‘Play Like A Champion’ Helps Provide Memories For KK Bransford, Women’s Hoops And Irish Fans

By John Brice
Special Contributor

KK Bransford had been the one holding the Sharpie.

Along a journey that would see Bransford dominate high school basketball in her native Ohio and bring her to the cusp of stardom just one year into her burgeoning career at Notre Dame, she remembered the times as a young girl that she had traveled to college basketball games with her family and lingered around in quest of autographs from those whom Bransford admired.

Then a funny thing happened for Bransford and the entire Notre Dame women’s basketball team as prelude to the late-April Blue-Gold Game inside Notre Dame Stadium: Niele Ivey’s Fighting Irish were asked to participate in an interactive autograph signing and meet-and-greet with fans inside the main Notre Dame bookstore on campus in concert with Play Like A Champion Today.

A pen, rather than a baton, had been passed to Bransford and her teammates.

“When I was growing up, we went to a lot of college games around Cincinnati, UC games and Ohio State games and I would get autographs signed by their players,” said Bransford, a two-time Ohio Ms. Basketball honoree. “As a little girl, those are people you watch and look up to.

“To be able to be up and close and personal, it’s really crazy to kind of think about that; I would have never expected it. To see now down the road, this is my first year, my first experience doing those things. It was a great experience. There were a lot more people than I expected. The fan support at Notre Dame is always great, for them to be able to come out and have that energy around us and be a part of our success was really heartwarming for us.”

So heartwarming, in fact, that the event spilled a few minutes beyond its allotted time.

“The turnout was amazing,” she said. “The whole hour, I didn’t get a break and we actually went a little bit over. We had to tell some people that we had to stop. Being in the bookstore was such a great location for it.”

For Play Like A Champion Today, which has begun to forge ahead into a new realm of opportunities for Fighting Irish student-athletes under the direction of former Lou Holtz-era star and Notre Dame quarterback Rick Mirer, the moment was a significant one.

“We had a chance to meet with the ladies and Coach Ivey Thursday (prior to the Blue-Gold Game) to spend some time with them, talk with them and see them work out,” said Mirer. “Niele is a friend; I’ve been rooting for them from a distance for a few years now. We just felt this was the perfect place and opportunity to pay tribute to their season, how hard they worked, how they persevered and showed their resilience. It was just great that a lot of people showed up, there was a lot of enthusiasm and it was a neat way to share about the brand with these young ladies.”

For Bransford, she noted the opportunity for a moment in the spotlight for the Notre Dame women’s program on a spring football weekend resonated far beyond the “really special” event.

“It made us feel important because it is such a big football game, there’s a big tradition for the Blue-Gold Game and for fans and people to come out and see the women’s basketball team, to have a lot of people saying how proud they were of us, was special,” said Bransford, a vital cog in Notre Dame’s regular-season ACC Championship and Sweet 16 run in March Madness. “Our team went through a lot of adversity [with injuries] and fans were telling us how exciting it was for them to watch.

“For us, hearing that and being together, it was special for us to be able to see that appreciation and support in person. It’s such a great opportunity for athletes and I think especially for women athletes in higher levels; it might not be as equal pay between men and women at the top levels of professional sports, but I think NIL is kind of a more equal opportunity. I know a lot of girls are capitalizing on it. This is still a learning experience for everyone, still in the first couple years of NIL, but we’re seeing different things, starting to expand and see things like this great opportunity.”

Expanding the Play Like A Champion Today mantra, from its iconic visage inside the Fighting Irish’s football locker room, to an athletics- and campus-wide ethos has been a catalyzing element for Mirer and P.L.A.C.T.

“It’s crazy to think that sign went up in 1986 right before I’m in the recruiting process,” said Mirer, who quarterbacked the Irish from 1989-92 and helped guide the program to Orange, Sugar and Cotton bowl appearances. “None of us knew that, understood that back then, what this sign would become. Now it’s been almost 40 years. For these kids, it is that thing they’ve grown up seeing. There is a lot of history and it’s so closely tied to the university.

“Really, it’s Coach Holtz’s legacy and he’s sharing it with everybody and absolutely wants to share it with everybody; he’s been great. That’s the important thing to point out. Yeah, it’s shown on Pro Day and it’s on NBC in the fall during games, but it kind of goes with the whole University. It doesn’t have to be minimized or protected for anybody or any one sport; it’s for everyone.”

Bransford said the women’s basketball program already has leaned into the mantra.

“I think that slogan, ‘Play Like A Champion Today,’ is something that embodies our team,” Bransford, already with a handful of NIL opportunities including an upcoming Under Armour photoshoot, said. “And for us to be the first event, that is really special. We’re so thankful for that opportunity within our team.

“I think that slogan really is an inspiration to us as athletes and fans and people watching us. Seeing that slogan and knowing the mentality we have, I think is really cool. For them to be able to reach out to us and for us to have the opportunity to represent like that, it’s special.”