A Notre Dame Football Blog
It's been a while--bowl season to be precise--since I've graced the pages of HLS. A lot has happened since I've been gone: a dramatic win in the Citrus Bowl that helped to wash away a difficult November of Notre Dame football, a litany of injuries in for men's and women's basketball, making for a long winter, and a stellar season of Irish Hockey storming through the Big Ten that helped ease the pain. Then came February 13th, 2018. As many of you know on this day, Notre Dame lost their NCAA ...
The NCAA released the latest tranche of data pertaining to the graduation rates of the country's student-athletes, known as Academic Progress Rate, or APR. On this Day o' the Draft, a day in which we all prostrate ourselves before the altar of mercantilism and money, I felt it somehow appropriate to look at how the Irish did this year, insofar as academics are concerned. I think you might be surprised. "This year" is, of course, a complicated term, when speaking of a program's APR. Earlier ...
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone! I hope you read this with a pint of the Black Stuff in your hands and friends and family around you. More likely though, you’re sitting in your office or in a class somewhere looking to kill a few minutes. If that’s the case, then please, still try to find a nice stiff drink or say a calming meditation because I’m about to bring up everyone’s favorite topic: Should the NCAA permit payment to student athletes? Why am I bringing this up? Well, it’s found a new ...
via @LTorbin
Outlined against a clear-blue August sky, the Lone Horseman rode again. In dramatic lore he is known as the Purple-Faced Monster. This is only an alias. His real name is Brian Kelly. He trotted in front of his South Bend squad before which another practice would be held in the friendly confines of the Culver Academies as a handful of Fighting Irish Digital Media employees peered through their camera lenses and over their Twitter devices at the bewildering sight prancing on the synthetic field ...
As I mentioned last week, the O'Bannon case is in full swing. Currently the NCAA is "presenting" their defense. I say "presenting" because they are absolutely making a complete mess out of it. For those that aren't aware what the case is about, here is the quick version: Former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon has brought an antitrust class action lawsuit against the NCAA saying they are profiting off images and likeness of former student athletes and those athletes have no right to ...
Via @RussellSauve
Jameis Winston decided to break up a boring week in the long offseason by stealing crab legs from a local Publix. Winston admitted that he forgot to pay, yet didn't care to go back and correct his error. I'm sure the police asked why he decided just sitting around with pilfered seafood was a good idea. Well, Molly and I put our heads together and figured that it went something like this... The crab legs is always sweeter When it's something you just take. You dream about paying up ...
This past week has seen quite a bit of change for Notre Dame. Of course, HLS being primarily a football site, I'm sure the change that most readily comes to mind is the upcoming switch to field turf at Notre Dame Stadium. The attention given to this little announcement, and the debates/angst/celebration that have followed, pale in comparison to what I would consider far bigger announcements made by ND this week. On the football side, a "Football Ambassador" group has been announced. This paid ...
Spring has arrived at Notre Dame...well, spring football at least. Much like signing day, it is a period of (mostly) unbridled optimism for the program. This spring is no exception and doubly so with the return of Everett Golson to the Irish and knowing that there is no backup QB named Tommy Rees. Hey, no offense to Tommy. I will always appreciate what he did for this program; however, I am not going to miss "TOMMY NO!" being in the back of my mind. The fact is that Everett Golson was ...
Credit: Notre Dame Student Welfare & Development
When Northwestern football players filed paperwork to form a union, the resulting fallout was all too predictable. Official statements would be made triggering the narrative/debate that the NCAA is exploitative garbage to once again rise back to the top, especially among the majority of the media. Battle lines drawn, black and white paint applied. Rinse, lather, repeat. Like clockwork, Northwestern gave a "good job, good effort" pat on the back to their students and passed the buck. The NCAA ...
So what can make Notre Dame football fans freak out more than rumors of field turf or a jumbotron? A tweet like this: https://twitter.com/UniWatch/statuses/412716193955340289 CLICK CLACK! START PANICKING! I'm not even sure what causes such hair pulling or, quite frankly, why there is even a preference among fans as to whether Adidas, Nike, or Under Armor is the one to put their logo on Notre Dame's uniform. After all, Notre Dame has been pretty consistent with their uniform practices ...