Brian Kelly didn't have much to say about star receiver
Michael Floyd's citation for underage drinking that followed what police reports termed a "physical altercation" at a house party in Minneapolis on Jan. 8. There wasn't much Kelly could say, legally, regarding Floyd, the citation and his hearing with Notre Dame's own disciplinary arm, the office of residence life.
"I'm just following the rules, guys," Kelly said after his signing day press conference Wednesday. "It's been adjudicated and we're moving forward."
Kelly did say that Floyd is working out with the team.
Meanwhile, Kelly was able to provide updates on a couple of key injured players — quarterback
Dayne Crist and tight end
Kyle Rudolph.
Crist is "well ahead of anybody's" projections for his recovery from an ACL tear, Kelly said, and should be able to participate in everything except contact drills this spring.
"Nobody will get in his ZIP code area," Kelly said. "But you're going to see a lot of him in the spring."
Rudolph had shoulder surgery and is since "engaged in moving." Kelly said he was "really positive" about his recovery.
Two players are not currently working out because of injuries — running back
Theo Riddick (shoulder) and kicker
Brandon Walker (back). Walker's injury "is not going away," Kelly said.
"We're going to have to go longer to find out whether he can sustain his physical stamina through that," Kelly said of Walker.
On a November morning in 2003, Notre Dame basketball coach
Mike Brey met with then-athletic director
Kevin White, who had a jaw-dropping piece of advice for him: Get ready to join the Big Ten Conference.
For a couple days, Brey said Thursday, he was mentally preparing to switch leagues as the Big East went through a realignment process that started when Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech left for the ACC. The Big East eventually added five teams, ensuring its stability and keeping Notre Dame where it was.
"Now I don't even think about that," Brey said about being in the Big Ten. "We are in the Big East and we're going to be in the Big East for a while and, obviously, independent football is a very, very important part of the fabric of this place. So as that stays the same, our Olympic sports and basketball will stay in the Big East. But for about a 48-hour window, I thought real hard about that and was trying to figure out about it, because it was presented to me."
Given Notre Dame's up-and-down-the-court playing style, it's hard to imagine the Irish meshing with the grind-it-out Big Ten, and Brey said he might have had to tweak his philosophy to play in the Big Ten. He also wondered if Notre Dame's fast pace might give his team an advantage.
"I think how we play here and how I've coached and given the clientele we attract, I don't think we'd have sat here and gone, 'Oh, we have to do all these things,'" Brey said, referring to slowing it down and being more physical. "I think I was thinking, 'OK, if we're in that league, how does our style play in that league?' Is it a league that's a little more half-court? I think year-in and year-out, it has been one, and maybe more of a possession-by-possession league. What would be your niche?"
Brey also wondered how a move to a Midwest-based league would affect his recruiting on the East Coast.
"There was anxiety," Brey said. "God, what does that mean to our Eastern connections? We've recruited pretty well in that corridor of D.C. to Boston. What will that mean, us going back in there? Will we have any kind of clout if we're playing in the Big Ten?"
During that uncertain period for the Big East, the league had a coaches' meeting — with the coaches not even sure there was a league anymore.
"We didn't know if we were going to exist," Brey said. "It was the weirdest meeting."
As soon as Brey entered the meeting, Syracuse coach
Jim Boeheim said, "So you guys are going to Big Ten, right?"
It was almost a done deal.
"That was an interesting 48 hours, no question," Brey said.
Chances are I missed a few moments along the way, but here's a recap of most of the major Notre Dame sports moments of the past 10 years:
July 14, 2000: Delaware's Mike Brey hired as Notre Dame men's basketball coach, replacing Matt Doherty, who left for North Carolina after one season with the Irish.
Jan. 15, 2001: Third-ranked Notre Dame beats No. 1 Connecticut 92-76 at the sold-out Joyce Center and ascends to the top spot in the women's basketball poll a week later.
March 6, 2001: Notre Dame men's basketball player Troy Murphy shares the Big East Conference player of the year award with Boston College's Troy Bell.
March 16, 2001: Notre Dame beats Xavier 83-71 for its first men's basketball NCAA tournament victory in 12 years.
April 1, 2001: Notre Dame wins its first women's basketball national championship, beating Purdue 68-66 on Ruth Riley's two free throws with 5.8 seconds remaining. The Irish finish 34-2.
Nov. 16, 2001: Notre Dame freshman Chris Thomas records a triple-double — the first in school history — in the team's season-opening win over New Hampshire.
Dec. 2, 2001: Bob Davie fired as Notre Dame football coach after posting a 35-25 record in five seasons.
Dec. 9, 2001: Georgia Tech's George O'Leary hired as Notre Dame football coach.
Dec. 14, 2001: George O'Leary resigns as Notre Dame football coach after inaccuracies on his résumé were discovered.
Dec. 31, 2001: Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham hired as Notre Dame football coach. Willingham's Irish win their first eight games in 2002, reaching No. 4 in the national rankings.
Feb. 9, 2002: Notre Dame's men's basketball team beats Georgetown 116-111 in four overtimes in the longest game in school history and highest-scoring game in the history of the Big East Conference. It's also the 1,500th win in school history.
June 10, 2002: Notre Dame's baseball team advances to the College World Series for the first time in 45 years.
Jan. 12, 2003: Notre Dame reaches No. 5 in the Associated Press men's basketball rankings, its highest ranking of the decade.
Feb. 9, 2003: No. 10 Notre Dame beats No. 4 Pittsburgh in the first men's basketball game between top-10 teams at the Joyce Center in 23 years.
March 22, 2003: Notre Dame beats Illinois 68-60 to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Aug. 17, 2004: Incoming Notre Dame freshman Mariel Zagunis wins the Olympic gold medal in women's sabre, the first American in 100 years to win a fencing gold.
Aug. 28, 2004: Former Notre Dame player Ruth Riley wins a gold medal as a member of the United States Olympic women's basketball team.
Nov. 30, 2004: Tyrone Willingham fired as Notre Dame football coach after posting a 21-15 record in three seasons.
Dec. 5, 2004: Notre Dame wins the NCAA women's soccer national championship, beating UCLA on penalty kicks.
Dec. 12, 2004: Charlie Weis, the offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, is hired as Notre Dame football coach.
Sept. 10, 2005: Notre Dame beats third-ranked Michigan for what is, to date, its last victory against a top-10 team.
Oct. 15, 2005: Ninth-ranked Notre Dame loses to No. 1 USC 34-31 when Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart sneaks in from the 1-yard line, helped by a push from running back Reggie Bush.
Jan. 1, 2006: Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis wins the Eddie Robinson national coach of the year award.
April 22, 2006: Highly touted prep quarterback Jimmy Clausen announces his commitment to play at Notre Dame.
Sept. 16, 2006: Notre Dame, ranked second in the AP football poll, loses 47-21 at home to Michigan, ending the team's championship hopes.
Sept. 23, 2006: Notre Dame overcomes a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to post a 40-37 win at Michigan State.
Oct. 21, 2006: Brady Quinn's 45-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija with 27 seconds to go caps an 80-yard drive and gives Notre Dame a 20-17 victory over UCLA. It's voted the greatest play of the Charlie Weis era by und.com users.
Dec. 7, 2006: Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn wins the Maxwell Award as the top player in college football.
Jan. 3, 2007: Notre Dame loses 41-14 to LSU in the Sugar Bowl, its second consecutive lopsided BCS bowl loss.
Jan. 19, 2007: Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija signs a five-year contract to pitch for the Chicago Cubs.
Sept. 1, 2007: Notre Dame loses its season opener 33-3 at home against Georgia Tech, the first of five consecutive losses to start the season.
Oct. 6, 2007: Notre Dame picks up its first football win of the 2007 season, beating UCLA 20-6 at the Rose Bowl to end a seven-game losing streak.
Nov. 3, 2007: Notre Dame loses to Navy 46-44 in three overtimes, ending its NCAA-record 43-game winning streak over the Midshipmen.
March 11, 2008: Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody named Big East Conference men's basketball player of the year.
April 12, 2008: Notre Dame's hockey team loses 4-1 to Boston College in the NCAA championship game.
April 28, 2008: Former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn is chosen by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the NFL draft.
May 1, 2008: Former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz is elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Oct. 13, 2008: Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis is hit by Irish player John Ryan on the sidelines and tears the ACL and MCL in his left knee.
Oct. 29, 2008: Former Notre Dame pitcher Brad Lidge gets the save for the Philadelphia Phillies in the decisive fifth game of the World Series, and finishes the season a perfect 48 of 48 in save opportunities.
Nov. 1, 2008: Notre Dame loses to Pittsburgh 36-33 in four overtimes in the longest football game in school history.
Dec. 24, 2008: Notre Dame snaps its NCAA-record nine-game bowl losing streak with a 49-21 victory over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl.
Sept. 23, 2009: The College Football Hall of Fame announces it is leaving South Bend.
Feb. 4, 2009: Hawaiian prep linebacker Manti Te'o commits to play football at Notre Dame.
March 25, 2009: Notre Dame closes the Joyce Center with a 77-67 men's basketball NIT victory over Kentucky.
Nov. 7, 2009: Notre Dame loses to Navy for the second time in three years.
Nov. 14, 2009: Notre Dame plays its first regular-season basketball game at Purcell Pavilion, beating North Florida 86-65 in a men's game.
Nov. 26, 2009: Muffet McGraw wins her 500th game as Notre Dame women's basketball coach.
Nov. 30, 2009: Notre Dame fires football coach Charlie Weis after posting a 35-27 record in five seasons.
Dec. 7, 2009: Record-setting quarterback Jimmy Clausen and receiver Golden Tate announce that they are passing up their senior seasons at Notre Dame to enter the NFL draft.
Dec. 10, 2009: Notre Dame hires Cincinnati's Brian Kelly as its new football coach.
Dec. 10, 2009: Notre Dame receiver Golden Tate wins the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top wide receiver.
It's halftime at Purcell Pavilion, with the Irish up by 4 over the Bruins. That matches Notre Dame's largest lead of the half. UCLA has been up by as many as 6, most recently at 26-20.
The bad news for Notre Dame is that its defense hasn't improved much since the last game. UCLA is shooting 57.7 percent from the field.
After starting 0 for 4 from the field, Luke Harangody made 5 of his last 7 shots and has 12 points to lead the Irish. Ben Hansbrough has 9 points — including a four-point play — as does Jonathan Peoples.
Michael Roll has 11 points and Malcolm Lee 10 for the Bruins.
New Notre Dame football coach
Brian Kelly will be on "Mike and Mike in the Morning" on ESPN radio at 9:12 a.m. Tuesday and on "The Dan Patrick Show" at 9:35 a.m. Kelly will also be on WSBT radio's "Weekday Sportsbeat" show at 6:30 p.m. (That's 960 AM for the local readers.)
One other interesting note on the Kelly front: According to Notre Dame, Kelly's introductory press conference had been viewed 193,903 times on und.com as of 10:30 this morning.
Notre Dame receiver
Golden Tate captured two first-place votes in Heisman Trophy balloting and finished 10th overall with 21 points. Tate also got three second-place votes and nine votes for third.
The complete breakdown (1st-2nd-3rd—Total; voting on a 3-2-1 basis):
Mark Ingram, Alabama 227-236-151—1304
Toby Gerhart, Stanford 222-225-160—1276
Colt McCoy, Texas 203-188-160—1145
Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska 161-105-122—815
Tim Tebow, Florida 43-70-121—390
C.J. Spiller, Clemson 26-31-83—223
Kellen Moore, Boise State 10-20-30—100
Case Keenum, Houston 2-9-13—37
Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati 2-2-13—23
Golden Tate, Notre Dame 2-3-9—21
Jarred DuBois hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 8 seconds to go to give Loyola Marymount a surprising 87-85 win over Notre Dame.
I'd say it was a shocking loss for the Irish, but no team that plays defense like Notre Dame did Saturday night should be shocked when it loses. LMU shot 52 percent from the field and was able to get to the basket time and time again.
Notre Dame had a chance to go ahead when Tory Jackson drove the lane in the final seconds, but Jackson's shot was off and the rebound came down to the Lions' Drew Viney, who fired it downcourt as the clock expired.
Shades of the December loss to Central Michigan in 2003, a game which might've kept the Irish out of the NCAA tournament that season. We'll see what happens this March.
More in my full story later.
It's halftime at Purcell Pavilion, where Notre Dame leads Loyola Marymount 45-44 in a fast-paced game, the second of the day here. (The Irish women's team trounced Valparaiso 88-47 earlier in the day.)
The Irish bolted to leads of 7-0 and 16-6, but LMU came back to take a 24-20 lead, its largest of the game so far. The teams were tied at 33-33 when Luke Harangody was called for a foul he disagreed with on the defensive end of the floor and then came back to throw down a one-handed slam on the other with 4:23 left in the half to give the Irish the lead, and they haven't given it up since. The Lions closed within one point on a floater in the lane by Vernon Teel that just beat the buzzer.
Harangody has 17 points and Tim Abromaitis 10 for the Irish, who are shooting 53 percent. Ashley Hamilton has 10 off the bench for the Lions, who are shooting 52 percent. LMU is out-rebounding Notre Dame 19-13.
A couple other notes:
• One of LMU's three wins this season came over Academy of Art University.
Check out their cool logo — what you'd expect from a school with a design program.
• And our halftime entertainment tonight was a
66-year old man shooting 3-pointers. He made 39 out of 50 (!), including nine of his last 10.
Golden Tate has been named to another All-America team, this one selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
The other receiver on the team was Bowling Green's Freddie Barnes.
To see the complete team,
click here.
The story of the day at Notre Dame, obviously, was the hiring of
Brian Kelly as football coach. (Just making sure everyone had heard the news.) But athletic director
Jack Swarbrick took some general questions as well. Here are some of his comments:
• On the subject of the referees who work Notre Dame games, it didn’t sound as if changes were in the works.
“Administratively, you have to affiliate with some conference officiating group,” Swarbrick said. “You can’t be a la carte. You can’t go to the Big 12 one week and say, ‘Hey, can we have a crew?’ or the Big East the next week, because they can’t staff and schedule.
“You have to know a year in advance, so you have to make a conference decision. So that’s the first decision you’re making. You wind up with circumstances where it ought to work, but the problem is it’s never your conference officials. It’s the reality of it. We can’t form a Notre Dame crew that we take around, or no one will play us. It just is what it is. It’s not an obstacle to being successful.
The officiating situation was not a point of discussion when Notre Dame recently renewed its contract with Purdue, Swarbrick said.
“We have this anomaly with the Michigan contract, but with every other contract you do, the visiting team, they designate the officials,” Swarbrick said. “That the basic structure. Sometimes, you’ll deal with a team that won’t feel particularly strongly about that and they’ll give you an opportunity to have your guys do a home game. But generally speaking, the industry standard is the visiting team designates the officials.”
• Former coach
Charlie Weis said Residence Life was the “biggest negative issue” on the Notre Dame campus, but Swarbrick said “No,” decisively, when asked if Res Life was a problem.
“I’m not commenting on Charlie’s perspective,” Swarbrick said. “He has his own perspective, but that was never a focus of any of this.”
• Swarbrick didn’t completely rule out junior-college transfers being accepted at Notre Dame, but he didn’t sound terribly receptive to the idea, either.
“I don’t know,” Swarbrick said. “It’s never a question that’s come up. I haven’t had to deal with it. It’s certainly not our model.”