Nov. 17, 2006
SERIES NOTES
Notre Dame and Army meet for the first time since the 1998 season, a 20-17 Irish win at Notre Dame Stadium. The two teams have met 48 times in the series with the Irish holding a 36-8-4 edge. Notre Dame is 7-1 versus the Black Knights at home and 7-2-1 at West Point. Thirty of the 48 games have been played at neutral stadiums – Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium and Giant Stadium – in New York and the Irish are 22-5-3 in those games. Notre Dame has won the last 12 meetings in the series, dating back to the 1965 season. The Irish have not lost a game to a service academy team (Army, Navy and Air Force) since 1996, when the Falcons flew into Notre Dame Stadium and escaped with a 20-17 win.
With its 39-17 win last week versus Air Force, Notre Dame sports a 9-1 record for the first time since 1998.
IRISH ITEMS
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL BANQUET
Former University of Notre Dame head football coach Gerry Faust will serve as the guest speaker for the 86th University of Notre Dame Football Banquet.
The banquet, sponsored by the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley, will be held Friday, Dec. 1, 2006, in the north dome of the Joyce Center on the Notre Dame campus. A reception on the concourse and a silent auction in the Monogram Room both begin at 5:45 p.m. EST and the dinner begins at 7:00 p.m.
The program will include a special video tribute to the 2006 Irish squad – as well as a series of awards honoring members of the Notre Dame team.
Tickets are now on sale at $42 each (a table for eight is $336) and can be ordered at the Joyce Center second-floor ticket window, by phone (VISA, MasterCard or American Express) by calling 574-631-7356 (fax to 574-631-0854), or by writing to Ticket Office, 113 Joyce Center, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Order forms also can be printed from Notre Dame’s athletic web site, www.und.com. Checks should be made payable to University of Notre Dame Football Banquet. Requests must be received by Monday, Nov. 20, 2006. All tickets will be distributed through Joyce Center will call the night of the event. Proceeds benefit the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Scholarship Fund.
A SPECIAL GIFT
Team
1949 National Champions
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The 1949 season was a very special one in the history of the Notre Dame football program as the Irish went 10-0 that season and recorded the fourth national championship under legendary coach Frank Leahy.
One of the unsung heroes of that team never played a down on the field but was a key to the success of that year’s team in the classroom. Jack Lorenz ’51 served as a tutor for the 1949 national championship team as he would meet with players in Sorin Hall and tutor them in courses from accounting to chemistry and pre-law courses. Following that season, in recognition of his loyalty and commitment to the team, the players and coaches presented Lorenz with an autographed football that has remained a prized possession for all these years. The ball includes autographs from Hall of Fame coach Frank Leahy and Heisman Trophy winner Leon Hart. This weekend, Lorenz, now 80, along with his wife of 52 years, Gloria, and their five children – Clare, Jack, Mary Jo, Lisa and Doug and their families – returned to Notre Dame to cheer on the Irish versus Army. While here, Lorenz will donate the football to the University and it will be displayed in the Joyce Center Trophy cases for all to enjoy.
PRESENTING THE FLAG …
Our national colors will be presented this afternoon by two Notre Dame graduates and members of our nation’s armed forces — Retired Navy Capt. Jack Samar Jr., a 1971 alumnus and the recipient of this year’s Rev. William Corby, C.S.C., Award for distinguished military service; and Maj Ken Heckel, a 1996 graduate and veteran of the war in Iraq who currently is teaching in the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
FIGHTING IRISH FIGHT FOR LIFE
In its second year, the Fighting Irish Fight for Life program has been a WIN/WIN situation for Notre Dame Student Athletes and several children participating in the Memorial Hospital’s Pediatric Oncology Program.
Through the Fighting Irish Fight for Life program, Notre Dame student-athletes have gained their biggest fans, and at the same time they have been able to tutor, attend the participants sporting events, act as big brothers and sisters and be a supporting friend while the participants undergo cancer treatment.
The Irish baseball team has taken Evan Graveel, 13, under their wing this year. Evan was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma (a cancerous tumor) on his right shoulder blade in July 2006.
The Kids
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Head coach Dave Schrage, along with three players, visited with Evan this fall and took some gifts over to him. In the spring, Evan and his family will go to practices and games.
“With all the problems Evan is going through, their visit put a huge smile on his face, which puts a huge smile on ours,” says Jennifer Graveel, Evan’s mother.
“This is what Notre Dame is all about, reaching out to those in need. We hope we can help these children fight their disease and we hope we can be there to give them strength,” says Coach Schrage. “This program is a tremendous outreach for our team. It enables us to make a difference in someone’s life. Our players really grow personally through this experience.”
Graveel also remarks, “This whole experience is a great one. For one, it is like having professional players come and see him. Secondly, Evan wants to go to Notre Dame for college and he has since fifth grade. So having a team from his dream college come and visit is like WOW. Thank you Notre Dame for caring for these kids and putting hope and fun back into their lives, along with their families’. This is something very special.”