Notre Dame Hires Indianapolis Lawyer as Athletic Director

Jack Swarbrick is the new athletic director at the University of Notre Dame. The announcement that Swarbrick would be the new AD came yesterday morning at a news conference. Read up on the whole story here, at Sports Illustrated.com. Apparently Swarbrick was impressive enough in his interviews, and his work in getting some sporting events to the city of Indianapolis. He was able to secure Indy as the host city for multiple Final Fours, the 2012 Super Bowl and some Big Ten tournaments. He graduated from Notre Dame, and has extensive knowledge about college athletics. In the news conference about the hire, everyone seemed to share a full vote of confidence in the hiring.

But where does this new guy stand on the issues? Does he favor the bowl system, or does he prefer a playoff system in college football? Will he keep Notre Dame independent in football, or will he try to seek out a conference to join in the next few years? Will he make any drastic changes in coaching personnel? Will he try to change up the way the football schedule has gone? Read the article to find out, but you’ll probably be glad to hear that Swarbrick is not planning on rocking the boat very much.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 17, 2008 - Post a comment

Notre Dame Will Announce New AD Today!!!

The University of Notre Dame is prepared to announce the new Athletic Director of the school’s sports teams today, and the anticipation here at the Notre Dame Bog is just killing us. By all accounts close to the decision, there’s one guy in particular that the Irish are looking at putting in Kevin White’s old position as the AD… but still, this could be any body’s guess.

As you probably know, the storyline for the AD job has gone like this: Kevin White, a fine AD by all standards, left to get the same job at Duke. The search for a new AD sparked up immediately, with several names entering the list of possible candidates. The Notre Dame AD job is possibly the hardest and most sought-after AD gig in the nation, so the competition was supposed to be fierce.

However, there seems to be a basic understanding by people who are in the know that the Irish are set on picking a lawyer from Indianapolis named Jack Swarbrick. They guy helped to get the Super Bowl in Indy in 2012, and he’s a graduate of Notre Dame. Stay tuned to see how we dissect the pick tomorrow.

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on July 16, 2008 - Post a comment

Irish Stars Appear on Award Watch Lists

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a few players on the watch list of some important individual college football awards. Jimmy Clausen is on the Maxwell Award watch list. David Bruton was named on the Jim Thorpe Award Watch, and Maurice Crum Jr. was put onto the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list.

While there’s no guarantee that these Irish players will win the awards, getting put on the “watch list” is an important first step. It just basically means that the people deciding who will get the award have their eye on a few of the players most likely to be among those in the running. Because the Irish are such a famous team, it seems likely that they would have not only a few star players, but a large viewing audience that will defiantly notice if they are playing extraordinarily. You might remember that Brady Quinn won the Maxwell Award in his senior season at Notre Dame- that just goes to tell you about the kind of player they are looking for.

Good luck, Jimmy, Maurice and David. We hope you win the awards, but more importantly, we hope you get the Irish into a bowl. The fact that Notre Dame struggled last year might actually help you get noticed, since any improvement will certainly show up on the radar of the college football world.

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Permalink - Posted in General on July 15, 2008 - Post a comment

CornerBack Not ComingBack

We’ve got some sad news to bring you Notre Dame Blog readers this Monday morning. Apparently one of last year’s starting cornerbacks will not be coming back to play for the Irish this upcoming season. Darrin Walls, who you might remember as the guy who returned an interception for 73 yards and a touchdown in the Penn State game last year, has decided to decline his enrollment for next semester, citing personal reasons. Walls is a great cornerback and if you saw the games he played in last year, you know he’s a playmaker and a vital part of the defense. The Irish will move on, as they have several eligible candidates to fill in for Walls. We’d like to wish Darrin a safe journey in the future- hopefully whatever personal issues he’s having will be resolved soon enough. We’d like to see him out on the field as soon as possible, but taking care of yourself and/or your family is more important.

In other news, D.J. Hord, who played a little last year at the receiver position, will transfer to another school prior to the beginning of this season. Although he was not a starter, he had a shot this year, and as you know, the Irish need all the experience they can get with the offense.

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on July 14, 2008 - Post a comment

Weis Predicts Irish Will Win 9-12 Games This Year

Will the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team get 12 wins this next season? Apparently coach Charlie Weis thinks so. It’s an optimistic approach, but hey, you’ve got to be pretty optimistic considering the class that Notre Dame just pulled in, plus the improved situation from last year’s disastrous 3-9 season. The Irish will have a tough schedule coming up this next football season, but according to an article in Blue and Gold Illustrated, Weis privately thinks that the Irish can win between nine and 12 games. We got this hot rumor off of Sports Illustrated at their Fan Nation site.

So do you think that the Irish can win 12 games? When we went over the schedule for next season week by week, we determined that nine games was certainly in the realm of possibilities, so it’s not that far off. And besides, who would expect the head football coach to suggest that their team was going to have a losing record? I wouldn’t believe it for a second. So hopefully the Irish do accomplish this lofty goal- a bowl game would be a certainty.

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on July 11, 2008 - Post a comment

Notre Dame Basketball Coach Brey Signs Contract Extension

In college basketball, a good coach can make all the difference between a program with no future, and a program that stays good for years and years. The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame made a great investment in the future this past week when they signed Coach Mike Brey to another two years as the head coach of the Notre Dame men’s basketball team. Brey’s accomplishments are vast and impressive. In addition to leading the Irish to the Sweet Sixteen in 2003, he has an overall record of 167-86 as head coach. The Irish have been to the NCAA Tourney the past two years, and are widely considered to be among the favorites to win the Big East this season. Said Mike Brey about his contract extension:

“When I was named the head coach at Notre Dame my goal was to retire here. I believe in the mission of this special place and it has been such a great fit for me and my family. I love the momentum of our program and the facility improvements that we are making at the Joyce Center. I am extremely thankful to Father Jenkins for his support of our program and greatly appreciate the confidence that he has in me.”

Coach Brey will be in town until the 2014-15 season, unless of course they want him to sign another extension. At this rate, and with the success he’s had, we could have Mr. Brey in South Bend for a long time. The Notre Dame Blog thinks that’s a wonderful idea.

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on July 10, 2008 - Post a comment

Miami Calls Out Notre Dame

This story is coming at you from the pages of the Truth and Rumors section of Fan Nation, a part of Sports Illustrated.com. Apparently the Miami Hurricanes are looking to have a go with Notre Dame on the football field. Accoring to the Miami Herrald, the Hurricane are interested in meeting with Notre Dame in one of thier upcoming home game-neutral site events, one which would allow fans of both teams who happen to live in different areas of the country to see a live game. We’ve reported on the neutral site games before. Some are going to take place in the South, in venues such as the new Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

A matchup with Miami would not happen immediately, as the schedule is already out for the upcoming seaosn. However, considering the strength of Miami and the intended strength of Notre Dame, this should be a good pairing, one that doesnt happen quite often enough. The Irish have their set rivalries- Michigan, USC, Penn State, Army- but getting some fresh blood out there on the field is always a good idea. Look out for tickets to a Miami-Notre Dame game. And it might take place at a neutral site.

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on July 9, 2008 - Post a comment

Sporting News Takes on Charlie Weis

It’s easy to find a problem with Charlie Weis, but not so easy to actually know the guy. People in a position of power, like Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis, often have a huge magnifying glass on them, and through that glass, the public gets a first-rate view of every error, every mistake, every shortcoming. However, what the media often fails to tell is the whole story, the complete picture of the man. However, The Sporting News has a pretty good article about Charlie, and you should check it out if you feel you should be informed on the whole story.

To be fair, Charlie has made some mistakes in coaching and his season last year was, well, it wasn’t so hot. Everyone’s already prepared to see a much better Irish team out there in 2008-’09. But as much as you can question his coaching, personal barbs are not necessary with Weis, who is actually a pretty nice guy, albeit misunderstood. In one of the best quotes from the interview, Weis said of his reputation:

“My problem is not scrutiny as a coach, it’s scrutiny as a person. Character is important to me. Almost to a person, when people meet me, it’s completely 180 degrees different from what they thought. They look at me like they can’t believe it. So where is the miscommunication?”

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on July 8, 2008 - Post a comment

Big East Basketball Schedules Out… Well, Sort Of…

The schedule of the Big East portion of the basketball season is out… well, not entirely. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s basketball team learned who it would play twice next season, but the actual dates and times of the games are still up in the air. According to this article at UND.com, the Irish will play every team in the Big East at least once next season, and they will play Connecticut, Louisville and St. John’s twice- once at home and once on the road. Domer fans can also look forward to seeing Georgetown, Marquette, Rutgers, Seton Hall, USF and Villanova at home at the Joyce Center next season. Although, as stated before, we have no idea when these teams will actually be in South Bend.

Although Louisville, UConn and St. John’s will all be hard opponents to play, the Irish are looking like one of the leaders in the conference already. There’s no doubt that the Irish played well last season against their conference foes. In fact, Notre Dame is undefeated in the past 18 games against their Big East opponents at home. They also have a 37-game home winning streak heading into next season. Needless to say, this news about the schedule, however incomplete, is getting this Irish fan pumped already.

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on July 7, 2008 - Post a comment

Notre Dame Football Tickets Lottery Should Be the Biggest Ever

Fans who get a lot of Notre Dame football tickets are probably well aware that they are sold in a lottery every year. The demand for tickets to see the Fighting Irish at home in South Bend is so high that fans must send in a deposit and get on a waiting list for months… and then they might not even be able to get tickets if they are not selected in the lottery. The football tickets market has been increasing every year since the lottery began, and this year ought to be no different. In fact, according to the article about the football ticket lottery at UND.com,, this year should be the biggest on record for the Notre Dame football season. More fans than ever want tickets, even though the team did not have a winning record last year.

The first game of the season will pit the Irish against the San Diego State Aztecs, but other home games, such as those against Stanford and Michigan, are even more in demand. The results of the lottery will be out on Tuesday next week, so be sure to check in to see if you won. The alumni will get preference in the lottery, and they are expected to win tickets at a rate that’s about double the rest of the population.

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on July 3, 2008 - Post a comment


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