ivey: "It's definitely changed the landscape of recruiting, but you can look at it in a positive or negative way. We try to utilize it to give us a chance to get to know the recruit more. It gives us a great perspective. "We can also showcase the personalities of our own team and show what the daily life of a Notre Dame student-athlete is like." BGI: What's your key to success as a recruiter? Ivey: "It's all about finding the right fit. We've been blessed to have some high-character kids that understand when you come to Notre Dame academics are important and you have to have a balance. "They all have the same goals in mind, and we recruit those types of kids. Plus we have great leaders here like Coach McGraw. It's worked great." BGI: Are there any obstacles you have to overcome when recruiting for Notre Dame? Ivey: "There are a few, like some think with Notre Dame you have to be a certain religion. Going into home visits and talking with kids, we try to knock those out early. "There are so many positives with this place, though. The great things Notre Dame can sell help over- come that." BGI: Do you have dreams of being a head coach some day? Ivey: "I do have head coaching aspirations. Coach McGraw has been such a mentor to me, and I'm trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can while I'm here. Personally, I want to win a national cham- pionship here — I won one as a player, and I want to win one as an assistant. "Notre Dame has been great to me, and I love this team. I'm just trying to get better one year at a time and learn as much as I can." — Jordan Wells IVEY