The No Bowl To Riches Top 10

While pursuing the usual College Football magazines, I stumbled upon this little goodie on the Sporting News website - The No Bowl to Riches Top 10. Below is their Top 10:

1. Kansas State
2. Nebraska
3. Notre Dame
4. Pitt
5. North Carolina
6. Iowa
7. Ole Miss
8. Louisville
9. Northwestern
10. Minnesota


Here's their take on the Irish,

"Notre Dame held position, but leaped-frogged Pitt because I’m feeling even more bullish on the Irish than before. I think this team is going be night and day better, and the schedule looks considerably softer than last season’s. Prediction: 7-5, Sun Bowl. "

Notre Dame looks to have three sure wins—SDSU, Stanford, and Syracuse—and three sure losses—@Michigan State, @Boston College, and @USC. That leaves six games to get three wins for bowl eligibility. Pittsburgh is a likely loss, but with the game in South Bend, there’s no reason not to give the Irish a fighting chance. Games vs. Michigan and Purdue at home are probably a lot more winnable than they might look, especially with Michigan coming in week two. Remember how bad Michigan looked in weeks one and two last season? And there’s a new coach and whole new philosophy to deal with this season. Michigan will be tough (sooner or later), but the game against the Wolverines sets up as a realistic opportunity for a huge early season W. As to the game vs. Purdue, until the Boilermakers start winning games against teams "their own size," I am resigned to assuming that away from West Lafayette Purdue is basically toast against any team it can't physically dominate.

Games @ UNC, @ UW, and @ Navy could go either way, but I’d give the Irish the edge in every one of those except, perhaps, against a completely healthy UNC. But by 10/11, the Tar Heels depth issues may be taking a toll. As for Washington, while I’m sure Ty wants to beat ND with all his heart, I really doubt he has the team to do it. The Huskies will have its moments in 2008, but I just don't think it will have enough on offense to beat the Irish unless it ends up +2 or 3 or more in turnovers. Navy will have a good team, and it did win a triple OT classic in South Bend last season, but the Midshipmen lost their General Paul Johnson, and despite what is supposed to be a smooth transition to new Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo, the Middies also lose all of their best run and pass blockers: FB Adam Ballard, C Antron Harper, and RB Reggie Campbell, and to make matters worse, they also lose back-up C Reyn Kaupiko.

Predicted finish: 7-5 (Sun Bowl)
Optimistic prediction: 9-3 (Gator Bowl)
Worst-case: 5-7 (no bowl)

Future outlook: Despite the misery of 07 for Irish fans, this looks to be a program on the rise with the 2009 and 2010 seasons seeming especially promising. Watch out America, because HERE COME THE IRISH!

P.S. Look at the upper right hand of the Sporting News College Football Magazine! I believe we'll be hearing his name called a lot this season.

IBB Mentioned on SI.com

I don't like to toot my own horn, but this time I had to let some of you know that Irish Band of Brothers was mentioned on Sports Illustrated's April 17th On Campus dot com site. The second story mentioned, "What It Takes to Get Into USC" gives props to IBB on breaking their story of USC's Admissions Standards.

Here's the link to the SI On Campus issue: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/sioncampus/04/17/campus.clicks0417/index.html

IBB Weekly Motivator: Week 14

The Zen Master of Defense will help awake the sleeping giant of college football to it's rightful place....On TOP!

President Jenkins Visits DC; AD Search in Full Throttle

University of Notre Dame President Father Jenkins took at leisurely flight today to our nation’s capital to gauge in some talks with current Georgetown AD and former Irish Associate AD Benard Muir about the current vacancy.

At Notre Dame, Muir's duties included overseeing campus athletic facilities, game management operations, and issues relating to student-athlete recruitment and academic performance. He worked for the NCAA for eight years prior to moving to South Bend.

While with the NCAA, Muir served as the director of the Division I men's basketball championship. He was a four-year letter winner and co-captain of the basketball team at Brown University.

No details have become clear about the visit, but will be made once they become available.

From the Administration’s understanding of the search process, Jenkins will be visiting potential candidates first, and will then narrow his list for on campus interviews.

Got Bruton?

A team captain going into the 2008 season, David Bruton will try and improve his breakout season of 2007. Last season he recorded 85 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions, as well as, dominated special teams!

Best College Football Announcers

With Notre Dame renewing their television contract with NBC last week, I bet many Fighting Irish fans had this other reaction other than the obvious joy: "Oh great, seven more years of Tom Hammonds. That's just it, Tom Hammonds might be a good announcer for calling horse races and whatnot, but for Notre Dame football, he fails miserably. There has to be someone better out there for NBC to call the games, right?

So I've come up with a my list of the best College Football Announcers that are currently calling games on some network:

1.) Brad Nessler
Very entertaining voice as well and gives great analysis too. Always knows what to say and he gets you excited for the big game with his phrases. He usually sticks to the action, which is a very good thing. If you know what I mean it's like him and the big games just click.

2.) Ron Franklin
Just listening to him call a game on ESPN Saturday nights sends chills down my spine! He has that voice, with just the touch of accent to make him real and not put-on. Just watch for yourself.

3.) Mike Patrick
Just a great entertaining voice, I love his calls and quirks. He is always smooth and crisp with his play calling and keeps you entertained with his comments as well.

4.) Verne Lundquist
Lundquist currently does play-by-play for CBS college football (teaming with Gary Danielson on the network's broadcast of Southeastern Conference games). Even though I don’t watch too much SEC football (kills brain cells, Git R’ Done, and if you watch it, You might be a Redneck); I think Lundquist and Danielson do make a good announcing crew.

5.) Sean McDonough
He is probably best remembered for his time as CBS' lead baseball announcer. As for College Football goes, McDonough has that on the edge of your seat commentary, that doesn’t want you to leave for one second; even for breaking the seal (it’s called Depends people, look into it).


All-Time ND Hater

Keith Jackson
Whoa NELLY! Just an annoying voice to begin with, IMO. He's been around for many years (leather helmets, anyone?) and has called more big games than just about anybody else. His voice just fits in well with the atmosphere of a championship game, as long as Notre Dame is not it.

IBB Weekly Motivator: Week 13

In keeping up with the College Football Summer Movie list, here's a surefire hit! Hopefully this will apease all the photoshopping guru's!

Another Grad Says No to the Notre Dame AD Job

During yesterday's announcement of Notre Dame extending their contract with NBC to televise their home football games, President John Jenkins briefly discussed the current search for their new athletic director:

"I think what's most important is that the athletic director understands Notre Dame football," Jenkins said. "Understands what it's about, and is able to carry that tradition forward. That's what I believe NBC is interested in. So, if the athletic director can do that, I think the relationship with NBC will take care of itself. It has for nearly 20 years. I think it will for 25 and beyond."

With that said, Minnesota AD and Notre Dame graduate Joel Maturi bowed out saying, "I'm happy at Minnesota and I'm staying here". That is now two Irish graduates that said Thanks, but No Thanks to their Alma Mater. I don't foresee this happening a third time.

According to Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune, he speculates by saying,

"That alone isn't much of a shocker, but the important part is this: If Maturi was contacted, it stands to reason that other prospective candidates -- SMU's Steve Orsini, Tulsa's Bubba Cunningham, MAC commissioner Rick Chryst -- have received calls as well.

That said, search firms typically cast a wide net to create a large pool of prospects. It certainly doesn't mean the process is remotely close to conclusion, or even at full-bore."

With that said, look for Orsini to be top billing and get the nod as the Irish AD.

Coming Soon - Several College Football Movies

Summer is definitely known for blockbuster hits, like Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Hulk, etc. What loyal college football fans don't know is that there are several college football movies coming out too, like the one above.

Stay tuned for more college football movie posters!

Also remember in 30 minutes (12:00 p.m., EST) the first IBB Football Friday Chat starts in the chat room. We'll have a special guest with us today. So I'll see you there soon!

As always, GO IRISH!

Take That Fighting Irish Haters: ND and NBC Extend Contract

A statement released by the Notre Dame Sports Information Office says,

"Notre Dame is renewing its television contract with NBC.

The university and NBC announced Thursday they have agreed to a five-year deal that runs through the 2015 season. The current contract was scheduled to expire in 2010.

This contract includes seven homes games per season. It allows for the first time an eighth off-site home game played at a neutral stadium.

NBC has broadcast Irish football since 1991."

This contract extension comes at a very interesting time for Notre Dame and the rest of the College Football landscape. After their 3-9 season, many speculated that NBC would drop the Irish. Also with former AD Kevin White's 7-4-1 scheduling going into effect in the 2009 season, NBC will have 8 games each season. Plus talks of the BCS television package will be coming up soon in September, and NBC didn't want to miss out on some part of College Football. And being the home of Fighting Irish home football games was one of their top priorities.

Talks with NBC were constant before and after White's departure to Duke. Interestingly enough, Associate AD John Heisler was the main honcho in charge to finalize the deal with NBC. Could this be the feather in his cap to land the full time Athletic Director's job? Well see.


But a message was made loud and clear today to the rest of the college football world...Notre Dame Football is, and will always be relevant!

Editor's Note: For the entire press release of Notre Dame's extension with NBC Sports, click on the Title.

IBB Football Friday Chats Start June 20!

Are You Ready For Some Fighting Irish Football? The countdown has begun: 80 Days 20 minutes and 17 seconds till the Fighting Irish square off against San Diego State in Notre Dame Stadium! It's never too early to talk about Notre Dame football,and here at Irish Band of Brothers, you can do that every friday.

Starting this Friday, June 20th at 12:00 p.m. (EST), you can log onto the IBB chat room and discuss anything about the upcoming season or whatever you would like about Notre Dame Athletics.

Type http://client11.addonchat.com/sc.php?id=292584 into your url or just click on IBB chat room at the left of the page. From there, type in your name and hit the login button to start chatting.

Let's kickoff the season early with the first IBB Football Friday Chat!

2008 Schedule: Easiest to Toughest Games

The 2008 season is still a couple of weeks away from fall camp, but it is never too soon to talk about the upcoming schedule. IBB has complied its list of the easiest to toughest contests on the Irish schedule. So without further adieu, here's the rundown of the #1 easiest game to the #12 toughest game for Notre Dame:

#1) San Diego State: The Aztecs lost their best player, Quarterback Kevin O'Connell, and their entire offensive line. Also SDSU had one of the worst rushing defenses in the country.

The Irish will want to wipe away any memory of last season with a blowout. It's a home game, in front of a national television audience, so SDSU could be in for a long day. Notre Dame will want to explode on the Aztecs. This should happen. No, in fact, it needs to happen!

#2) Syracuse: The Orange are coming off a 2-10 campaign, and lost their two best players to graduation and academics. Out of SU's 24 total offensive touchdowns, Mike Williams and Taj Smith combined for 15 scores. It will be late in the season, and the Irish should be in full stride to make a run at a bowl game.

Syracuse quite possibly has the worst coach in college football, next to the Washington Huskies. Greg Robinson is so bad that the last time ND faced the Orange in 2005, he was quoted as saying that he was surprised that the Irish went no-huddle against them. HELLO? Did he or his staff watch any game tapes of the Irish prior to their contest? YIKES!!!!

#3) Navy: The Midshipmen lost their best weapon in Coach Paul Johnson. He just elevates his teams to a different level. His successor has some big shoes to fill.

Paybacks are a you know what! Here's a start to a new streak against Navy.

#4) Stanford: The Cardinal are picked to finish near the bottom of the Pac 10 Conference again. Despite having 16 starters returning, including 9 on defense, Stanford will have plenty of personnel issues. Heck the Irish beat the Cardinal with a pretty bad team by two touchdowns (Yes, I'm counting David Grimes diving grab as a TD, eff the refs!).

Tavita Pritchard will be under center after his stellar 4 TDs, 9 INTs season in 2007. Look for the Irish to stuff the run and force Pritchard and the Cardinal to throw a lot to Notre Dame's best attribute, their pass defense.

#5) Washington: This will be a tiring trip to say the least. A week right after the Irish faced North Carolina, ND will go to the West Coast and face their former coach Ty Willingham. It will also be tiring to hear everyone make comparisons to him and Coach Weis, and his remaining players (3- 5th year seniors).

Although Washington might have one of the best Quarterbacks the Irish will face all season in Jake Locker, the Huskies do not have a lot of depth.

* One interesting side note: It was rumored after Willingham let go of long time Defensive Coordinator Kent Baer, Washington was going to get Jon Tenuta as their man. Thank goodness Tenuta went for the better coach and better program! Definitely a win-win situation.

#6) Pittsburgh: Two words for everyone - Dave Wannstedt! Good old Pornstache will most likely have his Panthers in a lot of preseason Top 25 polls, but he'll always find a way to screw it up somehow. Pitt is 2-12 against the Irish since 1988, and only averaged 98 yards on the ground last season.

The Panthers do have on the best passing defenses in the country, however Charlie is good at knowing his opponents tendencies; especially one he faced numerous times in the NFL. Too bad you can't say the same about Wannstedt. Hell he can't even remember his previous players. In 2005 before the Irish manhandled Pitt, Wanny talked about how great Bernie Parmalee will be as ND's linebackers coach as he was a great one when playing for him. I hate to break it to Dave, but Bernie didn't play linebacker for ya; he was on the other side of the ball running.

#7) Boston College: The Eagles could be the Notre Dame of last season. They lost most of the their top weapons, including quarterback Matt Ryan. You never know what BC is capable of; and since it is in the later portion of the season, the Eagles could possibly have a decent signal caller. Who knows, maybe they have another Hasselback hidden in their roster.

The Irish will always have a hard time with BC, but what is in the Irish favor this season is that Notre Dame is the middle game of a brutal and important stretch of the ACC. Clemson, a possible ACC front runner, will be before the Irish, and Florida State will be BC's opponent after the ND game. Talk about a murder's row!

#8) Michigan: Notre Dame is playing the Wolverines at the right time of the season for once. If this was in November or middle of October, maybe it would be a tougher game. But with a new coach, a new QB, and a new system, it will be tough sailing for Meechigan. You just don't know how good the Maize and Blue will be at the start.

It's going to be a big mental hurdle for the Irish. Most of the guys on the Michigan roster are back, and 38-0 will still be fresh on their minds. Charlie and Co. will have the boys full attention, that's for sure.

#9) Purdue: This game definitely means a lot to Wilfred Brimley, err, I mean Joe Tiller. He will have them ready for his last time against the Irish. The Boilermakers always have a dangerous offense, especially with Curtis Painter behind center.

Notre Dame has better talent from top to bottom, but that doesn't mean everything. There definitely is no love loss between Tiller and Weis. Charlie would like nothing better to give Joe and PU a proper sendoff back to West Lafayette.

#10) North Carolina: This one has all the makings for a trap game. The Tar Heels are not as good as Michigan and Purdue, but they have a defensive genius in Coach Butch Davis. A ND scheduling birdie said last season if they [coaching staff and administration] knew Davis was going to be their coach, they wouldn't have scheduled it at all.

UNC will have 18 starters back from a squad that went 4-2 at Kenan Stadium. The Tar Heels beat a not so impressive Miami squad at home, and nearly pulled off upsets at Virginia and South Carolina. This could be the game that makes or break Notre Dame's season as either a major player or an average joe.

#11) Michigan State: Brandon Hoyer, Javon Ringer, and three returning offensive linemen return from a team that put up 31 points against the Irish last season. D'Antonio is a good coach, but doesn't have a lot of great elite players on offense.

This is another dangerous game for Notre Dame because the Irish could be back in the National Spotlight if they start off the season 2-0 with wins over SDSU and Michigan. Just think of it, ESPN College GameDay at East Lansing and the ABC Saturday Night Game of the Week.

MSU has been giving the Irish fits the last decade, however the road team has been the winner most of the time. This one will be real close in East Lansing.

#12) Southern Cal: USC is still talented, still well coached, and still beating the NCAA system by paying their players. Notre Dame hasn't won at the LA Coliseum since 2000. This could be the game that pushes the Trojans into the National Championship game.

Well SC, get your licks in now, because the tide is turning!

IBB Weekly Motivator: Week 12

Hopefully Coach Weis made the right move in keeping this guy!

Water Cooler Rumblings

As the weekend nears, the more details are coming to a head on several key topics surrounding Notre Dame Athletics. Yesterday word broke out about Artistic Media Partners, which had broadcast Irish athletics since 1998 on WNDV-FM (92.9) and WDND-AM (1490), had agreed with the university to end their deal. This deal included the offical pregame and postgame shows for football, as well as, all the football game broadcasts by Westwood One. Well since ISP is the new voice of Notre Dame Football broadcasts, folks in the Michiana area are wondering how are they going to listen to the Fighting Irish on Saturday's?

Well it looks like everyone will be satisfied soon enough, as an annoucement will be made as soon as next week. Word from the JACC is that the Schruz Communications' 101.5 fm and 960 am will be the new home for Notre Dame athletics. As for Fighting Irish Football games go, this could be a good thing for local fans. GameDay SportsBeat, a long time pre-game and post-game call in show, would start the day off with 3 hours before kickoff, and then have ISP's national coverage, and then ending with the wrap-up and call in show.

More details of this deal and local coverage will be made available when it becomes known.



As for the search for the new Athletic Director goes, make sure and get familiar with this name: Joe Castiglione. Currently Castiglione is the AD at Oklahoma and could be a darkhorse candidate for the vacant position.

First and foremost, Fr. Jenkins will be looking at the best possible fit for the university. With that said, it will most likely be within the Notre Dame family. But from what others have been saying around campus, Castiglione and Jeremy Foley of Florida are definitely on the Board of Trustees and Jenkins' radar.

Castiglione does not come without great credentials:

In October 2004, the Bobby Dodd Foundation named him Athletics Director of the Year. In 2003, he was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators Hall of Fame. In June 2001, he received the General Robert R. Neyland Athletic Director Award for lifetime achievement from the All-American Football Foundation. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) named him Central Region AD of the Year in 2000.

Castiglione has celebrated six national team championships and numerous conference team titles; record numbers of graduating student-athletes and record-setting grade point averages for Sooner teams; dramatically increased donor giving; huge increases in ticket sales for all sports; major facility improvements, and development and construction of new facilities. And, as aggressive as the push to improve, expand and excel has been, he has produced a balanced budget in every year of his tenure, a first since the early 1980s.

• A total of 25 OU teams that have ranked among the top 10 in season-ending polls.

• A school-record and Big 12-best graduation rate of 74% in 2003.

• Three appearances in the BCS National Championship Game and the college football national championship in 2000.

• Appearances by the men's and women's basketball teams in their respective Final Fours in 2002.

• A Division I record of 74 combined victories produced by the football team and both basketball squads in the 2001-02 school year.

• An average of more than 17 out of 20 OU teams per year represented in postseason play.

If Notre Dame decides to go outside the family, Castiglione would not be a bad second choice because of his ties with the BCS in football.

More NCAA 09 To Wet Your Appetite

Here's another ND pic for the upcoming NCAA 09 game. Unlike last year's version, the Irish have their alternate "Green" jersey's to choose from. Who knows, maybe you'll have better luck with the Green?

I don't know about you, but I wish the college football season would come soon!

NCAA 09 Coming Soon

It's about that time again for the new NCAA 09 game to be released. Depending on which gaming unit you have, EA Sports has a different person on each game cover. For instance, if you have the PSP, West Virginia's Owen Schmidt is on the cover. Below is the rest of who is on which game cover:

PlayStation 3: Matt Ryan (Boston College)
Wii: Sparty (Michigan State mascot)
XBox 360: Darren McFadden (Arkansas)
PlayStation 2: DeSean Jackson (California)

Well with the creativity of photoshop, anyone can create their own custom cover like the Jimmy Clausen one above. Since I own an XBox 360, I did one for myself. If anyone is interested in getting their own custom cover made for NCAA 09, leave me a message.

Here's a photo of the game:

IBB Weekly Motivator: Week 11

Here's one for all the gamers out there. With NCAA 09 coming out in a few weeks, and depending on what gaming console you have, everyone and their mother has been busy making custom covers for their games. I bet, no pun intended Mr. Vick, no one will have this one!

Coming up later this week are some ND custom covers for their NCAA 09 games.

Here's More Fuel for the Fire

A day after Gene Smith declared his allegience to the dark side, or should I say Scarlet and Grey side, he was named the top collegiate AD by the National Football Foundation (NFF).

Here's the exerpt from the NFF:

GENE SMITH
Director of Athletics, Ohio State University


In only three years at Ohio State University, Gene Smith has successfully continued the legacy of Buckeye sports, quickly establishing himself as one of the country's most respected athletics directors in college sports.

Smith oversees the nation's largest Division I-A athletics program, featuring 36 varsity sports, more than 900 student-athletes and an operating budget of $97 million. OSU's athletics department is completely self sufficient, receiving no tax dollars, university money or student fees. In the fiscal year 2007-08, Buckeye athletics will contribute nearly $22 million in assessments to the university, including more than $12 million in grant-in-aid reimbursements. Equally impressive, the OSU athletics department has recently been selected to receive one of the NCAA's Diversity in Athletics Awards in the category of Overall Excellence in Diversity, which is based on achievement in the areas of diversity strategy, gender and racial diversity of departmental employees, minority graduation rates and more.

Under Smith's watch, Ohio State has garnered three straight Big Ten titles and has been invited to three BCS bowl games, including the last two national championship games. The Buckeyes have finished in the Top 5 nationally since 2005 and boast the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, Troy Smith. OSU players have been named First Team All-America picks seven times and First Team All-Big Ten selections 23 times.

Named one of Black Enterprise Magazine's "50 Most Powerful African Americans in College Sports," Smith was named the first African American president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in 2007. He serves on numerous NCAA committees, including the Football Rules Committee, the Committee on Infractions and the Management Council. The Cleveland, Ohio, native attended Notre Dame on a football scholarship and joined the Irish coaching staff following graduation. He has also served as the athletics director at Eastern Michigan, Iowa State and Arizona State.

Smith Not Interested In Coming Back Home

Ohio State Athletic Director and Notre Dame Alumnus, Gene Smith has taken his name out of consideration for the vacant AD position.

"I have the utmost respect for Notre Dame and great admiration for the university and its athletics department, but I will not be a candidate for the job there," Smith said in a statement. "I am very happy being at The Ohio State University and am excited about its new leadership of the university. I am thrilled with the direction we are going in the department and am pleased and thankful for the support of President Gee and the administration."

Smith went on to say,

"I have not been contacted by Notre Dame," Smith said. "I am honored that many consider me to be a candidate, but I have no desire to leave Ohio State."

Looks like SMU's Orisini could be the front runner.

IBB Uncovers the Mole's Secret Identity

Last night ABC brought back their original reality show The Mole. Even though this is not Notre Dame related, we felt obligated to unveil who the real "Mole" is and always will be.

To find out who the Mole is, click on the Title above. The person on the left of this picture is indeed the Mole!

Now I'll get back to our orginally scheduled blogging.

Unoffical List Surfaces with Surprising Names

A list of names has surfaced from the Golden Dome today for the successor of departed Athletic Director Kevin White. A list of 15 potential candidates from the Board of Directors and Fr. Jenkins' Office has been whittled down to six. Three names that have been mentioned already and three that are rather surprising.

The common names to be on the list are Notre Dame alums Gene Smith (Ohio State AD), Steve Orisni (SMU AD), and interm ND AD Missy Conboy. The next three names do not have any ties to the University whatsoever, but have been very successful.

Craig Littlepage (Virginia AD)
- BA (University of Pennsylvania)
- 1st African American AD in the ACC
- Has made great progress in upgrading UVa's Athletic Facilities.
- Solid fund raiser and was named one of the best businessmen in athletics according to Forbes Magazine.
- Former Head Basketball Coach at his alma mater Pennsylvania and at Rutgers.

Jeremy Foley (Florida AD)
- BA (Hobart College); MS in Athletic Administration (Ohio University)
- Has never finished lower than 7th in the All Sports Director's Cup.
- Directly responsible for more than $180 million in capital improvements.
- UF became the first program in collegiate history to own both the men's basketball and football national titles in the same calendar year.
- Named the Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal National Athletic Director of the Year in June of 2006

Bob Bowlsby (Stanford AD)
- BA (Moorhead State University, MN); MA (University of Iowa)
- Former AD at Iowa
- Had unprecedented success and growth in the area of fund raising and facilities at both Iowa and now Stanford.
- Elected chair of the NCAA Olympic Sports Liaison Committee .
- Former Committee Chairman of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball.
- served as an Executive Committee member with both the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and the Division I-A Athletic Directors Association and served in 2002-2003 as President of the I-A Directors group.

Fr. Jenkins is going to be in contact with the respective institutions this week to ask for permission to speak with Smith, Orisni, Littlepage, Foley, and Bowlsby. More information about the search will be provided once it becomes available.

Conspiracy Theories: The Kevin White Files

When the media caught wind of Dr. White's soon departure for Duke, I knew everyone and their mother would post on this topic like white on rice. The short list of potential replacements also was going to be debated all weekend long. As much as I like to give my two cents about that, even though I've given my list several times on this blog before and my ideal candidate (Gene Smith or Barry Alvarez), I looked at this situation from a different angle: The Why?

There are plenty of negatives and positives of White's 8-year tenure in South Bend; however, the timing of this situation is rather peculiar. First, the Duke position opened up in April when Joe Aleve headed to LSU. Usually these positions move rather quickly, and with a highly regarded institution like Duke University, this one should have moved at lighting speed, right? Insiders close to the Duke athletic department said White contacted Richard H. Brodhead, President of Duke, and the week of May 20th about the vacant position.

May 20th? Interesting date indeed. That was during Notre Dame's current stretch of losing 8 consecutive baseball games and one day from being removed from the Big East Tournament and sealing their fate of missing out on the NCAA's for a second consecutive year. Also that was one week before the latest National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Cup standings came out.

You may be asking yourself, why is the NACDA Cup standings so important? Well, one of Dr. White's main objectives when he first arrived on campus was to strengthen the entire athletic programs. He said during his press conference in 2001, that he will get Notre Dame in the Top 10 annually of the Cup Standings. If you look below here are the standings during his reign:

2001 - 11th
2002 - 13th
2003 - 13th
2004 - 19th
2005 - 16th
2006 - 6th
2007 - 11th
Current 2008 standings (with one more set to go) - 15th

Basically Dr. White guided the Irish athletics to an all sports average of 13 annually.

Those two incidents were the last straw for several influential alums, as Dr. White did not make too many friends after several, not-so-defining moments. The handling of the football, marketing of Notre Dame Stadium (Jumbo-Tron), and the 7-4-1 scheduling, got many at a fever pitch about White. Also being slow on the up keep of facilities didn't bode well for him too!

Some close to the situation, according to South Bend Tribune columnist, Eric Hansen, said this was known about White's fate. As I made several calls to a few sources, one thing appeared to make some sense: White knew the writing on the wall and it was time for him to move on. Whether he was being forced out and to find time about landing another position is up for debate. Remember last month the blurb CBSSportsline's Dennis Dodd wrote about Dr. White and the Pac-10? Coincidence, who knows?

There will be a lot of major players that will be on Fr. Jenkins' list, as he slapped the interim AD tag on current Deputy AD Missy Conboy. Will he go in house and remove Conboy's tag, or will he elevate quick riser Stan Wilcox (current Deputy AD that works closely with Football), or move athletic department staple John Heisler (responsible for media relations and football scheduling).

Maybe he'll go with a Notre Dame man and nab Ohio State's Gene Smith, or Minnesota's Joel Maturi, or SMU's Steve Orisini, or Tulsa's Bubba Cunningham, or Xavier's Mike Bobinski. So many choices for Fr. Jenkins to decide, but this should be his mantra in hiring White's successor. Whom ever he picks to run the Irish Athletic Department, this person needs to make sound and precise decisions that will stay true to ND's rich athletic history, and will help elevate it to make new history!

One thing is now for certain about White and the Notre Dame athletic department: Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a Gift, because it is the Present!

IBB Weekly Motivator: Week 10

Nuff said!