Since leaving Notre Dame in July of 2023, I've been working with the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation on the building of a "forever home" for young adults with an intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) in Palm Beach County, FL. For the first time ever -- adults with an I/DD are living longer than their parents.
Who is going to take care of them when Mom and Dad no longer can? This is a huge looming issue in our country...
TO LEARN MORE & MAKE A GIFT -- PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE
Here's a few Moms talking about the issues faced when a son or daughter is diagnosed with an I/DD:
One of the most talented (hyped) rosters in all of women's college basketball -- flew home to South Bend last night, not living up to the potential of what should have been.
I could go on and on as to why I think we are where we are with this program -- but I'll leave it with these three thoughts:
Player development is suspect -- who has improved since their arrival?
Our head coach is all ME and MY -- not WE and OUR -- could learn from Marcus Freeman on how leaders communicate.
We have only signed TWO RECRUITS the past two recruiting cycles -- in a program that has a very short bench and injury prone -- why?
Here's who is expected to return next season:
Hannah Hidalgo -- All-American, can she make those around her better?
Cassandra Prosper -- has not lived up to the recruiting hype yet -- missed most of last season with an injury
KK Bransford -- sat out this season (lingering leg injury)
Leah Macy -- only incoming HS recruit -- rumored ACL (knee) injury, happened in January, will she even be available for 2025-26 season?
I guess the decision has been made to major in the TRANSFER PORTAL and minor in HIGH SCHOOL recruiting -- as our roster management strategy. Never thought we'd see this at the University of Notre Dame.
UPDATE:
Olivia Miles has chosen to enter the Transfer Portal over returning to
Notre Dame or entering the WNBA Draft. Joining her in the Transfer Portal is Emma Risch -- a sophomore who has had injury issues since her arrival in South Bend. Kate Koval, last year's top recruit (and only) -- game seemed to regress over the season. And now, Kylee Watson has entered the Transfer Portal...
Notre Dame can't even play five-on-five basketball -- until June at the earliest.
Here's the "Gold-Lining" to this cloud -- I want to believe Niele will do the following:
Find a roster out of the Transfer Portal that will get us competitive next season
Look at her staff and make some needed changes to improve all aspects of the operation
Player development
Recruiting
Game management
Strength training
Etc
Recruit, recruit, recruit -- the top high school talent in the country -- it is necessary
They have a University second to none
They have a fan base second to none
And, they have a practice facility second to none
And, work on how to communicate like a leader of a championship program. It's not ME and MY -- it's WE and OUR. It has to be about "all" (the team) and should never be about you.
Notre Dame has won four of the last five National Championships in Fencing! And, it's the 36th NCAA National Championship (team) in Notre Dame's history. Congrats!
We are in the process of finalizing a fundraising campaign to build a FOREVER HOME for these forever children from The IDDeal Foundation. If you'd like to help us finish the fund raising for The IDDeal Place -- please click on the link below:
The Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall -- the future home of Notre Dame Football, is going up as we speak. Here's a photo of the construction site -- along with an image of what it will look like when it's completed in 2026 -- and its location on campus.
Former Notre Dame team captain -- and six-time NFL All-Pro selection -- Harrison Smith, just signed on for a fourteenth year with the Minnesota Vikings. The former 1st Round NFL pick's latest contract negotiation bumps him up to #2 on this all-time list of Notre Dame student-athletes working in professional sports as an athlete or coach:
Ronnie Stanley: $168,645,183 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2028
Harrison Smith: $132,735,243 -- contract to 2026
Monty Williams: $125,900,000
Quenton Nelson: $118,819,452 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Mike McGlinchey: $116,981,966 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Jeff Samardzija: $116,341,666
Zack Martin: $113,240,531
Aaron Banks: $85,565,019 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2029
Craig Counsell: $79,055,000 -- guaranteed contract to 2029
AJ Pollock: $78,498,337
Anders Lee: $66,044,038 -- guaranteed contract to 2025
Troy Murphy: $66,000,000
Kyle Rudolph: $59,936,853
Cole Kmet: $59,161,763 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2027
Golden Tate: $56,421,672
Stephon Tuitt: $55,710,551
Pat Connaughton: $55,542,117 -- guaranteed contract to 2026
Brad Lidge: $55,335,000
Kyle Palmieri: $50,192,154 -- guaranteed contract to 2025
Bryan Rust: $46,670,000 -- guaranteed contract to 2028
Bryant Young: $44,000,000
Justin Tuck: $43,248,463
Ian Cole: $37.849,694 -- guaranteed contract to 2026
Romeo Okwara: $36,855,601
John Sullivan: $35,800,027
Jerome Bettis: $35,122,500
Jeff Faine: $34,456,892
Will Fuller: $34,246,582
Jaylon Smith: $33,316,297
Joe Alt: $33,160,944 -- guaranteed contract to 2027
Matt Carroll: $29,537,032
Tim Brown: $28,432,686
Robert Hainsey: $28,315,064 -- not guaranteed contract to 2028
Former Notre Dame star Robert Hainsey just signed a three-year $21,000,000
contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars! It moved Hainsey onto this all-time Notre Dame list of earnings for a professional athlete / professional coach:
Ronnie Stanley: $168,645,183 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2028
Monty Williams: $125,900,000
Harrison Smith: $122,735,243 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Quenton Nelson: $118,819,452 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Mike McGlinchey: $116,981,966 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Jeff Samardzija: $116,341,666
Zack Martin: $113,240,531
Aaron Banks: $85,565,019 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2029
Craig Counsell: $79,055,000 -- guaranteed contract to 2029
AJ Pollock: $78,498,337
Anders Lee: $66,044,038 -- guaranteed contract to 2025
Troy Murphy: $66,000,000
Kyle Rudolph: $59,936,853
Cole Kmet: $59,161,763 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2027
Golden Tate: $56,421,672
Stephon Tuitt: $55,710,551
Pat Connaughton: $55,542,117 -- guaranteed contract to 2026
Brad Lidge: $55,335,000
Kyle Palmieri: $50,192,154 -- guaranteed contract to 2025
Bryan Rust: $46,670,000 -- guaranteed contract to 2028
Bryant Young: $44,000,000
Justin Tuck: $43,248,463
Ian Cole: $37.849,694 -- guaranteed contract to 2026
Romeo Okwara: $36,855,601
John Sullivan: $35,800,027
Jerome Bettis: $35,122,500
Jeff Faine: $34,456,892
Will Fuller: $34,246,582
Jaylon Smith: $33,316,297
Joe Alt: $33,160,944 -- guaranteed contract to 2027
Matt Carroll: $29,537,032
Tim Brown: $28,432,686
Robert Hainsey: $28,315,064 -- not guaranteed contract to 2028
Former Notre Dame star Aaron Banks just signed a four-year $77,000,000 contract with the Green Bay Packers! It moved Banks to #8 all-time on this Notre Dame list! Here's the list
Ronnie Stanley: $168,645,183 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2028
Monty Williams: $125,900,000
Harrison Smith: $122,735,243 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Quenton Nelson: $118,819,452 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Mike McGlinchey: $116,981,966 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Jeff Samardzija: $116,341,666
Zack Martin: $113,240,531
Aaron Banks: $85,565,019 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2029
AJ Pollock: $78,498,337
Anders Lee: $66,044,038 -- guaranteed contract to 2025
Troy Murphy: $66,000,000
Kyle Rudolph: $59,936,853
Cole Kmet: $59,161,763 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2027
Golden Tate: $56,421,672
Stephon Tuitt: $55,710,551
Pat Connaughton: $55,542,117 -- guaranteed contract to 2026
Brad Lidge: $55,335,000
Kyle Palmieri: $50,192,154 -- guaranteed contract to 2025
Bryan Rust: $46,670,000 -- guaranteed contract to 2028
Bryant Young: $44,000,000
Justin Tuck: $43,248,463
Ian Cole: $37.849,694 -- guaranteed contract to 2026
Romeo Okwara: $36,855,601
John Sullivan: $35,800,027
Jerome Bettis: $35,122,500
Jeff Faine: $34,456,892
Will Fuller: $34,246,582
Jaylon Smith: $33,316,297
Joe Alt: $33,160,944 -- guaranteed contract to 2027
The Fighting Irish came into the Big Ten Hockey Tournament with a record of 10 - 23. Their two wins over the weekend to defeat Minnesota (the #3 ranked team in the country) -- shocked the hockey world!
Notre Dame now advances to play the #2 ranked Michigan State Spartans -- the Big Ten regular season champs -- this Saturday in East Lansing, MI. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
It was just announced that Ronnie Stanley has signed a three-year $60,000,000 dollar extension with the Baltimore Ravens today -- moving him back up to the highest paid former Notre Dame student-athlete all-time. Here's the list:
Ronnie Stanley: $168,645,183 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2028
Monty Williams: $125,900,000
Harrison Smith: $122,735,243 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Quenton Nelson: $118,819,452 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Mike McGlinchey: $116,981,966 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2026
Jeff Samardzija: $116,341,666
Zack Martin: $113,240,531
AJ Pollock: $78,498,337
Anders Lee: $66,044,038 -- guaranteed contract to 2025
Troy Murphy: $66,000,000
Kyle Rudolph: $59,936,853
Cole Kmet: $59,161,763 -- not guaranteed, contract to 2027
Golden Tate: $56,421,672
Stephon Tuitt: $55,710,551
Pat Connaughton: $55,542,117 -- guaranteed contract to 2026
Brad Lidge: $55,335,000
Kyle Palmieri: $50,192,154 -- guaranteed contract to 2025
Bryan Rust: $46,670,000 -- guaranteed contract to 2028
Bryant Young: $44,000,000
Justin Tuck: $43,248,463
Ian Cole: $37.849,694 -- guaranteed contract to 2026
Romeo Okwara: $36,855,601
John Sullivan: $35,800,027
Jerome Bettis: $35,122,500
Jeff Faine: $34,456,892
Will Fuller: $34,246,582
Jaylon Smith: $33,316,297
Joe Alt: $33,160,944 -- guaranteed contract to 2027
