Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The decade in Notre Dame sports

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.

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posted @ Wednesday, December 30, 2009 11:53 PM

 

 

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