Mike Lee Wins Fight -- Now 8 - 0 as a Pro!

Notre Dame alum, Mike Lee '09 is now 8 - 0 as a professional boxer after his fourth round knockout of Allen Medina in his light heavyweight bout in front of 22,000 at Madison Square Garden Friday night.  Here's a link to some of the coverage:

LINK:  MIKE LEE INTERVIEW

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN TIMES

Notre Dame Football & the Heisman Trophy

Last night -- Robert Griffin III, from Baylor University, became the 77th recipient of the Heisman Trophy.  If you regularly follow the ND GO IRISH BLOG you'll know that a week ago, we cast our Heisman vote for Griffin.  Congratulations!

Now, some fun and "not so fun" facts as they relate to the Heisman Trophy and the University of Notre Dame:

• Notre Dame's seven Heisman Trophy winners; Bertelli, Lujack, Hart, Lattner, Hornung, Huarte & Brown (pictured) -- still the most from one university!
• 22 of the 70 other Heisman Trophy winners played against the University of Notre Dame during their Heisman trophy season (including bowl games).  23 if you count the Heisman Trophy winner formerly known as Reggie Bush.
• The University of Notre Dame is (5 - 15 - 2) all-time in games played against teams with a player that won a Heisman Trophy that season (including bowl games).
• The past six winners of the Heisman Trophy did not play that season (including bowl game) against the University of Notre Dame -- the longest streak in the 77 year history of the Heisman Trophy without a ND player winning or an opponent's player winning the Heisman in a season.
  
• The worst team in history to have a Heisman Trophy winner was the 1956 Fighting Irish who won just 2 games during Paul Hornung's Heisman campaign.
• The last Heisman Trophy winner the Irish defeated was the 1993 game against Charlie Ward and the Florida State Seminoles.  ND fans will remember the Irish dropped the game the next week to Boston College, yet won their bowl game - only to see Florida State claim the National Championship with the same record as the Irish (even though ND beat them "head to head.").  I still haven't gotten over this!
• Notre Dame has now gone 24 seasons without a member of the Fighting Irish football team winning a Heisman Trophy -- which is now the longest consecutive season streak without a Heisman winner in a ND uniform, surpassing the 23 seasons between Huarte's and Brown's Heisman trophies. 

Here's a look at every Heisman Trophy winner who played against Notre Dame or played for Notre Dame.  You'll also see the score from that game - or, if it was an Irish player, the team record that year:

1939:  Nile Kinnick, Iowa -- Iowa 7 - ND 6
1943:  ANGELO BERTELLI, NOTRE DAME -- (9 - 1)
1945:  Doc Blanchard, Army -- Army 48 - ND 0
1946:  Glenn Davis, Army -- Army 0 - ND 0
1947:  JOHN LUJACK, NOTRE DAME -- (9 - 0)
1949:  LEON HART, NOTRE DAME -- (10 - 0)
1952:  Billy Vessels, Oklahoma -- ND 21 - Oklahoma 21
1953:  JOHN LATTNER, NOTRE DAME -- (9 - 0 - 1)
1956:  PAUL HORNUNG, NOTRE DAME -- (2 - 8)
1958:  Pete Dawkins, Army -- Army 14 - ND 2
1960:  Joe Bellino, Navy -- Navy 14 - ND 7
1961:  Ernie Davis, Syracuse  -- ND 17 - Syracuse 15
1963:  Roger Staubach, Navy -- Navy 35 - ND 14
1964:  JOHN HUARTE, NOTRE DAME -- (9 - 1)
1965:  Mike Garrett, USC -- ND 28 - USC 7
1968:  O.J. Simpson, USC -- ND 21 - USC 21
1972:  Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska -- Nebraska 40 - ND 6
1976:  Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh -- Pittsburgh 31 - ND 10
1977:  Earl Campbell, Texas -- ND 38 - Texas 10
1979:  Charles White, USC -- USC 42 - ND 23
1981:  Marcus Allen, USC -- USC 14 - ND 7
1987:  TIM BROWN, NOTRE DAME -- (8 - 4)
1991:  Desmond Howard, Michigan -- Michigan 24 - ND 14
1993:  Charlie Ward, Florida State -- ND 31 -- FSU 24
1994:  Rashaan Salaam, Colorado -- Colorado 41 - ND 24
1997:  Charles Woodson, Michigan -- Michigan 23 - ND 7
2001:  Eric Crouch, Nebraska -- Nebraska 27 - ND 10
2002:  Carson Palmer, USC -- USC 44 - ND 13
2004:  Matt Leinart, USC -- USC 41 - ND 10

Tate Coming in to His Own in Seattle

Here's a nice story about former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate.  Tate, has finally earned a starting spot for the Seahawaks and he's delivering!  Link to the story:

LINK:  TURNING GOLDEN AGAIN

NFL FILMS -- Feature on ND's David Ruffer!

University of Notre Dame kicker, David Ruffer is the subject of a NFL FILMS feature called "Rudy 2.0" -- this is really cool!!!

Notre Dame fans need to watch this!

LINK:  RUFFER -- NFL FILMS

Weis Introduced as Kansas Coach

Charlie Weis '79 was introduced today as the head football coach at the University of Kansas.  Here's a link to the announcement -- along with a Kasas City Star story:

LINK:  WATCH CHARLIE'S INTRODUCTION 

LINK:  KANSAS CITY STAR 

Irish OC Molnar Named Head Coach @ UMASS

The University of Massachusetts announced today that Charley Molnar has become the 29th head coach of their football program.  Molnar, an assistant coach for our Fighting Irish these past two season -- becomes a head coach for the first time.  Congratulations Coach Molnar!  Here's a link to the UMASS press conference this afternoon:

LINK:  UMASS NAMES MOLNAR ITS HEAD COACH

Notre Dame Alum Hired as Kansas Head Coach

Charlie Weis '79, has accepted the head coaching position at the University of Kansas -- according to multiple reports.  Weis, leaves the Florida Gators program where he was their offensive coordinator this past season.  Congratulations Charlie!  FYI:  Expect the media to label him as "former Notre Dame coach, or former Irish coach" -- you won't hear much about Florida...

LINK:  WEIS TAKES KANSAS GIG

Boise State Prez Compares His School to ND...

You can file this in the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" folder...

Boise State University president, Dr. Bob Kustra met with the media yesterday about his school's entry into the Big East Conference.  During the session he made this statement:  "...we can have the same degree as success..."  -- while comparing his school in Boise to the University of Notre Dame.

All I can say is WOW...

Hey, Dr. Kustra -- you might want to first set your sights on graduating your student-athletes -- before taking on the University of Notre Dame.

LINK:  BOISE STATE COMPARING ITSELF TO NOTRE DAME

Check out ND's Football Pants in This Photo!

Adam Myers, Assistant Equipment Manager (@adam_nd_myers) for Notre Dame Football in the University of Notre Dame's Athletic Department "tweeted" this photo of the Fighting Irish's football uniform combinations from this season.  Note the football pants the Irish wore in the Shamrock Series game (green jersey) -- versus the pants they wore the majority of the season.  I'd like to believe Notre Dame will start using these pants all of the time!

Champs Sports Bowl Sells Out for First Time!

The power of the University of Notre Dame...

For the first time in the 22-year history of the Champs Sports Bowl, they are SOLD OUT!  This also happens to be ND's first visit to this bowl game -- coincidence?  I think not...

Coach Kelly took a trip to Orlando today to participate in the Champs Sports Bowl press conference -- along with FSU's Coach Fisher.  Here's a link to the Orlando Sentinel story and UND.COM's coverage of the press conference:

LINK:  CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  COACH KELLY CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL PRESS CONFERENCE 

Coach Kelly and Fighting Irish Back @ Practice

The folks at UND.COM caught up with Coach Kelly after Notre Dame's first of 15 practices they're allowed prior to the game December 29 against Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl.  Here's a link to his media session:

LINK:  COACH KELLY AFTER PRACTICE

African American Grad Rates: Bowl Teams

On the heels of the report I published yesterday concerning the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of every team playing in a bowl game this off season, I learned of a report commissioned by The Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

This report highlighted the GSR among African American student-athletes on teams playing in bowl games. Here are the highlights:


BOWL TEAM RANKINGS -- GSR OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT-ATHLETES

#1:  University of Notre Dame:  100 GSR
#2:  Northwestern University:  92 GSR
#3:  University of North Carolina:  91 GSR
#4:  Rutgers University:  88 GSR
#5:  Penn State University:  87 GSR


BOWL TEAMS GRADUATING LESS THAN HALF OF THEIR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT-ATHLETES

Florida International (33 GSR),  Iowa State (40 GSR), Western Michigan (43 GSR), Arkansas (44 GSR), Florida State (44 GSR), Oklahoma (44 GSR), South Carolina (45 GSR), Texas A&M (45 GSR), California (46 GSR), Houston (46 GSR), UCLA (46 GSR), North Carolina State (46 GSR), Texas (47 GSR), BYU (47 GSR), Temple (47 GSR), Wyoming (47 GSR), Louisiana-Lafayette (48 GSR) and Tulsa (49 GSR).
 

Here's a link to their entire report:  AFRICAN AMERICAN GSR OF BOWL TEAMS

Graduation Rates: 2011-2012 Bowl Games

Here's a look at the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of each of the 70 teams playing in BOWL GAMES this postseason.  Here's a link to the GSR for African American student-athletes -- on the same teams.

It's a sad commentary when a great number of the teams playing in the Bowl Games graduate less than 6 of every 10 of their players over a six-year period.  Until the NCAA truly does something about this -- they should suspend the term "student-athlete" when talking about many of these schools' athletes. 

Here's a quick overview of a few of the highlights and lowlights -- followed by a look at every one of the 35 Bowl Games and the respective GSR rates of the the opponents:

TOP FIVE TEAMS PLAYING IN BOWL GAMES:
#1:  Notre Dame:  97
#2:  Northwestern:  94
#3:  Rutgers:  89
#3:  Vanderbilt:  89
#5:  Stanford:  87
#5:  Penn State:  87

Sad Fact #1:  Only 9 Teams out of the 70 Teams in Bowl Games graduate at least 8 out of every ten of their players in a six-year period.

BOTTOM FIVE TEAMS PLAYING IN BOWL GAMES:
#70:  Florida International:  43
#69:  Oklahoma:  48
#68:  California:  54
#67:  Georgia Tech:  55
#67:  South Carolina:  55


Sad Fact #2:  16 of the 70 teams in Bowl Games graduate less than 6 out of every 10 of their players in a six-year period.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS / LOWLIGHTS:

• The largest disparity of graduation rates between opponents in a Bowl Game is the Champs Sports Bowl:  Notre Dame (97) vs. Florida State (56)
• The lowest graduation rates between opponents in a Bowl Game is IRONICALLY the Bridgepoint Education Bowl:  California (54) vs. Texas (57)
• The highest graduation rates between opponents in a Bowl Game is the AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Cincinnati (79) vs. Vanderbilt (89)

GILDAN NEW MEXICO BOWL -- Dec. 17

• Temple: 60 GSR
• Wyoming:  64 GSR

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL -- Dec. 17

• Ohio:  71 GSR
• Utah State:  77 GSR

R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL -- Dec. 20

• San Diego State:  56 GSR
• Louisiana-Lafayette:  56 GSR

BEEF 'O' BRADY'S ST. PETERSBURG BOWL -- Dec. 20

• Florida International:  43 GSR
• Marshall:  77 GSR

S.D. COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL -- Dec. 21

• TCU:  78 GSR
• Louisiana Tech:  75 GSR

MAACO LAS VEGAS -- Dec. 22

• Arizona State:  64 GSR
• Boise State:  74 GSR

SHEARTON HAWAII BOWL -- Dec. 24

• Nevada:  70 GSR
• Southern Miss:  78 GSR

ADVOCARE V100 INDEPENDENCE BOWL --  Dec. 26

• Missouri:  66 GSR
• North Carolina:  75 GSR

LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL -- Dec. 27

• Western Michigan:  61 GSR
• Purdue:  59 GSR

BELK BOWL -- Dec. 27

• Louisville:  66 GSR
• North Carolina State:  56 GSR

MILITARY BOWL -- Dec. 28

• Toledo:  64 GSR
• Air Force Academy:  84 GSR

BRIDGEPOINT EDUCATION HOLIDAY BOWL -- Dec. 28

• California:  54 GSR
• Texas:  57 GSR

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL -- Dec. 29

• Florida State:  56 GSR
• Notre Dame:  97 GSR

VALERO ALAMO BOWL -- Dec. 29

• Washington:  76 GSR
• Baylor:  62 GSR

BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL -- Dec. 30

• BYU:  57 GSR
• Tulsa:  63 GSR

NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL -- Dec. 30

• Rutgers:  89 GSR
• Iowa State:  63 GSR

FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE MUSIC CITY -- Dec. 30

• Mississippi State:  62 GSR
• Wake Forest:  81 GSR

INSIGHT BOWL -- Dec. 30

• Iowa:  83 GSR
• Oklahoma:  48 GSR

MEINEKE CAR CARE OF TEXAS BOWL -- Dec. 31

• Texas A&M:  59 GSR
• Northwestern:  94 GSR

HYUNDAI SUN BOWL -- Dec. 31

• Georgia Tech:  55 GSR
• Utah:  62 GSR

AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL -- Dec. 31

• Cincinnati:  79 GSR
• Vanderbilt:  86 GSR

KRAFT FIGHT HUNGER BOWL -- Dec. 31

• Illinois:  76 GSR
• UCLA:  59 GSR

 CHICK-FIL-A BOWL -- Dec. 31

• Virginia:  68 GSR
• Auburn:  63 GSR

TICKETCITY BOWL -- Jan. 2

• Houston:  57 GSR
• Penn State:  87 GSR

OUTBACK BOWL -- Jan. 2

• Michigan State:  62 GSR
• Georgia:  65 GSR

CAPITAL ONE BOWL -- Jan. 2

• Nebraska:  67 GSR
• South Carolina:  55 GSR

TAXSLAYER.COM GATOR BOWL -- Jan. 2

• Ohio State:  67 GSR
• Florida:  76 GSR

ROSE BOWL GAME -- Jan. 2

• Wisconsin:  66 GSR
• Oregon:  63 GSR

TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL -- Jan. 2

• Stanford:  87 GSR
• Oklahoma Sate:  65 GSR

ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL -- Jan. 3

• Michigan:  71 GSR
• Virginia Tech:  79 GSR

DISCOVER ORANGE BOWL -- Jan. 4

• West Virginia:  75 GSR
• Clemson:  62 GSR

AT&T COTTON BOWL -- Jan. 6

• Kansas State:  62 GSR
• Arkansas:  56 GSR

BBVA COMPASS BOWL -- Jan. 7

• SMU:  72 GSR
• Pittsburgh:  65 GSR

GODADDY.COM BOWL -- Jan. 8

• Arkansas State:  73 GSR
• Northern Illinois:  73 GSR

ALLSTATE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME -- Jan. 9

• LSU:  77 GSR
• Alabama:  69 GSR

ND Promotional Video Message - Champs Bowl

Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt appeared in a YouTube video last night after the Irish learned they would be playing Florida State University in the Champs Bowl.  Do you think Louis Nix just might have a career in TV someday?

LINK:  IRISH CHAMPS BOWL MESSAGE 

LINK:  HARRISON SMITH & MICHAEL FLOYD -- PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  IRISH -- CHAMPS BOWL CENTRAL

ND vs. FSU -- Champs Sports Bowl -- TICKETS!

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will be taking on the Seminoles of Florida State University on Thursday, December 29, in Orlando, at the Champs Sports Bowl.  If you're interested in tickets -- here's where you can find them!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME -- CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL

Irish Played Four Teams in AP Final Top 15

Next time someone says "Notre Dame doesn't play anyone..." -- just roll out this little diddy for them:

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME -- PLAYED FOUR TEAMS IN THE TOP 15!

Here's a link to the AP' final rankings.


LINK:  FINAL RANKINGS -- 2011 SEASON

Kyle Rudolph -- TD Catch Against Broncos!

Notre Dame fans will not be surprised when they see this GREAT CATCH by Kyle Rudolph -- just minutes ago.  The TD catch put the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the Tim Tebow Broncos 12 - 7.  You can expect this to make SPORTS CENTER'S TOP TEN!

LINK:  KYLE RUDOLPH

Notre Dame Grants Dayne Crist His Release...

This news should arrive as no surprise to most Notre Dame football fans -- Dayne Crist will be wearing a different football helmet next fall.  Crist, who will graduate this month from the University of Notre Dame, has one more year of eligibility left and he's going to take advantage of that at a different school.  This became official Friday afternoon,  when Dayne was granted his release after meeting with Coach Kelly.

Dayne Crist is a Notre Dame Man -- just not a Notre Dame QB, in a Brian Kelly system.  This young man is all that is right about the world.  His parents, family and friends should take great pride in Dayne Crist the human being.  He's a world-class representative of the University of Notre Dame.  I'll be rooting for his success!

You'll want to click on the South Bend Tribune story below to see what schools are rumored to be most interested in Dayne's services:

LINK:  DAYNE CRIST

My Heisman Vote -- Baylor's Robert Griffin III

I made the decision, over night, to give my Heisman vote this season to Robert Lee Griffin III (QB), Baylor University.  Unfortunately -- I'm still waiting for my ballot in the mail!  However, that won't stop me from sharing with you why this young man is AMERICA'S BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER and the prototypical STUDENT-ATHLETE-QB Notre Dame should be recruiting for Brian Kelly's offense.

First, let's talk about "RG3's" Heisman worthy season:

• Passer rating of 192.3 -- rank #1 in the country
• Yards Per Attempt:  10.83 yards -- rank #1 in the country
• Yards Per Completion:  14.97 yards -- rank #1 in the country
• Points Responsible For:  22.67 points per game -- rank #1 in the country
• Total Offense:  386.83 yards per game -- rank #2 in the country
• TD passes:  36 -- rank #4 in the country
• Pass Completion %:  72.4% -- rank #5 in the country
• Passing yards:  3,998 yards -- rank #6 in the country

On top of all of this:

• He's taken a football program and led it to their best regular season in 25 years!  
• He's the model student-athlete haven already earned his undergraduate degree (Dec 2010) in political science in three years!  Now enrolled in grad school.  Next up law school.
• Dean's List -- Big 12 Academic Honor Roll (six times)
• Graduated #7 in his high school class
• NCAA All-American in the 400 Meter hurdles -- as a freshman -- world class hurdler
• And, he's probably the best interview in college football -- A CLASS ACT!

Can you imagine this young man in a GOLD HELMET -- running Brian Kelly's offense and representing the University of Notre Dame?   IT WOULD BE OFF THE CHARTS!

Here's a link to a highlight video:  GRIFFIN III FOR HEISMAN!

ESPN calls him the: MOST INTERESTING MAN IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Mark Bavaro -- NY Giants' "RING OF HONOR"

Former University of Notre Dame All American tight end Mark Bavaro, will be enshrined in the New York Giants' "Ring of Honor" during Sunday's game against the Packers.

This week, Bavaro was a guest on the Nick & Artie Show (just click on the link and scroll down to the interview).  Congratulations Mark!

LINK:  MARK BAVARO RADIO INTERVIEW

LINK:  ESPN STORY

LINK:  GIANTS VIDEO TRIBUTE TO BAVARO