Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Scholarship Numbers Crunching ball program this August when junior running back Cam Roberson and sophomore offensive linemen Brad Carrico and Jordan Prest- wood were no longer with the 2012 team (see page 10). In the cases of Roberson and Carrico, they were put on medical Three football scholarships opened up for the Notre Dame foot- hardship scholarships. This allows the university to still honor its four-year grant-in-commitment to them while also opening up the opportunity to give new football scholarships to replace the ones who were transferred to the medical hardship scholarships. That leads to the inevitable question of how many more scholar- ships Notre Dame can give for the 2013 freshman class that will sign in February. So far, the Irish have 19 commitments. The NCAA scholarship count of 85 cannot be eclipsed. Looking ahead to February 2013, class-by-class numbers as of Aug. 22 were as follows: • 17 freshmen. This includes Chris Badger, back from a two-year Mormon mission. • 21 sophomores, with Carrico no longer included because of his medical hardship. • 18 juniors, with Roberson no longer included because of his medical hardship. ments that cannot exceed 25 in this year's freshman class and 2) fifth-year seniors. Provided the 19 current verbals remain in the fold through • 19 verbal commitments from high school seniors. Those four groups for the 2013 season total 75. The final 10 in 2013 will be a combination of 1) verbal commit- February, Notre Dame could get as many six more recruits in this class for the 25 maximum. If they do, then it would appear only four fifth-year seniors could be on the roster in 2013 (unless there are other transfers or medical hardships). See page 27 for more on the nine potential fifth-year seniors in 2013. Mike Aresco Named Big East Commissioner Notre Dame's sports teams (football, hockey and fencing), hired a new commissioner who has a long history of working with Irish athletics director Jack Swarbrick. Mike Aresco, formerly a network television executive at CBS, On Aug. 15, the Big East conference, home to all but three of is a great guy, phenomenal people skills and management skills. Most importantly, it made a statement by the Big East about how the Big East perceived itself. The combination of hiring Mike and retaining [media consultant] Chris Bevilacqua was a statement of an aggressive view of their future. We think it's really smart and Mike will do a great job." The conference at times appeared to be headed toward extinc- tion, or at least the endangered species list, during the most recent wave of conference realignment. The hope for Big East members is a new media deal in the same ballpark as its competitors would keep its current roster of schools from defecting. That in turn would provide a steady home for Notre Dame's sports and allow the football team to remain independent. www.BLUEANDGOLD.com takes over a conference in turmoil and currently in the midst of negotiating a crucial new television deal. "I've worked with Mike, must be 20 years," Swarbrick said. "He OF THE CLASS TOP Mandy Laddish — Jr. ✦ Women's Soccer Laddish, Notre Dame's only selection on the preseason All-Big East team this year, will miss the first three weeks of the 2012 regular sea- son while she tours Japan with the U.S. under-20 national team. The junior midfielder and freshman teammate Cari Roccaro took two of the 21 spots on the national roster for the American team in the U-20 World Cup being held in Japan this month. Laddish had seven assists and scored one goal for the Irish last season. When she returns to South Bend, she will take over her duties as one of the team's three captains this fall. California Golf Association Match Play Championship this August. The Irish ju- nior led USC's Stewart Hagestad through- out his final match after carding an eagle on a 524-yard par five to start the day. He continued the string of five straight collegiate players taking the title. Platt is a two-time all-conference golfer Niall Platt — Jr. ✦ Men's Golf Platt, a native of Santa Barbara, Calif., won the Southern at Notre Dame and currently holds the second-lowest 54- hole score in school history, which he shot at the end of his freshman year. The SCGA victory highlights a successful summer for Platt, who netted three top-10 finishes in the last two months. of the lead heading into the final day of the Silk Collegiate Team Championship to start their school year in early August. The pair represented Notre Dame in the 54-team tournament that featured duos from Division I, II and III schools. The Irish pair finished eighth overall and six strokes back from first-place Tennessee. Armstrong birdied two holes on the back nine of her last Ashley Armstrong — So. ✦ Women's Golf Armstrong and Irish junior Kristina Nhim held a piece round to keep the team in the top 10. She shot a two-over- par 74 on the final day after combining with Nhim to shoot a pair of 69s in the alternate and best ball rounds to start the tournament. ond team at the end of his junior year af- ter contributing one goal and four assists to the Irish offense. He was also named a Scholar All-American by the national coaches association. Powers will be one of two captains for Notre Dame's team this fall in his final season with the Irish. 2012 All-Big East Preseason team during the first week of August along with team- mate Ryan Finley. Powers made the all-conference sec- PRESEASON 2012 15 Dillon Powers — Sr. ✦ Men's Soccer Notre Dame's steady senior midfielder was named to the