Print Edition of The Observer for Tuesday, August 4, 2020

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Volume 55, Issue 1 | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Campuses embrace first-year students Notre Dame retains large first-year class

Saint Mary’s welcomes diverse first-year class

By SERENA ZACHARIAS

By MIA MARROQUIN

Notre Dame News Editor

Saint Mary’s News Editor

Over the course of the year, the University expects to welcome between 2,150 to 2,180 first-year students to the class of 2024 after receiving 21,273 applications and admitting 4,055 students this cycle.

Predicting that COVID-19 would decrease the yield rate of first-year students, the University offered a few hundred more acceptances than in previous years; however, more students enrolled than anticipated. The incoming class is expected to be at least 100 students larger than last year’s incoming class.

With incoming international students still struggling to obtain

This fall, 396 first-year students and 23 transfer students will close the circle and join the Saint Mary’s community.

Despite colleges around the country anticipating a decline in enrollment rates and subsequent loss of tuition revenue as a result of of the coronavirus pandemic, Saint Mary’s is “pleased with the size of the Class of 2024 and very excited about the profile of the class,” director of admission Sarah Gallagher Dvorak said in an email.

“We can’t know for certain exactly how enrollment was impacted by the global pandemic, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone working in college or

see ND 2024 PAGE 5

ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer

First-year students began moving in Monday to their residence halls. Welcome Week activities will continue through the rest of the week to acclimate and introduce students to the tri-campus community.

Welcome Week to offer hybrid experience

By ALYSA GUFFEY Associate News Editor

Instead of the annual Welcome Weekend, the Office of Student Affairs and First-Year Advising will hold Welcome Week to safely introduce first-year students and their families to Notre Dame.

Typically, first-year students move in the Friday before classes begin and participate in Welcome Weekend, a Friday through Sunday program that combines social events between dorms with academic sessions involving students and parents. This year, the first-year experience will look different given the risk of large gatherings in the midst of the pandemic.

Lauren Donahue, program director for new student

NEWS PAGE 4

engagement in the Division of Student Affairs, said firstyear students and guests were split into two groups with two different move-in dates of Monday or Wednesday.

Those with a move-in date of Monday will have programming through Wednesday while those moving in on Wednesday will have programming through Friday.

“Folks can expect to experience the same exact program, no matter if they’re in the blue schedule or the gold schedule, and we are working, and have worked, to provide them experiences that will mirror things that [other] students have experienced,” Donahue said.

In addition to the events once families arrive on see WELCOME PAGE 3

Viewpoint PAGE 7

see SMC 2024 PAGE 4

ND admits 250 transfers

By MAX LANDER News Writer

As in the past, Welcome Week not only marks the arrival of the class of 2024 on campus but also the arrival of incoming transfer students.

Typically about half of the transfers come through Holy Cross’ Gateway program with Notre Dame and

the other half through external transfers from academic institutions across the world. However, in light of COVID-19, this year’s enrollment target for transfer students was increased to 250 from the usual 150 students.

“We wanted to be sure we would hit our enrollment target for sure given all the uncertainties at play,” said Erin Camilleri, director

of transfer enrollment at the Office of Admissions.

“Because of the timeline for our decision-making, we weren’t sure how many of our international students would be able to make it. We also didn’t know how many students would be personally affected by COVID and wouldn’t be able to attend or see TRANSFER PAGE 5

Saint Mary’s welcomes 6 international students

By GENEVIEVE COLEMAN News Writer

This year, Saint Mary’s will welcome six international students and two international sisters. These Belles hail from China, El Salvador, Ghana, Germany, Mexico and Uganda.

Alice Yang, associate

Scene PAGE 8

director of International Education, expressed the importance of the College’s integral mission of protecting all students during the pandemic.

“The coronavirus has disrupted our world in unprecedented ways, including higher education, but our commitment to students’

nd football PAGE 16

health and safety remains our top priority,” she said.

To uphold this commitment to students’ health and safety, Saint Mary’s will accommodate international students who choose not to take classes on campus by allowing them to take see INTERNATIONAL PAGE 5

Smc & HCC SPORTS PAGE 16

2

TODAY

The observer | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Question of the Day: ndsmcobserver.com

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What are you looking forward to most this year?

P.O. Box 779, Notre Dame, IN 46556 024 South Dining Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556

Ryan Collins

Nicole Warren

freshman O’Neill Hall

senior Flaherty Wall

“Meeting new people.”

“Spending time with friends.”

Maia Neves

Madeline Kroner

senior Flaherty Hall

freshman Pasquerilla West Hall

“Being back on campus after a semester abroad.”

“Making friends and a new family.”

(574) 631-6900 ads@ndsmcobserver.com

Anna Polivka

Alexander Skantz

Editor-in-Chief

freshman Walsh Hall

freshman Alumni Hall

“Meeting new people and making new friends.”

“Interhall sports.”

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ALLISON THORNTON | The Observer

Two resident assistants sit outside Howard Hall checking in and welcoming first-year students. First-year move in began Monday and will continue through the week. The traditional Welcome Weekend has been converted to a Welcome Week for safety purposes.

The next Five days:

Want your event included here?

Email news@ndsmcobserver.com

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Welcome Mass Notre Dame Stadium 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Service for first-years and families as part of Welcome Week.

“Inclusivity in PostPandemic World” Virtual 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.

A discussion on COVID and disabilities.

Trip to the Grotto Grotto 9 a.m. - noon First-year students will take their first trip as a class.

“Drive-In” Movie SMC Athletic Fields 8:30 p.m.

RHA will screen “The Cheetah Girls.” All are welcome.

Disc Golf South Quaad 10 p.m. - midnight Participate in a socially distanced game of disc golf.

Glow Campus Scavenger Hunt Fieldhouse Mall 9 p.m. - midnight.

Students compete to win prizes.

Trivia Night Various Locations 9 p.m. - midnight Kahoot will be played.

Prizes will be awarded to highest scorers.

“Drive-In” Movie SMC Athletic Fields 8:30 p.m.

SDB will screen “Bring It On.” All are welcome to attend the showing.

Flick on the Field Notre Dame Stadium 9 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Watch “Rudy” on the field where he played.

Bring a blanket.

Stadium Standup Notre Dame Stadium 10 p.m. - midnight Guest comedians perform standup routines.

News

ndsmcobserver.com | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | The Observer

3

7 rectors to begin their new roles on campus

By ISSY VOLMERT Associate News Editor

Six of Notre Dame’s dorms and the Fischer Graduate Community will be under the leadership of new rectors this year.

Fr. Robert Lisowski will serve as Baumer Hall’s new rector. He served as an assistant rector for the Dillon community in Baumer Hall last year.

Lisowski, originally from Scranton, Pa., earned his undergraduate degree from St. John’s University in Queens, New York.

He entered the Congregation of Holy Cross at Notre Dame in 2014 and completed his Master of Divinity in May. “I am so excited to begin this new role and chapter as rector of Baumer Hall,” he said in an email. “Serving as an assistant rector for the Dillon community this past year was an incredibly rich experience and I am looking forward to continuing and growing in this ministry.”

Michael Rossetti will be taking over the newly refurbished

Welcome Continued from page 1

campus, the Welcome Week Steering Committee (W WSC) — a group of upperclassmen who work during the summer to plan Welcome Week events — created videos introducing families to important organizations on campus.

“The video series hopes to ease the anxieties and uncertainties that students and families may be facing while navigating their first year at Notre Dame during these unprecedented times,” said Jordan Brown, senior and a member of W WSC, in an email.

Junior and member of W WSC Isaiah Metcalf acknowledged that planning the welcome activities this year was difficult as a result of the health precautions.

“There is a certain loss of personality when activities are moved online, so there was a fine balance we had to find between fostering community and keeping the campus safe,” Metcalf said in an email.

Andrew W hittington, program director for first-year engagement in the Center for University Advising, said an emphasis was also placed on the importance of students’ academic success combined with their extracurricular and spiritual life at Notre Dame for Welcome Week.

“Including opportunities for students to engage with faculty and staff was ver y essential, as well as celebrating Mass together as kind of a hallmark of our Holy Cross education,” W hittington

Dillon Hall. Rossetti graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2012. After teaching in Chicago for four years, Rossetti completed a Master of Divinity at Notre Dame in 2019, during which he was an assistant rector in Keough Hall. He then served as visiting chaplain at University College Cork in Ireland.

“I wholeheartedly believe we accompany students like no other institution, so I am honored to have been offered the opportunity to return,” he said.

Pangborn Hall’s new rector is Daniela De Ciantis, originally from Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Toronto, after which she taught high school religion and English in Ottawa. De Ciantis came to Notre Dame for her Master of Divinity degree, and she was an assistant rector in Flaherty Hall for two years.

“I am thrilled to be serving as a rector at the University of Notre Dame,” De Ciantis in an email. “It is a privilege and gift to contribute to the mission of the University cultivating the hearts

and minds of students through communal living in the halls.”

Across the quad, Fr. Bill Dailey has returned to serve as rector of Zahm House. From 2013 to 2016, Dailey was the rector of Stanford Hall. He then spent four years in Dublin, Ireland, where he was the founding director of the Notre Dame Newman Centre for Faith and Reason at St. John Henry Newman’s University Church.

Dailey earned his bachelor degree in 1994 and his Master of Divinity in 2000, both at Notre Dame, and he graduated from Columbia Law School in 2006.

Dailey said he is optimistic in regards to the challenges and opportunities residential life will face during the pandemic.

“It will take creativity, but our students have never been lacking in that department, so we’ll see how it is that we can make the semester work in terms of keeping the virus at bay while also building the friendships and enjoying the laughter, engagement and camaraderie that make living on this campus the best undergraduate experience in the world,”

said. “We believe praying together brings us together in a community in ways that the other things don’t.”

W hile parents or other guests are expected to leave following the end of their assigned programming, student programming within dorm communities will continue up to the start of classes on Monday. W hittington said he hopes the extra time between move-in and the start of classes will give first-years the opportunity to slow down.

“If I’m putting myself in the shoes of a first-year student, we have a few more moments in which they can take a breath and find a quiet moment with their roommates, or walk down the hall or walk down the quad and meet someone new,” W hittington said.

The programming within ever y dorm is run by Welcome Week teams, members of each residence hall who move onto campus early to welcome first years to their dorm communities.

To limit the exposure and spread of COV ID-19, studentonly programming will not include inter-hall events as in past years, Noble Patidar, co-captain of Keough Hall Welcome Week team, said.

Patidar, a senior who has ser ved on the Welcome Weekend team for the past two years, said although the schedule is different this year, he has high hopes for the experience.

“I’m excited for us to do more close-knit events where kids from different sections [in the hall] get to know each other because the primar y source of social interaction

this year is probably going to be within your dorm, section to section,” Patidar said.

Metcalf said he feels the dorm programming is one of the strongest aspects of the 2020 Welcome Week and will “help set up a more united dorm culture this year.”

One challenge Patidar said he faced this year was having to cut his Welcome Week team from 18 people to three to comply with University limits on the number of early student move-ins.

“That was tough because all these guys are all-stars of the dorm already, and then you have to cut on top of that, so we literally used a random generator. We couldn’t make the decision,” Patidar said.

According to Donahue, the major theme of Welcome Week is creating an inclusive environment.

“First and foremost, we want to ensure that students who are new to our campus find a sense of belonging and a sense of connection to this place, to people that they encounter in their residence halls and their classrooms,” Donahue said.

Striving for Welcome Week to be a truly welcoming experience for each and ever y student has led many, including Brown, to have a strong desire to be a part of the Notre Dame tradition.

“I wished to contribute my perspective as a biracial student to create an environment that is focused on inclusion and is comfortable for students, especially for those from underrepresented groups,” Brown said.

Contact Alysa Guffey at aguffey@nd.edu

Dailey said in an email.

South Bend native Fr. Chris Brennan is taking over as rector of Stanford Hall. Brennan attended Old College seminary before earning a Masters of Divinity. During his last year of his masters program, Brennan was an assistant rector in Dunne Hall.

Ordained as a priest in 2018, Brennan served in Church ministries all around the world and spent time serving as a parish priest in Portland, Ore. “I am excited to now call Stanford Hall home, and learn from and live with the Men of Virtue,” he said in a email.

Fr. Eric Schimmel is the new rector of Dunne Hall. He entered the Moreau Seminary after completing his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame. After earning his Masters of Divinity, Schimmel was ordained in 2002.

Since then, Schimmel has worked in parishes across the United States, served as Director of the Andre House, Phoenix, and worked at King’s College, Wilkes Barre, Pa., in its campus

SMC 2024 Continued from page 1

university enrollment offices who would say that there wasn’t some sort of impact,” Gallagher Dvorak said. “We did expect a bit of a bigger class given where our enrollment numbers were in early March, but things did slow down a bit once the pandemic took over and the world began to shut down.”

The incoming class of 2024 hails from all corners of the United States, representing 29 different states, according to Gallagher Dvorak, as well as two countries.

The diversity of the incoming class also spans beyond geographical boundaries and is ref lected in their experiences.

“This class has entrepreneurs, authors, scientists, artists, athletes, and many, many students who have volunteered both in their communities and communities all over the world to make life better for the people who live there,” Gallagher Dvorak said.

These students have succeeded inside the classroom as well. The average GPA of the incoming class is higher than a 3.8, she said.

This year, students from underrepresented communities make up 22% of the incoming first-year class.

Gallagher Dvorak said this number is consistent with what has been seen in previous year’s enrollments — last year, being the outlier with a ver y large increase of underrepresented students.

For Gallagher Dvorak the

ministry.

“Having been blessed by Notre Dame’s education focusing on both mind and heart, I feel honored to now serve here, keeping that tradition alive,” Schimmel said in an email.

Finally, Michigan native Sara Thoms is taking up the new role as rector of undergraduate community in Fischer Graduate Residences and project coordinator for Residential Life.

After graduating from Villanova University, Thoms completed her Master of Divinity from Notre Dame. Thoms then taught high school theology in Phoenix, Ariz.

“I hope to build community by connecting these students to each other and to their home halls,” Thoms said in an email.

“COVID-19 has brought about many disruptions to our students’ lives, and I hope coming home to Notre Dame ushers in a sense of peace and comfort amidst these uneasy circumstances.”

Contact Issy Volmert at ivolmert@nd.edu

diversity of a student body is important because all students benefit from surrounding themselves with peers from all different walks of life.

“One of the greatest values of college is to expand your knowledge and learn from others who may come from different backgrounds, who’ve had different experiences, and whose perspectives may be different than your ow n,” Gallagher Dvorak said. “We recognize this, and we’re proud of the diversit y represented in our student body. In the coming year, we hope to build on that and enroll even more students from underrepresented populations to prov ide an even richer educational experience to our students.”

Gallagher Dvorak said 18% of the incoming class applied early decision which shows how many applicants already had a strong affinity to attend Saint Mar y’s. This strong affinity can also be seen through the prevalence of a legacy connection, as approximately 21% of the incoming class has a legacy connection.

“We love to see that - their mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers loved their four years at Saint Mar y’s and they know first hand the great benefits of being a student here.” Gallagher Dvorak said. “They’ve passed this on and now we have the privilege to educate their loved ones.”

Contact Mia Marroquin at mmarroquin01@saintmarys.edu

4

NEWS

The observer | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

International orientation sees low turnout, students cite issues obtaining visas

By MARIA LUISA PAUL News Writer

This year’s international students’ orientation, held on Aug. 1-2, included a number of different events to get international students acquainted with Notre Dame and the U.S. The orientation consisted of a welcome from Notre Dame International, a presentation from International Student and Scholar Affairs (ISSA) on responsibilities students w ith an F-1 or J-1 v isa should manage, student communit y-building activ ities w ith International Ambassadors and presentations from a my riad of campus resources.

Leah Zimmer, the director of ISSA, said orientation looked a little different this year as a result of the pandemic. W hile Notre Dame

usually welcomes around 350 guests – – including both students and parents – – only about a 100 guests were able to attend this year.

“Because of travel restrictions and the suspension of v isa processing at U.S. embassies, far fewer students were able to attend this year,” Zimmer said. “We look for ward to welcoming students in the next week, if they are able to get a v isa, or in spring 2021 or fall 2021.”

Though classes are set to begin on Aug. 10, Zimmer said some international students have not been able to finalize their plans due to the pandemic. Notre Dame is still expecting the arrival of a number of international students in the coming weeks.

Melanie Benítez, a firstyear student from Colombia,

was able to move into Pasquerilla West Hall on Aug. 1. However, leav ing her countr y was a complicated process.

“Coming to the U.S., even while being a citizen, was challenging because Colombia’s international borders are closed, which makes traveling way more difficult and expensive,” Benítez said.

For first-year Nicolás López, also from Colombia, arriving to the U.S. was equally challenging. He was able to leave his country through a humanitarian f light offered to U.S. citizens. Even though he found “an easy exit,” López acknowledged other international students might not have his luck.

“Colombia’s borders have been and w ill remain closed for the foreseeable future

Write News.

and have deprived many close friends of mine from traveling to the States and attending their respective colleges,” López said.

Across the world, a my riad of countries have established f light restrictions in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This realit y has hindered student’s plans to pursue an education away from their home countries.

In addition, international students have been struggling to obtain v isas amid the pandemic.

As a result, Notre Dame announced it was prov iding first-year international students four different options to complete their education.

In the event that international students cannot travel to the U.S., they can either choose to study away locally, defer for a semester or a

Email us at news@ndsmcobserver.com Paid Advertisement

year or take “other academic prov isions” in which the student can fill out a request form to likely study online from their home countr y.

The path towards attending Notre Dame might not be clear for several international students. However, despite the difficulties, López, who is pursuing a major in economics, said Notre Dame inspired him to overcome the challenges in his way.

“A lthough coronav irus took a rough toll on all of us high school seniors, Notre Dame was always an aspect in my life that encouraged me to push through,” he said.

“I hope that coming here w ill grant me the chance to rediscover myself and make a family of my ow n.”

Contact Maria Luisa Paul at mpaulran@nd.edu

News

Transfer Continued from page 1

want to transfer.”

While the majority of admitted transfer students will be attending their first semester at the University this upcoming fall, there were a number of students who had to postpone their transfer due to the pandemic.

“Some of them are looking to postpone their matriculation, looking for deferrals, those things are happening for sure but the vast, vast majority of those [transfer] students are indeed coming,” Camilleri said.

Camilleri said she and her colleagues are excited for the transfer students who will be arriving on campus.

“We feel really confident in the decisions that we made,” she said.

“We always have incredible students who we are able to admit through the transfer process, and this year, we certainly had a great applicant pool and we admitted a group of wonderful students.”

Transfer admissions work a little differently than those for firstyear students because, unlike first-year students, most transfers come into the University with a particular area of academic study already in mind.

“We have the added complexity of working to admit students to a particular college and a particular major,” Camilleri said.

All academic programs are open to transfer students with the exception of programs which are at capacity or already have a waitlist, so Camilleri and her team work with the colleges within the University to ensure that potential transfers to various programs have all the background and academic resources they need to succeed at Notre Dame.

“Sometimes there’s limited capacity in certain majors, so we work really closely with the Colleges to understand what their capacity is in different majors, and that can vary from year to year,” Camilleri said. “They’re the experts when it comes to the curriculum, so we say, ‘Does this student have all of the necessary materials covered in their first

International Continued from page 1

online courses in their home countr y.

Yang acknowledged the facult y and staff who have facilitated these online courses for international students.

“The College is tr ying to be f lex ible during COV ID-19 and does ever y thing to meet our students’ needs. The Office of Student Academic Ser v ices and our professors are ver y supportive of our students,” she said.

Saint Mar y’s also assisted international students who could not return home when campus closed in March.

ndsmcobserver.com | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | The Observer

year to really ensure that they will be making a smooth transition?’”

While the admissions office works with the colleges to ensure the future success of potential transfer students and their smooth transition into academic life at Notre Dame, the Office of Student Affairs also works to welcome transfer students to campus for the first time with transfer Welcome Weekend programming, similar to that of first years.

The transfer Welcome Weekend is meant to give transfer students a chance to get to know each other, build a sense of community and touch base with academic advisors. Camilleri said that University President Fr. John Jenkins, a transfer student himself, is often in attendance to wish incoming transfers a warm welcome to campus.

Sophomore Maddie McBride is transferring to Notre Dame through the Holy Cross Gateway Program along with 74 other students.

McBride said she doesn’t have any family who went to the University and had never visited before applying on the recommendation of her high school counselor. However, she was offered and accepted a spot in the Gateway Program, and McBride said the Gateway Program and its community quickly won her over.

“I just fell in love with the program and all the people,” McBride said. “When I was there I really tried to make a community at Holy Cross and at Notre Dame.

I was involved in things on both campuses.”

McBride also said while she is excited to be on campus, the hectic planning for this semester has been stressful in some ways for transfer students.

“It’s been a little bit tricky just because I feel like we weren’t really informed about a lot of things, especially housing was a big issue at the beginning,” McBride said.

“Before like two weeks ago, nobody knew where we were going to live. It’s out of their control, so I was never upset at the school, but it was a little bit stressful because we didn’t know if we’d be on campus or not.”

However, McBride said she’s

happy with the University’s efforts to make space for transfer students in on-campus housing.

“I’m happy that they worked really hard to get transfers in,” She said. “Although housing isn’t guaranteed for Gateway students, and it never has been, they know how important being on campus is to a lot of us.”

The University has taken various steps to make sure transfer students smoothly transition on to campus and into the campus community.

“I think they have tried to really make the transfers feel welcome even before we’ve arrived on campus,” McBride said. “They started a Transfer Connections program which I decided to participate in; it was just the other night. We had a Zoom call and learned a little more about Welcome Weekend and got to know one another a little.”

Overall, McBride said she is both excited and a little nervous about the upcoming year. While she is excited to be on campus, to see old friends and to meet new ones, McBride said that as a Gateway transfer student she feels she has a level of experience with and exposure to the University and its community that non-Gateway transfers may lack coming to campus for the first time. While she could see the pandemic as a barrier to foster community, she said she thinks the University will be able to keep the students and their communities healthy.

“I’m definitely excited this year to just be on campus and in the dorms, and I’m also really excited just to get to know other transfer students from different schools,” McBride said. “But I guess I’m a little nervous about how the year is going to go and walking on eggshells the whole time wondering if we’re going to stay or leave. It’s going to be a little hard to build a community this year with all the new precautions, but I think they’ve got some good things set up. I’m really happy they have all the tents outside and are encouraging people to spend time outside and not just be isolated.”

“The College continued to offer housing for [international students] who had nowhere to go in March when the College closed the campus,” Yang said. “[Our students] even joined the Notre Dame international students in the Morris Inn for a while. A few students have been liv ing on campus ... even though they have already graduated.”

In light of the changing Immigration and Customs Reinforcement policies this summer affecting international students, Yang hopes to express Saint Mar y’s tolerance toward all students.

“The College wants to do what it can to make [international students] feel welcome on our campus,” she said.

In addition, Yang emphasized the necessar y role international students play in educating their peers and the entire campus communit y.

“It is so important to host international students on campus. They enrich our learning env ironment, bring diversit y and different cultural perspectives to classroom discussions, offer international friendship and language exchange and help our students and communit y learn about the rest of the world,” Yang said.

“They are not only students but also culture and language teachers.”

Contact Max Lander at mlander1@nd.edu

Contact Genevieve Coleman at gcoleman01@saintmarys.edu

ND 2024 Continued from page 1

visas, the exact number of firstyear students will remain in flux for the next few months. Don Bishop, associate vice president of undergraduate enrollment, said the University will offer midyear options for international students to enroll at Notre Dame, and depending on how many students receive visas, the makeup of the class of 2024 may change.

Admissions received around 60 summer cancellations this year.

While this number was greater than in past years, Bishop said admissions prepared for an even greater loss. In addition, the number of students electing to take a gap year increased to around 60 to 100 students as opposed to the usual 15 to 20 students.

Less than half of the students who applied with an ACT of 34, 35 or 36 or an SAT score of 1500 to 1600 were admitted this year.

While the typical Notre Dame student ranks in the top 1 to 2% in their high school class, Bishop said the admissions committee considers more than numbers in its review process.

“We look at the rigor of their curriculum,” Bishop said. “Did they seek out more active and creative and challenging learning opportunities? We looked at their motivation for their success, not just their grades and test scores.”

Bishop also said admissions tries to assess how students will use the resources Notre Dame has to offer. When reviewing applications Bishop said the committee asks themselves the following questions: “Do they see the mission of Notre Dame, and do they articulate a connection with what we’re trying to accomplish? Do they want to give more to other people than just take and get tribute for their own talent?”

The demographics of the incoming class are comparable to previous years. The class is expected to be composed of 27% U.S. students of color, with 6% African American, 10% Asian American, 10% Hispanic/Latino and 1% Native American.

Bishop said 14% of the class will be what he considers “global.” Six percent of these students are international citizens, while the rest are dual-citizen American students or American students raised abroad.

“Fifty-nine nations are represented,” Bishop said. “That counts the U.S., so 58 other countries and the United States are represented.

The largest countries, China and Mexico, were pretty close to tied, and then Canada, Brazil, England, United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, as a region, South Korea, Ireland, Poland and Spain.”

Over 50 incoming first-year students are first-generation college students, recipients of Pell Grants or from families who earn below $65,000. More than 40 students have a home income between $65,000 and $100,000.

“The University leadership and the trustees worked with me to increase our planning and our funding for financial aid to go out

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and recruit more high-need students, and we were successful in that, and I’m very proud of that,” Bishop said.

Despite COVID-19, Bishop said the yield rate for lower-income students was comparable to that of past years, but admissions saw an increase in competition for that same group of students.

“About 50% more of [low-income students] that we lost went to the top 10 schools in the country than the rest of our applicant pool,” Bishop said.

The University will also welcome 249 transfer students this year. Seventy-four of those students will transfer to Notre Dame through the Gateway Program in collaboration with Holy Cross College. Traditional transfer students account for 143 of all the transfer students, about half of which are coming from other Catholic universities. Thirty-one students will transfer to Notre Dame through programs in the College of Engineering.

“Thirty-one students are threetwo or four-one engineers, so they’re three years at the other school or four years at the other school, and then they spend two or one years here getting an additional undergraduate engineering credential,” Bishop said.

Since the University gave undergraduate non-first-year students the option of living off-campus in light of COVID-19, most of the transfer students were offered and accepted campus housing.

“This is probably the first time that nearly all the transfers were given that opportunity, so in a way that’s kind of nice,” Bishop said.

Almost 1,500 high schools across the nation and the globe are represented in the class of 2024, with 44% of students having attended public high schools, 40% Catholic and 16% private or charter schools.

About a quarter of the class has chosen to enroll in the College of Arts and Letters, about 21% in the College of Engineering, 24% in the Mendoza College of Business, 28% in the College of Science and 2% in the School of Architecture.

“Science has the highest growth,” Bishop said. “Women in science has been, for the last 10 years, a real mover. There are more women going into science than men. I think the percentage of women in the science department is about 60 to 62%, so it’s a very strong trend that continues.”

To make up the first-year class, Bishop said admissions looked to admit a diverse set of students in culture, ethnic background, global awareness and economics while looking at applications from a holistic perspective. This year, he thinks, the admissions committee has met their goals.

“I used to praise our admitted classes and note how impressed I was with their accomplishments,” Bishop said. “I can now honestly say I am inspired by our students — they have done so much and care so deeply. ... I would not trade our enrolling class for any other in the United States.”

Contact Serena Zacharias at szachari@nd.edu

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Inside Column

A note from me to you Maria Leontaras Editor-in-Chief

Hello, dear readers. Welcome to another thrilling academic year!

Whether you’re a first year or not, this year in our tri-campus community will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced. Or at least that’s what it seems like — as of writing this, I haven’t been on campus yet. Changes abound, but this is nothing to be scared of.

Our three campuses pride themselves on the traditions they uphold. These traditions might be one of the reasons you chose to come to the Bend, and these traditions will stay or return sometime in the future. But they may not be possible this year.

That’s OK. Everyone who steps foot on the grounds of these institutions does so for a reason. There’s something special that connects the students of the tri-campus. Their ingenuity, their creativity, their passion, their drive. The list quite literally goes on.

It is because of these traits that we will be able to innovate and tackle this school year with everything we have.

Of course, this isn’t to say there aren’t risks to reviving campus life. It is important we remember that every person on these campuses is functioning at a different comfort level given the state of the world. Some are ready to get back to the grind, attend every lecture they can and do their thing — masks on, of course. Others are shaken, tired and weary of what the future holds.

I find myself at the in-between. I’m eager to leave my house, see my friends and learn something new from my favorite professors. I’m nervous to return to a dorm, encounter people who aren’t the most diligent about safety guidelines and expose vulnerable people to whatever I’ve been exposed to.

That’s OK, too.

The most important thing — and something I hope every student is willing to offer to one another — is understanding. Understand that we are all doing the best we can. Understand that not everyone will be willing to do what you do. Understand that sometimes all someone will be able to do is sit in their room and watch anime for hours on end.

(Yes, that last one is about me. I’ll own that. Hope you understand.)

This year won’t be what we expected or hoped for. For some, it’s your first. For others, it’s your last. It is with high hopes that I say life’s what you make it, so let’s make it rock.

Let’s mourn the cesspool that is Domerfest and hope first years and transfers can experience that one day.

Let’s remember that everyone is going through it.

We are a community; we need to act like one.

Take care of yourself and your neighbor. Wear a mask. Follow your campus’ health and safety guidelines.

Whether we like it or not, the world really is looking at our institutions to see what will come next.

We each have the ability to make sure the outcome is as safe as can be. We can make new traditions while we wait to welcome back old ones.

So whether you’re a new student or returning, welcome to Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame and Holy Cross. The tri-campus community is so happy to have you.

Contact Maria Leontaras at mleontaras01@saintmarys.edu The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

LETTERs TO THE EDITOR

Looking ahead Dear students, I extend a warm welcome to each of you as we begin an academic year unlike any in Notre Dame’s long history. As we look ahead, I ask each of you for your commitment and flexibility as we continue to navigate the uncertain path caused by the novel coronavirus.

While the novel coronavirus will change many aspects of day-to-day life on campus, by working together, I believe we can make this a great year. If we each to our part, we will be able to remain on campus, to learn, grow and discover together.

You will hear me say many times this year that there are four things we must each do: 1. Wear your mask.

2. Practice physical distancing.

3. Wash your hands often.

4. Complete your daily health check.

On Monday, we will be one of the first universities to begin the 2020 fall semester under the conditions imposed by the pandemic. The nation will be watching. We have the chance to show the world how to continue the work of the University in the midst of the threat of this terrible virus. Success depends on the choices we make individually and collectively.

Let us work together, supported by all the resources and protocols we have put in place, to meet the challenges ahead. Let us show the world what Notre Dame can do.

Once again, welcome. I wish you every grace and blessing, and my prayers are with you.

In Notre Dame, Fr. John Jenkins president, Notre Dame Aug. 2

Growing together Dear Saint Mary’s Belles, On behalf of the faculty and staff at Saint Mary’s College, I am thrilled to welcome the students of the class of 2024, transfer students, returning students and graduate students! As your new president, I share your excitement for the beginning of this academic year. And while we are all experiencing a new “normal,” it does not alter how powerful your time at Saint Mary’s will be. You will be immersed in a rigorous academic community that will both challenge and support you. Our faculty, staff and administration have been preparing all summer and are eager to help make your transition successful. I ask that you do everything in your power to keep them, yourself and your fellow students safe and healthy.

Saint Mary’s is an institution founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. We emphasize the education of the whole person, encourage self-discovery and promote an open-hearted and inclusive community. You have so many opportunities at Saint Mary’s. Every semester offers an occasion to discover new ideas and forge new possibilities, both inside and outside the classroom. Check out the co-curricular activities the tri-campus community offers. Engage with people who have different backgrounds, experiences, beliefs or opinions. Approach

them with a spirit of curiosity and be open to learning with them and from them. By doing this, you will make our community and our world a better place.

One of my aspirations for you is that you will make this an active and activist year. Explore the curriculum and try some things you’re not already good at. Become broader. Become deeper. Consider what the world needs, and then solve a problem — or take a stand on something you believe in and work for change. If you do this, then you, too, will have experienced the spirit of Saint Mary’s, the Saint Mary’s that over 20,000 alumnae around the world experienced during their time here.

For over 175 years, Saint Mary’s has proudly educated students to make a difference in the world.

You are part of this tradition. It is your turn to make history at Saint Mary’s. I challenge you to prepare for leadership, both here and in a world that needs you. And I look forward to accompanying you on this exciting journey, through all the joys and uncertainties.

Best regards, Katie Conboy, Ph.D. president, Saint Mary’s Aug. 2

At work for the common good Greetings Holy Cross students!

As the academic year 20-21 begins, I extend to you a warm and enthusiastic welcome! To our returning Saints, welcome back to campus after months of attending class remotely during the spring semester.

Welcome to our HoCro first year students and transfer students as you embark upon an educational journey in a unique academic community, a journey in the contemporary liberal arts, rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition. Welcome, also, to Gateway 8.0! You are the eighth generation of Holy Cross students invited

by Notre Dame to enroll in a unique one year honors experience as a member of the Holy Cross community.

As I begin my fourth year as president, I reflect upon the zeal and grit of Brother John Driscoll, our founder, who fashioned an academic experience that focused upon helping Holy Cross students gain the next level of their educational aspirations. He did so by modeling for them the necessity of hard work, his own personal grit and the benefits of serious diligence and perseverance, virtues that play out within a supportive communal and intellectual environment.

Holy Cross students participate in the tri-campus community. Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy

Cross share a common “educational DNA” rooted in the apostolic educational traditions of the Holy Cross priests, Holy Cross sisters and the Holy Cross brothers going back to the mid-19th century. This community presents a vast array of opportunities at every level of life from the academic to the spiritual and social.

Undoubtedly, the unusual circumstances that face us due to COVID-19 will place boundaries and conditions upon some of our extra-curricular activity. Nonetheless, that should not diminish the quality and importance of these experiences of university and college life in 46556.

We are thrilled to have the Saints back home, and we are happy for the arrival of our newest members! In closing, let us commit ourselves as individuals and as a community to ensuring a safe and healthy environment. Let us be proactive in assisting one another to do so. We commit to this for Holy Cross, and we commit to this for our colleagues and friends at Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s.

Ave Crux, Spes Unica!

Fr. David Tyson president, Holy Cross Aug. 2

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The observer | Tuesday, august 4, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

LETTERs TO THE EDITOR

Resilient and ready Dear first years, After an unprecedented spring and summer, we are overjoyed to have the opportunity to welcome you all home and foster community under the Dome once again. To introduce ourselves, our names are Rachel and Sarah, and we are humbled to serve as your student body president and vice president this year.

If there is anything that we have learned about the Notre Dame family during our three years here, it is that we are resilient. In times of adversity, we step up to adapt to challenges and support one another. We are grounded by our friendships and our faith in our community to overcome.

Undoubtedly, this isn’t how you all expected to begin your college experience, and it isn’t quite how we expected to end ours either. However, instead of dwelling on what we may have envisioned, we encourage you to focus instead on the tremendous

opportunity we all are presented with. We look forward to the new traditions that will be born out of our adapted campus activities, the new perspectives that we will gain and the chance we have to rise to the occasion. As we know, the world is watching, and it’s time to show them that Notre Dame is a community that deeply cares. The University’s health and safety protocols are rooted in both science and love of one’s neighbor, and we call on each of you to abide by them out of respect for our beloved community.

Over the next four years, you will make memories to last a lifetime. You will challenge yourselves like never before in the classroom, learn about yourselves in new ways through your campus involvement and dig into life’s greatest questions. You will find joy in all of the little things — Southwest Salads on Thursdays at NDH, late-night conversations in your residence halls, sunny days on South Quad, quiet moments in the library and loud ones in the stadium.

And most of all, you will feel known and loved by some of the best friends you could ever hope for.

Finally, we encourage you all to visit us in the student government office in 203 LaFortune! It would be our sincere pleasure to get to learn more about your passions and work hand-in-hand to make our University a more welcoming and inclusive place for all.

Once again, welcome home.

Rachel Ingal student body president, Notre Dame senior Sarah Galbenski student body vice president, Notre Dame senior Aug. 2

Let’s get into it Woohoo! If you’re reading this, it means we’ve moved in. SGA is so excited to welcome all the firstyears to Saint Mary’s. Your arrival has been highly anticipated and we cannot wait to see how you leave your mark on the Saint Mary’s community. To all the sophomores, juniors and our fellow seniors: Welcome back; we’ve missed you all.

Even faced will the challenges and difficulties of COVID-19, Saint Mary’s will continue to strive to be an inclusive and tight-knit community full of wonderful women. So, what’s that mean for new Belles?

First-years! We want to encourage you to please get involved, even if that means virtually. Push yourself to try something new. Who knows? Maybe Baking Club is your calling? Working with Campus Ministry?

Or maybe it’s volunteering through OSCE? There are so many wonderful opportunities at Saint Mary’s.

On our campus alone, we have over 60 organizations to get involved in (shameless SGA plug). Plus, if you don’t see a club you’d be interested in, you can always

start your own. Saint Mary’s needs your help and direction, and we want to hear your voice.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself. The cool part about college and Saint Mary’s is that if you wear pajamas or jeans to class, nobody judges you. If you eat solely ice cream for dinner, nobody judges you. Saint Mary’s is an amazing place where you have an immense amount of freedom to be yourself. You were made beautiful and perfect; let your authentic self shine!

SGA has been working with various faculty and staff to offer your perspective on changes around campus. We know a lot of these new guidelines will probably feel strange at first and maybe even frustrating at times, but we know we can all do our best to keep our community, the tri-campus community and the greater South Bend community safe. Just know when things get hard, inevitably they will, there is a whole community of current students, staff, faculty and alumnae who are rooting for you

and your success. Don’t be afraid to check up on your peers; everyone is experiencing this pandemic differently. Belles were made to overcome challenges. Just as the cast of High School Musical said, “We’re all in this together.”

After being separated from campus for way too long, we feel so incredibly blessed and lucky to have the opportunity to come back for one more year. We are excited to serve each and every one of you this school year. Go Belles!

Let’s get into it, Giavanna Paradiso student body president, Saint Mary’s senior Kelsey O’Connor student body vice president, Saint Mary’s senior Aug. 2

As you begin your journey Dear Holy Cross class of 2024, As you begin your college journey and a deeper discovery of self amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, college can provide a place for you to develop and explore new opportunities and relationships. We hope to make campus a comfortable and welcoming place for you. We know how daunting this time can be for students. Our job is to make sure that your first year, although with challenges, can be exciting and fulfilling.

Since college is a new experience for most of you, we would like to give you some insights into Holy Cross and the tri-campus community. As you may know, the tri-campus consists of Holy Cross, Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame. Holy Cross students have the ability to take classes, join clubs, listen to lectures and attend sporting events at any of these three schools.

It is important that in this tri-campus community we are respectful of others and follow the COVID-19 regulations.

We strongly encourage all students to take advantage of the opportunities offered at Holy Cross in order to receive the fullest college experience. We also encourage you to participate in tri-campus events and get out of your comfort zone as much as possible: meet new people, try new experiences and be proud to be where you are. Doing so will allow you to discover new things about yourself and create lasting friendships.

Finally, we urge you to push yourselves — in your classwork, athletically, socially and spiritually.

Succeed in growing in these areas by setting goals and working hard to achieve them.

College can be the foundation for the rest of your life. We will continue to work to make this year a great one. Be safe. Be smart. Wear a mask. Have fun.

Don’t stress, but if you do, we are here. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. And remember Ave Crux, Spes Unica. Hail to the Cross, our only hope.

Join the conversation.

Submit a Letter to the Editor: viewpoint@ndsmcobserver.com

William Skoch student body president, Holy Cross senior Jillian Walter student body vice president, Holy Cross junior Aug. 2

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DIANE PARK | The Observer

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Crossword | Will Shortz

Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Adapt, and keep moving forward. You can’t stand in the way of progress, but you can look for ways to engage and make it work to your benefit.

Keeping up will play a major role in how well you do and the rewards you receive.

Call the shots, own your destiny and focus on building a secure future. Your numbers are 8, 19, 24, 27, 32, 38, 47.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Stymie anxiety or anger you are feeling by taking on a physical challenge. Call on those you know and trust to help you make the changes that will propel you in the direction you want to pursue. Personal improvement is favored.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If you want to change, it’s up to you to make it happen.

Don’t sit around, waiting for someone to step in and take over. Put your emotions aside, and do what you need to do. Strive for stability.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Learn from the mistakes others make. Don’t fall into a pattern that will hold you back. Pay less attention to what others do, and spend more time mapping out how to get ahead. Knowledge and who you associate with will determine your future.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Keep your eye on the money. Spend less, and keep joint holdings under control. Don’t take a risk when it comes to business, health or contracts. Anger solves nothing, but discipline and hard work will lead to success.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Put drama aside. If you let your emotions take over, you will be left behind. The best way to handle change is to find a way to fit in and to benefit in any way possible. Think big, be positive and forge ahead.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Take a moment to contemplate your next move before making a change that can influence how you live or work. Keep your emotions out of the equation, or you may end up triggering a chain reaction that does more harm than good.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Look beyond what’s right in front of you. Focus on being positive, and align yourself with people who motivate you, not those who are demanding or argumentative. Expand your mind, and pursue creative endeavors.

Romance is favored.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Put practicality first and emotions second. When in doubt, gather the facts before you take action. Given a chance, someone will mislead you. Let your intuition be your guide. Learn from experience, and let success be your revenge.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Pay attention to what’s going on at home and with meaningful relationships. Outside interference will cause problems between you and someone you love. Focus on domestic matters and self-improvement projects.

Choose peace and love over discord.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t agree to something you don’t want. It’s essential to speak up and offer solutions that will benefit everyone. Take control, and you will bring about positive change and better relationships. A possible change, along with compromise, will improve your home life.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Pay close attention to the way you look, how you feel and how you present yourself to the world. You’ll have an impact on those who look up to you if you are understanding. Romance is on the rise.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Do what’s best for everyone. A change based on emotional influences will create a problem with someone close to you.

Consideration, trust and honesty will make matters more comfortable to deal with as you move forward.

Birthday Baby: You are energetic, spirited, insightful and unpredictable. You are adventuresome and challenging.

Sudoku | The Mepham Group

Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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Sports Authority

Sports Authority

Weirdest NCAA sports mascots Nate Moller Sports Writer

Mascots for college sports are like no other in the sense that they can give a team, campus and entire community a distinct identity. Since I was a young boy following college athletics, I was always drawn to the most bizarre names, and to this day I still have a laugh when I hear some of the mascots.

I give these teams kudos for choosing a non-mainstream name, but sometimes I wonder how these names came to be. Based on my criteria, the “bizarreness” of the mascot increased if I didn’t know what the mascot referred to, if there were multiple words in the mascot name that contradicted themselves, or if the mascot seemed very non-intimidating and just random.

Alabama Crimson Tide It’s one of the most iconic mascots in all of sports, but it is very bizarre in nature at the same time. The name was first adopted after Alabama’s defense put on a dazzling defensive display against Auburn in 1907 and it has stuck to this day.

UC-Irvine Anteaters I guess an Anteater can be intimidating to ants? All I know is that when I’m doing a March Madness bracket for best mascots, UC-Irvine is a consistent Final Four team.

Although I guess if you are going to pick one, this large, elephant-like creature is a good one to pick. They definitely chose an intimidating mascot, but I still wonder who decided the Mastodon name.

Southern Illinois Salukis A Saluki is a tall, slender dog with drooping ears and is also known as the royal dog of Egypt. In fact, Southern Illinois chose this bizarre mascot because southern Illinois has been referred to as “Little Egypt” for the past couple hundred years. I will say that this name has a good ring to it too.

Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs This one is bizarre because the school got rid of its former mascot, which was moccasins, for obvious reasons.

They changed their names to the Mocs, which isn’t officially short for anything, although their mascot is a mockingbird, so you could could make the leap between the two.

Personally, I think they should have just gone with mockingbirds (it is the state bird), rather than sticking with mocs.

Texas Christian Horned Frogs This one is just a classic.

The fact that the Horned Frogs are actually a viable program makes it even funnier. When I think of bizarre mascots, this one usually comes first to mind. I don’t envision a horned frog being too intimidating, but you never know I guess.

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors This mascot is an oxymoron in a sense. A rainbow and warrior just don’t fuse together well into a single mascot.

However, it does embody the state of Hawaii well. Although I think picking one or the other would have made more sense.

Mississippi Valley Delta Devils

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State

The mascot makes sense because the school is near the delta of the largest river in the United State, but it just sounds bizarre. Taken out of context, I would have no idea what a delta devil is.

Presbyterian Blue Hose Apparently they were called the Blue Stockings at first because of the socks they wore, and over time it was changed to the Blue Hose. Who knew the words “stockings” and “hose” were interchangeable?

Purdue University-Fort Wayne Mastodons It’s definitely bold to pick an extinct species as a mascot.

Wake Forest Deacons

Demon

Yet another mascot name that seems to be an oxymoron.

I will say, though, the alliteration in the name definitely has a nice ring to it. The deacon portrayed most of the time at Wake Forest sporting events looks more like a normal deacon and not too “demon-like.”

I guess they had to choose a name that would partially intimidate opponents.

Honorable Mention: Campbell Fighting Camels, Indiana Hoosiers, Indiana State Sycamores, Marshall Thundering Herd, North Florida Ospreys, St. Bonaventure Bonnies, Saint Louis Billikens, Stetson Hatters, Wichita State Shockers.

Contact Nate Moeller at nmoller2@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

2-on-2 basketball movie bracket, part 1 Hayden Adams Sports Editor

I love basketball, and I love basketball movies. As such, I thought it would be a fun exercise to pit the best players from some of the best basketball movies against each other.

Of course, these movies encompass all levels of the sport, from high school up through the pros, so there are some mismatches. To that, I say, “Tough luck, I’m still doing it.”

To be fair though, and since a few of these movies don’t involve full teams, this will be a two-on-two tourney.

There are 16 teams seeded by what I perceive to be a pretty straightforward assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. Games are half-court to 21 by ones and twos with no make-it, take-it rule in effect.

And, to be clear, this is based on how the players perform in the movie, regardless of the actual actors’ or real-life persons’ skill levels. So let’s get on with the first-round games.

1-seed Michael Jordan and Lola Bunny (“Space Jam”) vs. 16-seed Air Bud and Josh Framm (“Air Bud”) Let’s get this over with quickly, shall we? The most intriguing aspect of this match is that two animals face off. Just like no rule says a dog can’t play basketball, there’s no rule that a bunny can’t either. And this bunny is a baller. Plus, MJ would probably make up some story of Josh insulting him just to get himself motivated, then destroy the 12-year-old. We’re looking at a 21-0 game here for the Tune Squad.

2-seed Calvin Cambridge and Tracy Reynolds (“Like Mike”) vs. 15-seed “Pistol” Pete Maravich and Buddy Pendleton (“The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend”) You may sense a pattern in these matchups. The first one was two animals; this one is two children. Cambridge is mooching off of Jordan’s talent from some lightning-saturated sneakers, while Maravich is just making a name for himself as an eighth-grader on the varsity team. The Pistol’s skill with the ball is undeniable, even at a young age, but Cambridge and Reynolds are pros, and the coach’s son Buddy Pendleton isn’t doing much to square up with the pros. LA Knights take

it, but Pistol puts up a fight.

3-seed Bobby Joe Hill and David Lattin (“Glory Road”) vs. 14-seed Jimmy Chitwood and Strap Purl (“Hoosiers”) This one just isn’t fair, is it?

Chitwood may have been a fantastic high school player, but his defensive shortcomings bite him in the bud here, even with no make-it, take-it.

Purl has the Lord on his side, but God only cares so much about basketball. Meanwhile, Lattin was an eight-year pro and Hill could have had an illustrious pro career in his own right. Big Daddy D is throwing down dunks on the Indiana boys and the Miners roll.

4-seed Billy Hoyle and Sidney Deane (“White Men Can’t Jump”) vs. 13seed Odin James and Hugo Goulding (“O”) Queue Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney’s “Ebony and Ivory.” There’s a lot of racial tension inherent in this game (if you haven’t seen “O”, fair warning, it gets ugly). For fairness’ sake, let’s say Hugo hasn’t yet begun to destroy Odin’s life. For me, this comes down to Odin shouldering too much of the load. Both Hoyle and Deane are threats to score, and Hugo’s not bringing enough offense to the table. He gets knocked out and has more time to plot James’ demise.

5-seed Butch McRae and Neon Boudeaux (“Blue Chips”) vs.

12-seed Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth (“High School Musical 3”) Let’s be serious, I can’t honestly say Shaq and Penny lose to these “High School Musical” chumps, even if they were being recruited by Cal and Arizona. What I can do, however, is disqualify Boudeaux and McRae for taking illegal benefits. That’s right, I run a clean league, and the East High boys are singing and dancing their way into the Elite Eight.

6-seed Jesus Shuttlesworth and Jake Shuttlesworth (“He Got Game”) vs. 11-seed Kyle Lee Watson and Thomas “Shep” Sheppard (“Above the Rim”) A couple of high-level high school prospects (both being recruited by Georgetown,

coincidentally) teaming up with an oldhead baller makes for an interesting matchup.

Honestly, it’s a pretty even matchup. Watson was balling even in khakis, and the elder Shuttlesworth could drain it in the prison yard. Shockingly enough though, with the young guns evenly matched, the khakis are what puts it over the top for me, because even with them Shep could take punishment from Birdie (Tupac)’s boys and deal it back to ‘em. Jake can’t keep up with his matchup, and we have our second straight upset bid as the Shuttlesworths fall.

7-seed Uncle Drew and Big Fella (“Uncle Drew”) vs.

10-seed Damien Carter and Kenyon Stone (“Coach Carter”) I was going to seed them higher, but Drew and Big Fella are just too geriatric to have much higher. With them, however, age doesn’t seem to affect them for whatever reason. Gotta respect Samuel L. Jackson’s team for their work ethic and discipline, but this is no contest. I’ll let one of Shaq’s characters get a dub as the old farts advance.

8-seed Jackie Moon and Clarence “Downtown” “Coffee Black” Withers (“Semi-Pro”) vs. 9-seed Monica Wright and Quincy McCall (“Love & Basketball”) An NBA player and WNBA/ European player against two ABA players. One of those ABA players invented the alley-oop and the other was the first to implement it. This is a tough one because Jackie is a liability in a lot of respects. Even so, he can go off for 30 rebounds on any given night (if he’s drunk). In any case, Jackie’s dirty play is probably enough to keep his matchup in check, and Coffee Black is dunking over McCall even before the latter’s ACL tear. Flint Tropics moving on in a tough one.

There you have the first round of the tournament.

All results are indisputable, though I welcome any feedback. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this bracket.

Contact Hayden Adams at hadams3@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

The Observer accepts classifieds every business day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Notre Dame office, 024 South Dining Hall. Deadline for next-day classifieds is 3 p.m. All classifieds must be prepaid. The charge is 5 cents per character per day, including all spaces. The Observer reserves the right to edit all classifieds for content without issuing refunds.

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The observer | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

ND FOOTBall

Irish add 4th graduate transfer in Speights Observer Sports Staff

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online May 29.

Notre Dame football has landed another graduate transfer for the 2020-21 season. Trevor Speights, a former three-star recruit and the 19th-rated running back in the 2016 class per 247Sports.com, announced his decision to join the Fighting Irish in a tweet Thursday night. He now joins former Northwestern wide receiver Bennett Skowronek, former NC State cornerback Nick McCloud and former Ohio State safety Isaiah Pryor as the fourth graduate transfer on the Irish roster.

Speights attended Stanford the past three seasons. After not seeing the field in his freshman campaign, he saw action in the 2017 and 2018 seasons before an injury sidelined him for virtually all of 2019. In January he announced his decision to transfer as part of a mass hiatus that saw 15 Cardinal players elect to enter the transfer portal.

The Texas native was underwhelming at Stanford. He appeared in 11 games as a sophomore and nine the following season. In 2017 he recorded 142 yards rushing on 36 attempts (3.9 yards per carry) and in 2018 posted just 221 yards on 59

Adams Continued from page 16

campuses, a move frequently followed by an immediate suspension of athletic activities as programs fell victim to major outbreaks of coronavirus.

Several FCS schools announced they would not be playing football this fall. The Iv y League, after being the first conference to cancel its conference basketball tournament, was the first major conference to announce it would not be conducting any athletic activities in the fall. The Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC have all followed suit by announcing they are going to conference-only football slates. But even with this precautionary measure, there is still doubt that sports will take place at all this fall.

All the masks and hand sanitizer in the world, all the bubbles and social distancing policies implemented, and yet we find ourselves staring down the barrel of a world in which collegiate athletics will never look the same.

Stanford University, the winner of the Director’s Cup in 24 consecutive years, will be 11 sports lighter after this season. Many other schools

attempts (3.7 yards per carry), including the lone score of his career. He has also caught seven career passes for 54 yards.

Speights’s commitment comes after the Irish lost to Clemson in the sweepstakes for 2021’s No. 1 all-purpose back, Will Shipley. Speights will be immediately eligible for the Irish and will likely have one year of eligibility in South Bend barring a medical waiver for a sixth season.

He was recruited to Stanford by former Cardinal running backs coach Lance Taylor, who currently holds the same position for Notre Dame and rekindled the relationship soon after Speights announced his intention to transfer. The Notre Dame scholarship depth chart at running back now includes Speights, senior Jafar Armstrong, juniors Jahmir Smith and C’Bo Flemister, sophomore Kyren Williams and incoming freshman Chris Tyree, plus senior Avery Davis who could see action at both receiver and the running back position in the backfield next season.

Armstrong is expected to be the lead back next year and, like Speights, has an injury history.

The rest of Notre Dame’s backs are largely unproven, although both Flemister and Smith have more career touchdowns than Speights with five and two,

will have to permanently cancel several sports, whether because of a lack of revenue or the ensuing Title IX requirements as men’s and women’s sports are dropped.

But what makes matters worse is the fact that we in the United States have nobody to blame for this scenario than ourselves.

Europe has started soccer back and several countries are recovering after it’s stints with the pandemic. In the United States, masks became politicized. The severity of this disease was not taken seriously by some. People like Clay Travis, who has essentially dubbed this entire ordeal a giant hoax to pander to his base, are fanning the f lames of disorder and misinformation that will have negative and possibly deadly repercussions.

Colleges need so-called “student-athletes” to play sports right now, specifically football. Without it, the damage to certain other varsity sports will be irreparable. But the fact that they are being called upon to assume this risk serves as proof positive that the term “student-athlete” is an outdated and misleading moniker.

They are treated as moneymaking tools by institutions, and that treatment provides

ANNA MASON | The Observer

Irish junior tight end Tommy Tremble stiff arms a defender during Notre Dame’s 33-9 Camping World Bowl win over Iowa State in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium on Dec. 28.

respectively. Tyree is a highly touted four-star recruit and a high school state champion and track star, and Davis has shown the speed and pass catching

ability to be a nice utility player on offense.

All this to say Speights may have trouble breaking out in a crowded backfield that is

looking for someone to fill the role of former Irish lead backs such as Josh Adams in 2017, Dexter Williams in 2018 and Tony Jones Jr. last season.

a lot of credence to the Pac12 athletes who have started the #WeAreUnited campaign for more equity in college athletics.

These young men taking the field are risking their lives to help keep colleges and universities af loat.

I suppose the silver lining of this entire experience is the fact it has rendered moot any logical argument that these kids do not deserve the right to profit off of their athletic ability in some way, and I’m not talking about a degree. That’s a debate I don’t feel like rehashing, but I would be remiss if I didn’t also acknowledge the way athletes across the nation and world have spoken out against police brutality and racial inequality, even those here on Notre Dame’s campus. So please keep in mind the struggle that so many of them have to endure, whether it is simply as a college student juggling academics and athletics or if their race puts them at an inherent disadvantage in society. But I digress.

We find ourselves in a very precarious predicament, so much so that I am imploring you, our new and/or faithful readers, to help us, and you can do so in a variety of ways:

1. Write for us

to keep each other safe.

We are a Catholic university, and our faith teaches us to care about our fellow man and woman. Help keep each other safe.

Now is a time for action.

This is a call to arms for sports fans all across the tri-campus community.

I’m begging you to help us and each other overcome this hiatus from all the sports we should be fully enjoying or anticipating right now.

Here’s hoping and praying that we can elicit something akin to the feelings we would normally be experiencing at this moment, and maybe, just maybe, help speak and write college athletics back into existence.

Email sports @ndsmcobser ver.com or myself at the email address below. Have your friends do the same. We are always looking for new reporters, but we especially would like to add columnists to help fill space this year.

We run Sports Authorities ever y day and would love to have you contribute.

2. Share your pain Maybe you need come catharsis over the loss of sports. If so, please use our department as an outlet. If you simply want to share a favorite sports memor y w ith us and others, email or t weet it at us @ Obser verSports.

We’ll share it w ith our communit y, and we can all tr y to get through this by doing what sports are great at getting people to do: coming together.

3. Wear your mask As annoying and campy (and an assortment of other descriptors) as Notre Dame’s “HERE” campaign is, please, listen to them and wear a damn mask. I want sports, not just so we have something to report on, and not even so I have something to procrastinate my homework with on the weekends. More than anything, we should wear masks

Contact Hayden Adams at hadams3@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Please recycle The Observer.

sports

ACC Continued from page 16

home state of the ACC team, whether at home or a neutral site. If the Irish choose to maintain their series w ith Nav y, it w ill consequently have to be moved from Annapolis, MD back to South Bend for the second year in a row or elsewhere in Indiana.

For Olympic Sports, the ACC is lowering the minimum amount of required conference games. Teams are allowed to schedule extra conference and non-conference games, but all must abide by the ACC’s medical standard.

Any additional conference games scheduled will not count toward a team’s place in the conference standings.

For sports relevant to Notre Dame, men’s and women’s soccer will play a minimum

SMC & HCC Continued from page 16

The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) presidents held a vote in response to the announcement

Saint Mary’s College Saint Mary’s announced in a Thursday email the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) has decided to postpone conference competitions for fall sports until spring

ndsmcobserver.com | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | The Observer

13

of six regular-season games and volleyball will have a minimum of 10. Cross country will schedule meets at the discretion of the participating schools.

The ACC is also lowering the number of teams that will be eligible for each of their conference championship games. The conference tournament for men’s and women’s soccer will only consist of the top four teams by season’s end, and volleyball’s conference champion will be decided solely by a team’s regular-season record. All 15 ACC teams will compete for the conference championship in cross country, however.

Conference football games will begin the week of Sept.

7, and Olympic Sports may begin as early as Sept. 10, although specific dates and times for contests are still to be determined.

2021. Seven of eight Saint Mary’s varsity sports will now compete in spring 2021.

“It should come as no surprise that there is ongoing concern for the safety of our campus community,” said Julie Schroder-Biek, director of athletics. “We look forward to being back together this fall to continue to foster the growth and leadership of our Saint Mary’s students in a safe manner.”

The email added a decision regarding basketball conference competition has not yet been made.

Follow us on Twitter. @ObserverSports

EMMA FARNAN | The Observer

Irish senior outisde hitter Charley Niego reaches up for a tip during Notre Dame’s 3-1 win over Syracuse on Nov. 17 at Purcell Pavillion. Niego recorded 20 kills and 11 digs throuhgout the contest.

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The observer | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

Sports

ND Basketball

Irish to commence 3-game series with UK Observer Sports Staff

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online May 28.

Notre Dame men’s basketball has announced a three-game series with the University of Kentucky beginning with the upcoming 2020-21 season. The Irish will travel south to Lexington, Kentucky, for a matchup with the Wildcats at Rupp Arena on Dec. 12, followed by a neutral site game the following season and a date at Purcell Pavilion in 2022.

Notre Dame and Kentucky have faced off 62 times over the history of both. The Wildcats hold a 43-19 edge in the all-time series.

The teams first faced off in 1929, a 19-16 victory for Kentucky, followed by seven straight wins in the series for the Irish as the teams established a yearly matchup from the 1935-36 season through 1951-52. Notre Dame did not make a trip to Lexington until 1951 — when the Wildcats still played in Memorial Coliseum — as the teams alternated primarily between South Bend and Louisville, Ky. The rivalry continued in 1958 when the two teams met in the NCA A Mideast Regional Final, hosted by the Wildcats, and the home team cruised to an 89-56 victory en route to their fourth national championship.

The following season their annual meetings resumed, a series which was almost exclusively conducted in Louisville and went uninterrupted through 1982.

During that period, Notre Dame only won four of 26 games. Despite the lopsided record, the teams were both ranked at the time of the contest eleven times, and both were in the top 10 nationally six times. The Irish were one loss in the 1978 Final Four against Duke away from a national championship rematch of their 73-68 loss to the Wildcats earlier that season.

The teams renewed annual meetings on a couple of more occasions over the next three decades. In total, the Irish and Wildcats have met four times in the postseason, with Kentucky holding a 3-1 advantage. The lone Notre Dame win came in the 2009 NIT in a game hosted by the Irish.

Most recently, a Kentucky team that had gone 37-0 prior survived a nail-biting 2015 Elite Eight matchup against Notre Dame in Cleveland, OH by a score of 68-66.

Both historic programs,

Kentucky is the all-time NCA A leader in wins with 2,293, while the Irish rank eighth with 1,880 to their name. The Wildcats also boast 17 Final Fours and eight national titles to Notre Dame’s one Final Four appearance and two pre-tournament Helms national titles in 1927 and 1936.

In terms of recent history, head coach John Calipari’s Kentucky tenure has been marked by colloquial one-and-done players who have come to his program for a single season before departing for the NBA. The somewhat controversial strategy has resulted in 35 NBA Draft picks, 26 of them in the first round, nine tournament appearances, seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours and one national championship during his eleven years in Lexington.

Calipari has recorded a 330-77 record as coach of Kentucky, placing him second in program history in wins behind only Adolph Rupp’s 876. He has also recorded six SEC regular season and conference championships, four SEC Coach of the Year awards and earned one of his three career Naismith Coach of the Year awards with the Wildcats as he led them to a 38-1 record and Final Four appearance in 2015.

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey’s program may be viewed as the polar opposite of Calipari’s. Even as one-and-done players have become more and more prevalent, Brey’s tenure has been defined by developing players for four years.

Notre Dame has never had a player depart for the pros before their junior season, and Brey has only had two players depart before their senior years: guard Demetrius Jackson and forward Troy Murphy.

In his 20 seasons with the Irish, Brey has amassed a program record 437 wins, including 15 20-win seasons, one Big East West Division title in 2001 and one ACC Tournament Championship in 2015. He was named Big East Coach of the Year three times and 2011 Coach of the Year according to Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com and the Associated Press.

Notre Dame has never defeated Kentucky in Rupp Arena. Should they break that streak this coming season, it would provide a defining win for an Irish team that has suffered a downturn and not made the NCA A Tournament since 2017.

Nola Wallace | The Observer

Irish graduate student forward John Mooney defends a ball handler during Notre Dame’s 110-71 victory over Deriot Mercy on Dec. 10 at Purcell Pavillion. Mooney recorded 15 points in the outing.

Nola Wallace | The Observer

Irish junior guard Prentiss Hubb prepares for a defensive possession during Notre Dame’s 110-71 victory over Detroit Mercy on Dec. 10. at Purcell Pavilion. Hubb recorded 16 points and 11 assists that night.

sports

ndsmcobserver.com | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | The Observer

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Nd Sports

Coaches, athletes react to national protests

By HAYDEN ADAMS Sports Editor

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online June 2.

Outrage over the death of George Floyd — an African American man who was killed after a Minneapolis, MN police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes — has spilled over into the sports world.

Several prominent athletes and coaches from both the professional and college ranks have condemned police brutalit y and racism, in addition to offering their support for peaceful protesters across the countr y. Notre Dame athletes and coaches, both past and present, have now joined those ranks, the most vocal of which has arguably been the women’s basketball staff.

Newly appointed women’s basketball head coach Niele Ivey, in a tweet sent May 31, described recent events as “infuriating, painful, and senseless,” and shared her concern for the safet y of her son in today’s world.

Her predecessor, Muffet McGraw, the same day released her ow n message saying, “We can’t be sorr y but remain silent any more — it’s time to act.”

One of Ivey’s associate head coaches, Coquese Washington, shared a stor y of her daughter fearing for the lives of the men in her family. Fellow associate head coach Carol Owens shared a message from the Women of Color ( WOC) Coaches Network imploring other coaches to make their voices heard about this issue.

The importance of coaches speaking out was stressed by former Irish guard and current W NBA star Arike Ogunbowale.

Monday, Ogunbowale v ia Tw itter praised Notre Dame’s women’s basketball coaches for their commentar y and stated that this period is shedding a light on who college coaches really are based on their responses and reactions. She also implored high school athletes to then take that into account when making college decisions.

Ogunbowale went on ESPN’s Golic and Wingo Tuesday morning to discuss her message.

“A lot of these schools have predominantly black athletes, they recruit all these black athletes, they want black athletes, but at times like this they’re not speaking up or really protecting these girls and they were

just in their homes however many years ago say ing they would help them grow,” Ogunbowale said. “… It’s definitely important when you’re about to send your daughter somewhere when you’re looking for a school is, if times are rough, are they actually going to have your back like they say they do or just watch you ’cause they know you’re good at sports and you can help their program.”

She said that support was a major factor in her recruitment process.

“That was probably one of the biggest things — especially how I was raised and how protective my family is and close we are, they wanted to know that wherever they were sending me for four years in the prime time of my life as a young woman and adult— that I was gonna be taken care of and I felt comfortable,” Ogunbowale said.

Ogunbowale’s former teammate w ith the Irish and current Phoenix Mercur y for ward Brianna Turner offered her perspective on the matter. The daughter of t wo law enforcement members, Turner went on SportsCenter Monday to discuss the issue of police brutalit y.

“Is it an issue w ith the training? Is it an issue w ith, maybe, racial bias?

Obv iously, there’s a lot of factors at play here,” Turner said. “… it’s definitely good to hear [my parents’] side …

I see a lot on social media and they’re liv ing through it on the opposite side, so I think it’s good when you can get both those perspectives.”

She also shared how her parents discuss the issue of responsibilit y and accountabilit y to each other w ithin police departments.

“People always talk about, obv iously, there’s some bad cops and there’s some good cops, but you have to make sure those good cops are holding the bad cops accountable so there’s no bad cops at all,” she said. “So if ever yone is holding ever yone accountable, there shouldn’t be any bad cops.”

Aside from women’s basketball, Notre Dame football players and coaches have also been ver y outspoken.

Ver y similar to Ogunbowale’s message, former Irish defensive end K halid Kareem, now w ith the Cincinnati Bengals, offered his ow n message say ing, “Show that you are genuine… if you choose to be involved, you have to actively be involved and STAY involved.”

Former w ide receiver Chase Clay pool said that

the current chaos embodied by protests is much needed, though further v iolence is not.

Even current players have stepped up, w ith junior safet y Houston Griffith, junior w ide receiver Braden Lenzy, senior defensive lineman My ron TagovailoaAmosa and graduate student defensive end Daelin Hayes all taking to Tw itter to voice their concerns.

“If you value me for what I may be able to do on Saturdays for ND, value me as a black man the other 6 days of the week too,” Lenzy said.

“To those who do not share this experience, it is your responsibilit y not to turn a blind eye to this issue,” Hayes said.

Ogunbowale believes that this trend of even collegiate athletes speaking out w ill continue and have an impact.

“I think just, w ith this generation, we saw what happened to Tray von Martin, we were probably in high school,” she said. “And then we just see all these things where now we’re older, we have platforms now, we’re gonna use it. We all want to speak out … So I think our generation is definitely gonna help.”

Head football coach Brian Kelly shared a brief statement v ia Tw itter on Saturday w ith his reaction, as did other coaches on the staff. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees stated his belief that he “would be failing many” if someone in his position did not speak up.

Notre Dame volleyball’s coaching staff shared their thoughts; head coach Mike Johnson expressed his anger after w itnessing the v ideo of Floyd’s murder.

Associate head coach Katie Wilson called for commitment “to love and equalit y” and assistant coach Kindra Gillen stated that “ALL stories of injustice need to be heard.”

Head women’s soccer coach Nate Norman had his ow n message on the controversy, as did men’s basketball head coach Mike Brey. Brey said he believes conversation about taboo subjects such as racism can no longer be performed only bet ween players and coaches.

He said those w ith inf luence must use their “position as leaders, educators, and role models” to increase the chance of real change being a possibilit y.

Brey’s assistant coaches,

Ryan Humphrey and Ryan Ayers, showed their support by ret weeting content from former NFL coach Tony Dung y and NBA coaches Mont y Williams and Gregg Popov ich, respectively. Several other Notre Dame coaches and social media accounts from various sports have show n their support through ret weeting others as well as Universit y President Fr. John Jenkins’ official statement.

Football defensive coordinator Clark Lea struck a similar note to that of Rees and Brey when he said “it’s time to get uncomfortable” and address such taboo issues as racism in America.

However, Turner believes that this discussion should not be so awk ward.

“We need to be able to talk about racism w ithout making it uncomfortable,” Turner said. “Talking about race should not make you feel like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I should talk about it,’ or, ‘Oh, it’s not my place.’ It’s ever yone’s place to talk about this. This has to do w ith equalit y … None of this should be uncomfortable, this should make you want to speak out.”

Contact Hayden Adams at hadams3@nd.edu

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Ilse Bing, Self-Portrait with Mirrors (detail), 1931, Gelatin silver print, Gift of Robert E. Grady and Beverly O’Grady, 2011.028

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The observer | tuesday, august 4, 2020 | ndsmcobserver.com

CoLumn

Adams: A call to arms for sports fans like you

By HAYDEN ADAMS Sports Editor

If you’re reading this column, you probably fall into at least one of the following groups: 1) You are a first-year during Welcome Week checking out the student newspaper for the first time (thank you very much and keep up the support!), or 2) You’re a Notre Dame sports fan wondering what in the hell we’re going to be doing this semester without the usual plethora of sports.

In short, we’re going to be making the best of a bad situation.

Back in March, I took over as sports editor of The Observer, and it was a bit of a tumultuous start to my tenure, to say the least. The NCA A Tournament was canceled (although one of our writers, Aidan Thomas, did simulate the entire tournament according to the latest Bracketology) and Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 and consequently paused the NBA season. Ever

since, a question mark has loomed large over the state of collegiate athletics.

We used Notre Dame football as a crutch when we shifted to solely online content in the spring. We previewed every opponent (many no longer on the schedule) and broke down every position group, and we even tried out some multimedia analysis of the men’s basketball team’s 2020 recruiting class.

As the spring faded into summer, there was still a lot of optimism. We were reassured by the fact that we were “f lattening the curve,” and the knowledge that athletic budgets are even more dependent on college football happening since March Madness revenue fell through.

And then it hit the fan.

Bowling Green was the first prominent university to suspend an athletic program as they dropped baseball (before eventually bringing it back). Football teams started bringing athletes back to see ADAMS PAGE 12

Nola Wallace | The Observer

Irish forward graduate studemt Juwan Durham takes the ball into the painted area against a defender during Notre Dame’s 110-71 victory over Detroit Mercy on Dec. 10 at Purcell Pavillion.

ND Sports

SMC & HCC Sports

Colleges postpone several fall sports seasons

Irish join ACC for year

Observer Sports Staff

Observer Sports Staff

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online July 30.

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online July 29.

Holy Cross College

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced its conference plan for the 2020 football and Oly mpic sports seasons.

Notre Dame w ill join the conference as a full participant in football for the 2020 season.

The league w ill play a 10game conference football model w ith ever y participant given five home and five away contests. Notre Dame was originally slated to play six ACC opponents, all of whom remain on the schedule.

New additions to Notre Dame’s schedule include Florida State and Sy racuse at home w ith road trips to North Carolina and Boston College. As for the Boston College game, ex-Notre Dame and new Eagles’ quarterback Phil Jurkovec could

Holy Cross announced Wednesday that the soccer programs’ upcoming seasons would be postponed due to concerns over COVID-19.

The announcement came on the heels of the decision made Tuesday by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Council of Presidents to postpone the men’s and women’s soccer national championships, as well as women’s volleyball and cross country, from fall of this year to the spring of 2021. The NAIA did allow conferences to decide whether or not they were suited to compete in the fall and winter seasons. However, prior to the announcement, 51 individual NAIA institutions had already opted to postpone fall competition until spring 2021. see SMC & HCC PAGE 13

ANNA MASOn | The Observer

Belles defender sophomore Sophia Fleming takes the ball during Saint Mary’s 1-2 loss to Anderson at home on Sept. 4.

face his old team this season if granted a transfer waiver from the NCA A. The ACC w ill also eliminate its div isional model for the year, follow ing that of the Big 12 wherein the top t wo teams by conference record w ill face each other in the ACC Championship game. Notre Dame w ill be eligible for the conference championship as well as the conference’s automatic bid to the Orange Bowl.

The ACC w ill allow teams to schedule one non-conference opponent. With the Southeastern Conference’s announcement that they w ill engage in a 10-game, conference-only season, the Irish lose Arkansas as a potential non-conference opponent from their original schedule.

Notre Dame is thus likely to choose bet ween Western Michigan and Nav y.

However, per the ACC’s policy, non-conference games must be played in the see ACC PAGE 13