Support Staff AARON MENARD
ASSISTANT VIDEO COORDINATOR Aaron Menard is in his first year in 2015 as the assistant video coordinator for the Notre Dame football team, serving as the primary assistant to video coordinator Tim Collins. In this role, Menard assists Collins with all video and filming needs for the football team in addition to traveling to all football games. Menard helps compile all video packages utilized by Notre Dame’s football coaches in their scouting and game preparation and also works on special assignments within the program, such as highlight videos. Menard spent the last two seasons as a video intern with the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks. He shot coaching video from end zone and sideline views at practices and other team-related activities. Menard managed on-field still shot pictures during games as Microsoft Surface Pro technician. He produced weekly in-house team highlight videos to be viewed for team meetings. Menard assisted video staff with creating cut-ups and managing video at the college and professional level for coaches, scouts and players through DVSport Gameday. Menard graduated from Washington State University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in sport management.
JASON MICHELSON
COORDINATOR OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS Jason Michelson enters his fourth year in 2015 with the Notre Dame football program and second as coordinator of football operations. He spent the 2012 campaign as the program’s operations intern. In his current role, Michelson coordinates and oversees all day-to-day administrative and operational details including team travel, preseason camp arrangements, the annual coaches clinic and summer camps. Prior to his arrival at Notre Dame, Michelson was an operations intern with the Detroit Lions during the 2011 campaign. Michelson graduated from Ohio University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but was raised in Lebanon, Ohio. Michelson is married to the former Lexi Merritt.
ADAM MYERS
ASSISTANT FOOTBALL EQUIPMENT MANAGER Adam Myers is in his sixth year in 2015 as the assistant football equipment manager at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to his arrival in 2010, Myers spent two years at the University of Minnesota, where he managed the Golden Gophers’ student equipment managers, repaired damaged equipment and packed team trunks for travel to away games. Prior to joining the Minnesota staff, Myers served as a graduate assistant equipment manager at Marshall University, where he was responsible for fitting student-athletes with helmets, shoulder pads, footwear and other equipment. He was also charged with equipment repair, inventory, laundry, transportation assistance and other duties at Marshall. He served as a student manager at Marshall from 2002 through 2007 and worked with the wide receivers and quarterbacks in addition to handling laundry duties. Myers completed a summer internship in 2005 with the New York Jets and was involved in laundry, maintenance of protective equipment, packing trunks for home preseason games and sideline and locker room setup for home preseason games. A member of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association since 2006, Myers was certified by the AEMA in June, 2006.
DAVE PELOQUIN
DIRECTOR OF PLAYER PERSONNEL
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Dave Peloquin is in his 12th year in 2015 with the Notre Dame football program and third as director of player personnel. In this role, Peloquin’s responsibilities include serving as a liaison between the football program and various University departments, including admissions, academic services for student-athletes and campus housing. Peloquin also works with the program’s recruiting efforts and handles special projects assigned by head coach Brian Kelly. He played a critical role in helping the Irish secure four top-10 recruiting classes in a six-year period.
Prior to being promoted to director of football development, Peloquin served as coordinator of player personnel development for two seasons in numerous administrative duties regarding Notre Dame’s recruiting. In 2004, Peloquin served in a similar capacity as a recruiting assistant, a role in which he worked with the coaching staff assisting in all recruiting aspects. A 2003 Notre Dame graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from the Mendoza College of Business, Peloquin served as a student manager from 2000 to 2002 and was named head senior manager for the 2002 season. Peloquin is a native of Blue Island, Illinois, and is married to the former Jamie Meisenhelder. The couple has two daughters, Mackenzie and Kylie.
LUKE PITCHER
FOOTBALL RECRUITING CREATIVE LEAD Luke Pitcher is in his second year in 2015 with the Notre Dame football program. He coordinates the graphical identity for recruiting and promotional materials, while also overseeing many of the team's social media efforts and exploring emerging technologies. Pitcher joined the Irish in the summer of 2014 after three years as the director of digital media for the Orange Bowl Committee. Pitcher oversaw strategical planning and implementation of digital and social media for the 2012-14 Discover Orange Bowl game and the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. Prior to the Orange Bowl, Pitcher held graphic, multimedia and webfocused positions for both the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic, including the Magic's run to the 2009 NBA Finals. He began his professional career in Baltimore as a multimedia designer for Under Armour. A native of Painted Post, New York, Pitcher earned a bachelor's degree in graphic design with a concentration in multimedia from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2006.
RON POWLUS
DIRECTOR OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT Former University of Notre Dame quarterback and assistant coach Ron Powlus is in his first year in 2015 as the director of player development for the Fighting Irish. Powlus will be responsible for helping develop the Irish football players in three of the five core areas head coach Brian Kelly uses to develop complete student-athletes: intellectual development, social development and spiritual development (the coaching staff is charged with skill development and the strength and conditioning staff is responsible for physical development). Powlus will act as a liaison between the football players and coaching staff plus serve as primary contact between both the student welfare and development office and academic services for student-athletes department. Through the athletics department’s student welfare and development office, Powlus will help coordinate community service projects via the “Irish Around the Bend” initiative. He also will coordinate and monitor the study hall sessions with the associate director and senior academic counselor of the academic services for student-athletes department. Prior to his return to Notre Dame, Powlus spent the better part of three seasons as the quarterbacks coach at Kansas University (2012-14). He was the passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Akron for two years (2010-11). Powlus previously spent five years at Notre Dame in two different roles: quarterbacks coach (2007-10) and director of personnel development (200506). In his initial role with the Irish program, Powlus played an integral role in helping the 2006 and 2007 recruiting classes rank in the top 10 nationally as he helped direct the administrative aspects of Irish recruiting. As an assistant coach, Powlus helped develop Jimmy Clausen into one of the most prolific passers in school history. Clausen still ranks first or second in 32 different passing categories, including tops in single-game completions, career completions per game, single-season completion percentage, career completion percentage, single-season pass efficiency, single-game passing yards per attempt, single-season 300-yard passing games, consecutive passes without an interception and lowest career interception percentage. A four-year starter at quarterback for the Irish from 1994-97, Powlus was a two-time captain who set 20 school records at Notre Dame. He started all 44 regular-season games (plus two bowl games) in which he played and completed 558 of 969 passes for 7,602 yards and 52 TDs. He signed as a free agent in 1998 with the Tennessee Oilers and then was on the Detroit Lions' preseason roster in 1999 and the Philadelphia Eagles' roster in 2000. Powlus played with NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals in the spring of 2000. In 1992, he was hailed by Parade as the prep player of the year and by USA Today as the offensive player of the year.
A native of Berwick, Pennsylvania, Powlus earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Notre Dame in 1997. He and his wife, Sara, are parents of two sons, Ronnie and Tommy.
JEFF QUINN
OFFENSIVE ANALYST Jeff Quinn is in his first year in 2015 with the Notre Dame football program as the offensive analyst. Quinn enters his 32nd year of college coaching. He has produced NCAA, conference and school record-breaking offenses along with winning multiple conference, bowl and national championships. Quinn served as the head coach at the University at Buffalo from 2010-14, which included a 2013 campaign that saw the Bulls finish with an 8-5 record. The eight wins were the most for Buffalo in the regular season since it moved to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1999. The Bulls also won a school-record six Mid-American Conference games. Buffalo registered a seven-game winning streak, including the program’s first victory over a school from a Bowl Championship Series conference (UConn). The Bulls participated in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl -- the program’s second bowl appearance. Quinn had three of his players selected in the National Football League draft, including linebacker Khalil Mack who was chosen fifth overall by the Oakland Raiders in 2014. Mack was the highest NFL Draft pick in school history and the highest defensive player ever selected from the Mid American Conference. Quinn’s teams also performed in the classroom. Buffalo recorded the best overall GPA and APR ranking in program history. As offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Cincinnati (20072009), Quinn helped the Bearcats to a 12-0 regular-season record in 2009 and served as interim head coach heading into the Sugar Bowl meeting with defending national champion Florida. Quinn was named one of five finalists for the 2009 Broyles Award, which is given to the nation’s top assistant coach. Unranked in preseason polls, Cincinnati’s undefeated regular season catapulted the Bearcats to No. 3 in the BCS standings and earned them an invitation to the Sugar Bowl, the school’s second consecutive BCS game. UC set numerous school records in 2009, including those for wins (12), road wins (6), consecutive regular season wins (18), points (495), passing yards (3,844), fewest fumbles (10) and fewest turnovers (10). Prior to his stint at Cincinnati, Quinn was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Central Michigan. He helped the Chippewas to the 2006 MAC title. Quinn served as interim head coach for Central Michigan in its 31-14 victory over Middle Tennessee in the 2006 Motor City Bowl. Quinn arrived at CMU in 2004 after 15 seasons at Grand Valley State. He was part of the staff that led the Lakers to back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003. The 2001 Laker offense average 600.8 yards and set an NCAA record by averaging 58.4 points per game. Quinn is a 1984 graduate of Elmhurst College where he was a two-sport standout in football and wrestling. He was twice named Student-Athlete of the Year at Elmhurst. Quinn was inducted into Elmhurst’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. Quinn earned a master of arts degree from DePauw in 1986 and an educational leadership master’s degree endorsement from GVSU in 2000. Quinn and his wife, Shannon, have two sons, Kyle and Ryan.
DONOVAN RAIOLA
GRADUATE ASSISTANT - OFFENSE Donovan Raiola, a three-time all-Big Ten honorable mention center at Wisconsin in 2003, 2004 and 2005, is in his first year in 2015 as an offensive graduate assistant for the Irish. Raiola spent the 2014 season as an intern with the University of Hawai’i football program. He assisted Rainbow Warrior offensive line coach Chris Naeole. Raiola started 39 of 43 career games for the Badgers (2002-05), including 38 of his final 39 contests. He was a three-time all-Big Ten honorable mention selection and team captain as a senior. Raiola was named to the 2003, 2004 and 2005 preseason watch lists for the Rimington Trophy, which is given to college football’s outstanding center. He was also selected to the watch list for the ‘04 Outland Trophy. After redshirting at Wisconsin in 2001, Raiola played in five games in 2002, including a start at right guard versus Iowa. He shifted to center in 2003, started every contest of the season and The Sporting News rated him as the fifth-best center in the country. Raiola registered 33 knockdowns with seven touchdown-resulting blocks. In 2004, Raiola collected 35 knockdowns and was part of a Badgers offensive line that allowed just 22 sacks. He recorded 40 knockdown blocks in 2005. The Honolulu, Hawai’i native signed a National Football League freeagent contract with the St. Louis Rams in 2006. He ultimately spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears,
11 National Championships | 7 Heisman Trophy Winners | 187 First-Team All-Americans