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Cardinal McElroy speaks with Fr. Dowd on cultivating hope
By Maria Alice Souza Maia News Writer
On Oct. 17, Cardinal Robert McElroy visited Notre Dame for a conversation with University President Fr. Robert Dowd titled “Healing our National Dialogue and Political Life.”
Now the archbishop of Washington, D.C., McElroy received a bachelor’s degree in American History from Harvard and both a master’s degree in American history and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University along with a doctorate in moral theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Pope Francis appointed McElroy to the College of Cardinals in May 2022 and to be the eighth archbishop of Washington on Jan. 6, 2025.
Dowd introduced McElroy as “an ideal person to have on our campus to talk about what it means to cultivate hope.” Cultivating hope is the theme of this year’s Notre Dame Forum, inspired by Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Hope.
McElroy began by describing his
job in the archdiocese of Washington and comparing it to his work in the diocese of San Diego, where he served for 10 years.
“There are two other dimensions in Washington that I did not have in San Diego. The first one is that because it is the capital, many Catholic institutions in the country have either their headquarters there, educational institutions, social service centers. So part of my work as archbishop is collaborating with all of those groups in the city of
Washington,” McElroy said.
McElroy has also been called to speak on public policy as the archbishop of Washington. “As the archbishop of Washington, as any bishop does, we have to speak to the moral dimensions of public policy from time to time. And because it’s in Washington, it has a resonance that it would not have elsewhere,” he said.
Although he speaks on the moral side of public policy issues, McElroy
see “Cardinal” on page 2
Students explore careers, service
By Julia Connolly News Writer
After nine weeks of classes, some students seized the opportunity to relax over fall break while others participated in service trips, travelled to cities for career treks and attended professional conferences.
Junior Erin May traveled to New York City on a career trek sponsored by the film, television and theatre department and the sports media and culture minor. Seventeen students and representatives from the career center spent three days visiting companies and corporations such as the NFL, NBA and WWE.
The film, television and theatre major also hosts a career trek to Los Angeles that runs concurrently with the New York trip.
On Tuesday night, May’s group went to dinner with Sarah Boyle and Kasey Choma, two Notre Dame alumni who work at NBC in sports marketing. On Wednesday, students visited Oak View Group, a company that owns arenas in various
parts of the country.
“We met the CEO and a couple of young employees, which is really exciting,” May said.
The group travelled to the NFL headquarters, where they met Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL.
“I’m a huge Eagles fan, and I got to see the Super Bowl ring, and since they just won the Super Bowl, that was super cool to see,” said May.
The group spoke with several Notre Dame alumni, including Brent Lawton and Kaitlin Prestegaard, who work in sectors such as development and global partnership.
Students visited the NBA headquarters and received a full tour of the office and met with more alumni, including Tim Frank, the senior vice president of league operations and communications.
The Notre Dame Club of New York hosted the trek group at a pub on Wednesday night for more networking with people involved in sports. May said that she “talked to a woman in social media at the
see “Break” on page 4
University hosts national sustainability summit
By Zander Daigle News Writer
Last week, Notre Dame hosted the second annual National Sustainability Society Conference from Oct. 20 to 22 in Jenkins Nanovic Halls.
According to the society’s website, the NSS is a a nonprofit member organization that aims to “foster a thriving crosssectoral, transdisciplinary, and intersectional society that advances a just, resilient, and sustainable world.”
The NSS held its first meeting in 2022 and hosted their inaugural conference in 2024 at the University of Washington.
The Pulte Institute for Global Development sponsored this year’s conference in partnership with the Frontiers Research Foundation. In addition to the Pulte Institute, the NSS directly partnered with the University of Washington, Arizona State University and the University of Michigan.
Dani Fielding, a junior who
NEWS | PAGE 2
Women’s rights
Senior research fellow Jayme Lemke spoke at SMC about the progression of women’s rights.
interns with Notre Dame’s Office of Sustainability, shared the University’s role in assisting with planning the conference.
“Many of Notre Dame’s faculty and staff were involved with planning, including three of my colleagues on Notre Dame’s sustainability team: Geory Kurtzhals, Olivia Farrington and Arun Agrawal,” they said.
For Fielding, the conference was a “great opportunity to share both Notre Dame’s progress and perspective with partners across the country and to learn about how other universities are operationalizing sustainability.”
Beyond students and representatives from the organization’s university partners, a variety of South Bend residents, career professionals and global researchers attended the conference. According to panelist Dan Brown from the University of Washington, approximately 400 individuals participated.
Day one of the conference commenced with a series of workshops hosted by various
OPINION | PAGE 6
Off the Dome
Columnist Allison Eishoff delves into the work of political science professor David Campbell.
speakers, including local educators, visiting professors from Stanford University and career professionals from the Sustainability Education Accreditation Commission.
The workshops also included site visits such as a campus green tour and an excursion to Rum Village Park, which, according to their website, includes “a wildlife oasis offering hiking trails, biking trails, picnic areas, and a chance to escape to the quiet calm of one of the nicest woodlands in the area.”
Mara Morales, a junior studying environmental engineering, enjoyed the campus green tour, especially “visiting the sculpture garden area and witnessing things I have never seen before, like the scattering of native pollinators across campus.”
Morales appreciated meeting students and attendees from other universities.
“I feel like I made new friends throughout the tour. It is so fun meeting a lot of new people not directly connected to Notre Dame,” she said.
SCENE | PAGE 7
Tame Impala is back
The artist made his return with the release of ‘Deadbeat,’ an album made for the dance floor.
Following the workshops and site visits, the first day of the conference concluded with several small-group sessions and panels, along with a keynote presentation.
“I enjoyed discussing the intersection of poverty studies with forest regeneration. The topics discussed were fascinating,” Morales said.
The second day of the conference began with a yoga session, coffee social and poster session featuring doctoral candidates, graduate and undergraduate students highlighting their respective areas of interest and research.
Similar to day one, the agenda included a variety of small-group sessions and panel discussion, featuring a conversation with deans from Notre Dame, Stanford University, the University of Southern California and the University of Alabama.
Madeline Stewart, a master’s student in the University of Ohio’s Science and Environment, Natural Resources and Public Administration program, was one of the presenters. She spoke about
SPORTS | PAGE 8
Holy War returns
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face their longtime rival the Boston College Eagles Saturday.
how rain gardens affect property values and resident perceptions.
“Dr. Jeremy Brooks, my advisor, attended the first annual NSS conference, and thought it would be a good experience for me, as I was interested in presenting and receiving feedback from the broader community,” Stewart said.
In addition to her presentation, Steward enjoyed the “experience of touring the power plant at Notre Dame.” For Stewart, the “most interesting takeaway was just how intense power still is in its manufacturing stage.”
The final day of the conference included informational sessions and discussions, following another morning of student research presentations. Laura Vang Rasmussen hosted the final keynote presentation, representing the University of Copenhagen.
The conference concluded with a presentation by Ohio State’s
see “Summit” on page 4
SPORTS | PAGE 11
Hockey wins thrice Over break, Notre Dame hockey beat St. Lawrence twice and Robert Morris once.
MARIA ALICE SOUZA MAIA | The Observer
Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, spoke on building a unified society and the role of politics amidst polarization.
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doesn’t believe his role is an inherently political one. “My primary role is to be a bishop of the communities in Washington. I’m not there primarily to speak on ... political issues. That’s not the centerpiece of what I do. And sometimes people expect that to be the centerpiece of what I do. The church has no specific role in the order of politics or the order of public policy. There is no specifically political role for the church, period,” he said.
McElroy also discussed the importance of transforming political discourse in America. Specifically, he emphasized the need to make three transitions, beginning with a shift from grievance to gratitude.
“I think tremendously we have become a nation of grievance, where we focus more on what is lacking, and particularly what is lacking for me or my group, rather than on that which binds us together. So that’s our way out of this is in part going to be trying to recapture that which
binds us together on this very deep level,” McElroy said.
The second transition is from the politics of warfare to shared purpose. McElroy described the politics of warfare as a shift in the United States since the 1990s, which he attributes to Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America” and the Clinton administration’s “War Room.” He also attributed this shift to soci l media and the increasing salience of party labels and identification, which McElroy believes have “become shorthands for worldview in the views of many people, perhaps a majority.”
McElroy said that Catholic teaching does not fit neatly with the political platforms of either major party in the U.S. “Catholic social teaching crosses the spectrum, is really bifurcated by our political structure in the present day. On the Republican side, there tend to be more issues like abortion, euthanasia and certain aspects of religious liberty. On the Democratic side, there’s more coalescence with issues, say, of poverty, of peace and of the environment and human dignity,” McElroy
said. In light of this, McElroy believes the third transition needs to be from insularity to compassion.
“In one way it’s good for the church because it prevents us from ever siding with any party, because our views are absolutely bifurcated. But it makes it hard for Catholic voters. There are very few political officials who really represent even 70% of Catholic social teaching because of that barrier right in the middle that cuts it in two. So I think compassion is a way to do it. We’re in a tough time on these questions, but it’s not an irredeemable time,” he said.
McElroy also spoke about what the U.S. political system can learn from the church and vice versa. He referenced Pope Francis’s encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” which “talks about what love of neighbor is supposed to mean for us.” He thinks the encyclical’s ideas “would be a great help in our society for us to really grapple with that as individuals and as communities and as citizens and believers too in our public roles. I think it’s
a vision that the love of neighbor is all-encompassing.”
Additionally, McElroy believes the political system can benefit from the church’s “synodal type of approach to discussion.”
“We have to get back to discussions across lines, in which we can talk about public policy issues and divisive issues without going to our corners. I think the church’s synodal way of doing it engages in hard questions where people disagree,” he said.
McElroy called on attendees to be pilgrims of hope and practice bipartisan discussion. Primarily, he thinks being a pilgrim of hope means “working on the level of dialogue within the University.”
McElroy said he is ultimately hopeful about the future of political dialogue, especially based on what he has seen in parish communities. “I still find that the greatest source of hope in the church and the world,” McElroy said.
Contact Maria Alice Souza Maia at msouzama@nd.edu
Researcher speaks on women’s rights
By Mariella Taddonio Photo Editor
On Monday evening, senior research fellow Jayme Lemke from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University spoke in Carroll Auditorium in Madeleva Hall. Lemke’s lecture, titled “The Struggles for Women’s Independence in the Land of the Free,” considered the historical evolution of women’s rights in the United States.
At George Mason University, Lemke specializes in public choice economics, constitutional political economy and the political economy of women’s rights. She has also researched topics such as public choice and institutional theory as applied to policing, higher education and other
local public services.
To begin the lecture, Lemke discussed the impact of the American Revolution on women’s freedom by reciting Abigail Adams’ well-known letter to her husband, John Adams, about “remembering the ladies” and the legal concept of coverture.
Lemke defines coverture as the “idea that women are just completely under the domain of the household patriarch.” This was true during the revolutionary period, when women could not independently own land, businesses, homes or sign contracts because of a lack of legal personhood.
With the progression of women’s rights in the 1900s, more women were able to hold jobs, independently own land and run their own business “with some remaining vestiges of
coverture,” allowing young women to move away from farm fields to then go and work in textile mills and the industry.
This shift created “options to move to the city, to interact with people who came from around the country and to start having conversations with other young, ambitious women,” Lemke said.
Lemke implied women’s long hours in factories helped with the evolution of women’s rights by creating a necessity for financial security, and consequently, bank accounts for the income they earned.
Although women couldn’t “be doctors or lawyers yet,” they could “use these funds to but they use these funds to put their brother into medical school or law school and to move their family out of agrarian
subsistence,” Lemke explained. In addition to factory work, Lemke discussed the impact and rise of women’s clubs and the significant role that they played in social reform movements.
“Throughout the 19th century, women voluntarily came together and formed organizations to provide education, schools to teach low-income women, the three Rs (reading, writing, arithmetic), needlework, good conduct and morals, and they also trained teachers and came up with the idea of kindergarten.”
Women’s associations also helped keep women in college, specifically during the Jim Crow era, when universities “forbade Black students from residing in the dormitory,
see “Rights” on page 4
Today’s Staff
Corrections
The Observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. We do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at editor@ ndsmcobserver.com so we can correct our error.
Break
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NFL. And I actually talked to someone who I grew up going to camp with, and she works for the U.S. Open for the [United States Golf Association].”
To conclude the trek, students traveled to Stamford, Connecticut, to visit IMG headquarters. IMG owns WWE and Major League Soccer production.
“Thursday was more production-based, which is more of what I’m into. So that was super cool to see their social media and their graphics, and they basically do all their broadcasts in-house for a lot of that stuff,” May said. “Everyone was very generous. We got an entire tour. The facility was a brand new building as well.”
According to May, the treks are helpful because students can develop relationships with alumni.
“You’re sitting in a room with [Notre Dame alumni] and getting to talk face-to-face with them, and then you can get their numbers and follow up with them. It’s really helpful to get your foot in the door,” May said.
Out west, junior Izzy Molnar participated in a one-day northern California Tech Trek, where she and nine other students visited companies such as Google, PayPal, Intuit
Summit
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Sustainability Institute director Elena Irwin and Brown and conference awards hosted by the NSS board.
Next year’s conference will be hosted by Colorado State University at their SPUR campus from Aug. 17-20.
“NSS holds a lot of potential, consisting of great people who are already here and involved with the national society. I’m interested in seeing how the conference evolves,” Stewart said.
Fielding hopes that this year’s conference will inspire similar future events.
“I would love to see more highly attended, student-led, interdisciplinary, sustainability conferences here on campus,” Fielding said.
Contact Zander Daigle at zdaigle@nd.edu
Rights
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so the local women’s association found housing for all students on their own to make sure that the women could still get an education,” Lemke said.
She underscored that understanding these historical transitions helps women learn from the past and make progress today.
To conclude her lecture, Lemke emphasized that women’s advancement has come a long way. She stated that the goal of the women’s movement is to eliminate hierarchy, not to replace it.
Contact Mariella Taddonio at mtaddonio01@saintmarys.edu
and Cadence Design Systems. Notre Dame alumni hosted the students, gave tours of the corporate campuses and shared advice along with their own personal backgrounds and experiences.
“It was really interesting, and I got good tips for applying for jobs. It was really educational, and it was nice to be able to meet people from the company and have a long conversation and see the campuses. It was definitely beneficial,” Molnar said.
According to Molnar, the trek was beneficial for students to get advice from experienced people in the tech workforce.
“I’ve been stressing a lot about cover letters, and the recruiters said, ‘That doesn’t really matter. Don’t stress about the cover letters.’ It was also nice to get connections. I was able to connect with a lot of people on LinkedIn who went to Notre Dame,” Molnar said.
The students also received merchandise from the companies, such as branded water bottles and cookies with the PayPal logo. Students were able to explore amenities at the various campuses, such as Google’s
snack cabinet with novel canned Hint waters.
Junior Brigid Ryan spent her fall break differently as she participated in a week-long service trip to Appalachia with nine other Notre Dame students. She worked on Bethlehem Farm in Alderson, West Virginia. Students in the Institute for Social Concerns’ Appalachia course were divided among different sites in the region and drove with their groups to their homes for the week.
Bethlehem Farm is a Catholic, community-driven farm focused on self-sustainability, faith and service, according to the farm.
“When we arrived on Sunday night, we were immediately welcomed with smiles and hugs from the caretakers there after our long drive from campus,” Ryan wrote in a statement to The Observer.
On the farm, Ryan and her group mates cooked meals, harvested sweet potatoes and prepared garlic beds. They also worked on infrastructure, fixing windows and repairing roofs.
“These acts of service were
fulfilling both physically, as we worked hard … and spiritually, as we got to know the community members the farm serves and how the farm sustains itself in order to appreciate God’s Creation in everything,” Ryan wrote.
Additionally, participants spent a lot of time outdoors, including stargazing.
“We faced the cold in the mornings and nights on the Farm property, enjoying the beauty of the region,” Ryan wrote.
The group prayed together multiple times each day, “including first thing in the morning, before meals, as we left for work sites, and in the evening,” Ryan wrote.
South of the Appalachia service trips, the Society of Women Engineers traveled to New Orleans to attend a national conference for women engineers. The conference was an “opportunity to learn, network and explore opportunities in engineering,” vice president Maggie Howard said.
The event took place last Thursday and Friday and featured keynote speakers in the morning, panels and talks by female engineers
surrounding technical subjects and career advice. Howard attended talks about giving effective presentations and quantum entanglement.
The society brought 40 Notre Dame students to the event, where they stayed in the French Quarter and had the opportunity to explore the city following the days’ activities.
“Lots of girls got group dinners at oyster bars, seafood boils, creole restaurants, etc., and then everyone was able to try beignets from Cafe Du Monde,” Howard said.
Howard found the conference inspiring, as it allowed University students to see a “thriving community” of women professionals.
The SWE conference “allow[ed] women to connect and be reminded that they do belong in technical fields. I would definitely recommend the trip for anyone who wants to find an internship or full-time position … and for any woman who wants to feel inspired by seeing that there’s a community in engineering designed for them,” Howard said.
Contact Julia Connolly at jconnol5@nd.edu
I’m professor Meghan Sullivan, the Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy here at Notre Dame. I’m also the director of the Universitywide Ethics Initiative and the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. Many of you may know me from “God and the Good Life,” the undergraduate course in philosophy that I created with Paul Blaschko. As a philosopher, I’m deeply interested in ethics and how it impacts our ability to live good lives. Recently I’ve been focused on the complex, thorny ethical questions that are developing at breakneck speed around artificial intelligence. How will AI change education, both for students and teachers? What will work look like as AI begins to automate labor? Will our understanding of beauty and truth shift as we increasingly interact with AI-generated content? How can we love each other as God intends when our lives are mediated by screens? What makes a human life worth living, and how is this unique, valuable and distinct from what technology offers us?
More than $25 billion was spent on AI development in 2023; $60 billion in 2024. A huge transformation is happening, and questions like these are going to be central to your lives. Many of them already are. Recently, The Observer Editorial Board ran a piece calling for Notre Dame to ban student use of AI tools in core courses, arguing that “education is not
By Jonah Tran Columnist,
Recently, Joe Rudolph published an Observer article titled “The DMV: Humanity’s greatest crime against itself”. In his article, Rudolph unleashes a hazardous tirade of unsubstantiated claims against the Department of Motor Vehicles. He claims that the DMV is not just a bureaucratic office that supports a vital aspect of American society and commerce but rather a shadowy syndicate hellbent on manipulating human behavior and reshaping civilization through regulation and fear. On the one hand, it is not productive at all to publish a satirical article of this nature at such an important inflection point in this country’s history. There are so many other more relevant, better arguments to make in terms of public discourse, such as political opinion articles. On the other hand, Rudolph does not provide any evidence at all to support his claims. He could have made his argument at least
We cannot sit back to AI
merely a matter of acquiring technical skills, but rather becoming a virtuous person and a responsible citizen.” You are the transitional generation — the first generation of humans to have to figure out life in the midst of this new technology. It’s absolutely critical for you as young adults (and, hopefully, also as virtuous people and responsible citizens) to be actively engaged in this conversation about the world
that we are creating with AI. There’s a lot of shouting happening in that conversation right now. It’s being dominated by influencers, mainstream media, technology conglomerates — loud voices that are deeply invested in driving particular outcomes.
Where are the voices of faith?
Christians have a whole lot to offer on AI ethics, and it would be bad, not just for Christian communities, but for everyone, if
these voices are left out.
Our institute has spent the past year working to identify, engage with and amplify these perspectives. We hosted more than 140 interviews with technologists, with ethicists, with faith leaders from a variety of Christian denominations, with journalists and policymakers, asking two questions: One, what unique perspectives do you think the Christian community has to offer? And two, what do you think it would take
In response to ‘The
1% (rather than 0%) convincing if he offered statistics or references from mainstream news outlets. Moreover, this article will serve as an evaluation of the claims of Rudolph and suggest that the DMV is not as maligned as Rudolph suggests. Rudolph’s first claim is that the DMV is waging a war on masculinity by banning loud engines, strong handshakes and facial hair. On one level, it is no longer appropriate or applicable to map these so-called traditionally masculine things onto what constitutes masculinity now. What it means to be a man is largely governed by social norms, which continue to change throughout history. Not every man wishes to be attached to these traditionally masculine qualities and things, and they are completely within their right to do so. Moreover, there is clearly public order and decorum considerations that motivate these DMV policies — this is something Rudolph overlooks. His next move is to suggest that the non-housed population is being weaponized as agents
of control to suppress dissent. This is absolutely absurd. This sort of rhetoric further reinforces negative stereotypes on a marginalized group of people. There is nothing in this statement that shows solidarity or a preferential treatment for the poor, which our Catholic faith informs us to express. Rudolph, even in other articles, touts himself as a massive proponent of alcohol. He defends alcohol culture and its benefits of joy, rebellion and camaraderie, which the DMV allegedly seeks to eliminate. Science informs us that alcohol is categorically unhealthy and toxic to the human body. Personal experience informs me that alcohol leads to reckless behavior and dangerous situations. Our Catholic faith places God as the central source of joy and happiness in the human heart, and it would be sinful for us to allow alcohol to become a golden calf, guaranteeing us a false, temporal sense of joy. There is an argument about how child leashing laws are aimed at producing obedient
to bring these voices to the forefront of the conversation?
Through this work, we learned that there’s actually a lot of energy among Christians in tech hubs like Silicon Valley and Boston, where people of faith are working hard to try to mobilize others to think about these questions. Over and over, we heard that there is a deep, powerful hunger for faith-based frameworks that can help guide our conversations about AI.
In response, we created the DELTA framework, a deeply faith-informed approach rooted in enduring Christian values: dignity, embodiment, love, transcendence and agency.
Over the coming weeks, I’m going to give you a mini seminar on AI, faith and DELTA right here in The Observer. Together, we’ll unpack the framework and use each of the five concepts to examine and illuminate pressing questions around the application and integration of AI. It’s time to get into the conversation. This debate is moving lightning fast, and one of the ways that you lose your seat at the table is by holding back, by being too tentative, by watching and waiting. Your generation cannot afford to do that. None of us can.
Meghan Sullivan Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy and director of University-wide Ethics Initiative and the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good
DMV’
citizens. Implicitly, Rudolph is partial to what, in my opinion, can be called a Catholic revolutionary spirit. Again and again, he opposes authority and supports the destruction of order and reason, the logos, of a society by misusing his religion to justify his arguments. There is nothing wrong with obedience among citizens; this is what leads to social cohesion and a happier society.
Finally, Rudolph makes the most ridiculous claim thus far by arguing that the DMV falsely imprisons. This is so categorically untrue that it is not worth my time to rebut.
Overall, Rudolph concludes his piece with a fiery condemnation of the DMV as a bureaucratic plague that seeks not just control, but total cultural annihilation, erasing beauty, courage and freedom through regulation and fear. I appreciate his hyperbolic, comedic language; it is amusing, at times. But Rudolph seems to make the case through the course of his argument that the DMV could be a metaphor for authoritarian overreach. That is
to say, one could switch the word DMV out for another three-letter agency and the argument would stand. This is simply unfounded, untrue and unoriginal. Not everything is done in malice. Could these misunderstandings just be a case of occasional incompetence by the DMV, rather than malice? My plea to Rudolph is to be more charitable and open to other organizations, ideas and people. It is not productive to be the anarchist herald, who spouts out misinformation, disinformation and malinformation. The world needs more productive social and political discourse that is marked by competence, poise and good intention. I encourage my audience to do as I have done: to call out dangerous, false ideas and confront them with calculated speech.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Contact Jonah Tran at jtran5@nd.edu
“Esto basatus”
Courtesy of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, University of Notre Dame
By Allison Elshoff Columnist, “Off the Dome”
I crane my neck to look around Professor David Campbell’s office. “Let’s just say that I spend a lot of time on eBay,” he laughs, pointing out his favorites of the election pins and campaign posters covering the walls.
“Some may say it’s a problem, but I prefer to think of it as a museum,” he says. Such a robust collection of political science memorabilia makes sense for someone who thinks a lot about democracy. On campus, Campbell teaches courses focused on American politics and serves as the director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative. His popular introductory American politics course titled “Keeping the Republic” focuses on the current state of democracy in the United States. Having taken the class as a freshman, I found this column was the perfect excuse to catch up with one of my favorite ND professors.
“Let me show you one Notre Dame poster,” he says. It’s a picture of Gerald Ford, framed by four shamrocks, advertising the President’s convocation address at Notre Dame on St. Patrick’s Day, 1975. In his speech, Ford called on Notre Dame graduates to reject what he called “new isolationism.” He argued against politicians who sought to cut foreign aid and limit American involvement abroad, seeing the U.S. as a necessary global moral leader. Standing in the Athletic and Convocation Center, Ford stressed the need for “peaceful accommodation with neighbors,” not just on a global level but on a personal one, as well: “just as we seek to build bridges to other nations, we must unite at home ... People depend on each other more than they realize.”
One could argue that since Ford’s speech, America — on a political and personal level — has moved in the opposite direction. Trust is low, polarization is high and longstanding democratic norms are being threatened. While some scholars suggest that the U.S. is on the brink of a new civil war, others argue that things are not as bad as they seem. Exploring these themes, Campbell’s “Keeping the Republic” class tackles big questions about the current state of democracy in the U.S. Campbell leans back in his chair before he starts speaking. “The big question of what makes for a healthy democracy is something that I have long thought about,” Campbell explains. In graduate school, he worked with political scientist Robert Putnam, who was in the process of writing
Off the Dome: David Campbell
“Bowling Alone” at the time. Using the decline of bowling leagues as a microcosm of a larger issue, Bowling Alone traces the decline of social capital in America.
Specifically, it explores why it has declined since the 1960s and what that means for democracy. During Campbell’s time working with Putnam, he researched how to improve the quality of democracy, tracking factors like civic participation levels and the efficacy of electoral processes.
Today, Campbell is less concerned with whipping democracy into shape than he is with keeping it from bleeding out.
“I realize that that might sound a little dramatic,” he admits. “But collectively, political scientists have said for decades that democracy is a very fragile thing. It turns out to be true.” After a tumultuous election, a global pandemic, and worldwide political protests, Campbell and his colleagues created “Keeping the Republic” in 2022 in an attempt to give Notre Dame students the tools to respond to these tumultuous times for American democracy.
Despite Campbell’s shift in priorities, one idea persists: the vital importance
of “social capital” (the only term from KTR whose definition I still have memorized). Social capital is “social networks, and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them.” People accumulate social capital through building relationships: It’s learning the name of your local grocer, the fuzzy feeling you get from helping a neighbor fix their sink, the new friend you make at book club. Social capital is a testament to our inherently social nature as human beings — our tendency to organize around shared purposes. Simply put, social capital is the glue that holds our lives and — society — together. But America seems to be suffering a glue shortage. In a certain sense, we’re more connected than we have ever been: Digital platforms allow us to be plugged into what’s 24/7. But according to Campbell, this is actually part of the problem. “It is easy, whether you’re on the left, the right, the center … to nonetheless get caught up in a daily maelstrom of news that can seem overwhelming, and I don’t think that’s healthy.” Living in an increasingly digital world makes social
attend one of the Initiative’s “Democracy Talks” in September — an event so popular that it was relocated to the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center to meet demand. University President Robert Dowd moderated a conversation between Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) and Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) titled “Pragmatism Over Polarization: A Conversation with U.S. Governors.”
“That event is, I think, a perfect illustration of what we are hoping to do with the Democracy Initiative. Here we had a Republican and a Democrat on stage talking about the pragmatic things that they have to do as governors and showcasing the fact that those two are actually friends … We want to demonstrate that it really is possible for people to talk to one another across the divide, and we want Notre Dame to be a place where those conversations happen.”
Campbell hopes that by hosting such conversations at Notre Dame, the student body will learn how to be good citizens. “This is a unique time in your life when you are able to have conversations with people across lines that you may not have again in your life, that you’re making friendships here that are based on something other than, I hope, politics.” He hopes that students “discover that these people, who you share a lot in common with, we all cheer for the same team.”
capital — and being able to reach across the divide — more important than ever.
Campbell is uniquely qualified to try to reach across this divide, not just because of his doctorate degree, but also due to his small-town upbringing in Alberta, Canada. “I was very fortunate in that I went to a high school with fantastic social studies teachers, and I’m very grateful for that,” he explains, talking about a pair of conservative and liberal teachers that both taught social studies at his school. “It’s a relatively small place, so I knew their kids, you know, community … in fact, I was exposed very early on in high school to the respectful exchange of ideological differences.”
Campbell tries to encourage this type of civil discourse not only through KTR but also through his work at the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative. As a part of the University strategic framework for 2033, the ND Democracy Initiative hopes to establish Notre Dame as a leader in interdisciplinary research, education and policy efforts focused on strengthening global democracy. I was lucky enough to
At the end of our interview, Campbell had one last piece of advice for Americans concerned with keeping the republic: “Get a dog.”
At first, I thought he was joking. But Campbell genuinely attributes at least some of his good citizenship to his dog, Murphy. “By walking my dog every day, I meet all of the other dog walkers, joggers, [and] walkers … in the neighborhood … It turns out people of all ages, backgrounds, political affiliations, what not [all have dogs]. It has enabled me to make connections with people that I would not otherwise make. And in a world where that has become increasingly difficult, I consider that to be quite valuable.” Often, attempting to reach across the political divide is easier said than done. But Campbell manages to practice what he preaches in every aspect of his life — with a little help from his dog, Murphy.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Contact Allison Elshoff at aelshoff@nd.edu
ALLISON ELSHOFF| The Observer
Political science professor and director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative David Cambell pictured in his office surrounded by his favorite election pins and campaign posters over the years.
By Jiya Patel Scene Writer
Tame Impala is back, and yes, I’m celebrating. If you’re anything like me, you have also spent countless hours scrolling on TikTok through footage of Tame Impala concerts circa 2015. But fear no more, the opportunity to be in the audience has finally come. He will be touring his new album on the “Deadbeat Tour” beginning in late October 2025 in the U.S. and continuing through spring 2026 with shows in Europe and the UK. If you’ve been searching for your next unforgettable live music experience, look no further. If Kevin Parker’s impressive stage presence in the past is any indication of what this new tour has in store, it’s safe to say you won’t be disappointed.
Following 2020’s “The Slow Rush”, Parker gave us nothing but relative silence. It seems that he was quite busy behind the scenes. His fifth studio album, “Deadbeat”, was announced on Sept. 4 after the release of two singles, “End of Summer” and “Loser”. After much anticipation, it finally arrived on Oct. 17 via Columbia. Containing 12 tracks and 56 minutes of club-forward and
‘I
Tame Impala is back
bodily tracks, it’s (dare I say?) his best work yet. The aesthetic of this album is a pivot from the introspective pop that defined his past music. While albums like “Currents” (2015) and “The Slow Rush” (2020) were breakup albums disguised as electronic synths, it seems Parker is no longer interested in wallowing. “Deadbeat” is a rave in music form, riddled with joy not typically characteristic of
his music. “Deadbeat” is what it feels like to move on following a breakup. It is about what happens when you stop reflecting and start moving. Replacing the soft pleading vocals with pounding beats, Parker has reinvented his sound.
Here are three tracks especially worth your attention:
“End of Summer”
As the album’s opener and
first single, “End of Summer” is a paradox of simultaneous loneliness and hope. Its trance beats make it sound like a season of isolation ending, allowing for the beginning of something much more liberating. More than seven minutes of EDM that makes you feel like dancing under aggressively bright strobe lights, “End of Summer” is worth a listen.
“Loser”
In this track, Parker explores feelings of imposter syndrome. Incorporating funk-pop strokes, it incorporates a cheeky and fun take on Parker’s struggles. Reinvention isn’t always easy, and this track’s seemingly ironic title proves that.
“Dracula”
If the title isn’t indication enough, this track takes on an entirely new “confident and nocturnal” vibe. Parker’s attempt at bold pop in a way he’s never done before successfully embraces dance-floor, ravestyle music while maintaining his signature dream-space vibe.
While it may be unlike anything else he’s ever made, “Deadbeat” is proof that Tame Impala can never get old and is capable of impressive artistic evolution. His music has never been about perfection; what makes him unique is his ability to create a space to float while still feeling like your feet are on the ground. He may have taken a new approach, but it’s safe to say Tame Impala has done it again.
Contact Jiya Patel at jpatel6@nd.edu
quit (deluxe)’: HAIM tackles relationship woes
By Mara Hall Scene Writer
The deluxe version of HAIM’s “I quit” came out on Oct. 17, adding “Tie you down,” “The story of us” and “Even the bad times” to the original “I quit” album, which was released in the summer on June 20. Notably, “Tie you down” is a collaboration with Bon Iver and was released as a single on Oct. 10, but it has now been added to the larger collection of “I quit.”
The band HAIM is made up of the three Haim sisters: Este Haim, Danielle Haim and Alana Haim. Typically, Este Haim is considered to be the group’s bass guitarist, Danielle Haim as the lead guitarist, vocalist and percussionist and Alana Haim as another vocalist and guitarist. Still, all three play many instruments, and the trio often sings three-part harmonies.
Overall, “I quit” marks a thematic shift in HAIM’s work following “Women in Music Pt. III.” What was once a dire need to fit into a sexist industry by appeasing the male figure is now a rejection of socially conventional relationships. On the surface, these seem like diametric
narratives, but a closer reading tells a story of coming to reconcile that some discrimination is institutionalized within industries such as music.
While “I quit” lacks some sonic cohesiveness, it makes up for this shortcoming with its varied explorations of relationships that leverage a diversity of sound. Songs like “Relationships” capture frustration and outrage while “Lucky stars” captures the feeling of coming to terms with falling into a healthy relationship after bad past experiences. “Take me back” embraces a frequently repeated lyric, and “Million years” deviates in yet another direction, leaving the lyrical focus entirely to sonically emphasize a breakbeat.
Taking a closer look at the deluxe tracks speaks to a narrative of lost love seeking reunion while feeling a certain level of retribution.
In “Tie you down,” Danielle Haim and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) tell a narrative of a relationship falling apart. This is particularly evident through the way the chorus changes throughout the song. In the first chorus, the narrator is afraid of limiting the partner, saying, “I want you here / But
I don’t know how / Not to tie you down.”
However, this evolves throughout the song as the lyrics in the second chorus go, “I want you here / But I don’t know how / To tie you down,” indicating a shift in this relationship. Danielle Haim and Vernon play into this tension in a bridge where Vernon echoes Danielle Haim for the effect of the listener feeling that both partners yearn for the same ending and yet cannot reconcile this commonality.
“The story of us” describes the loss of trust that the present end is truly the end. This rage-filled anthem opens with the line, “You hate that you love me / You hate that you want me back / I hate that I love you / But, baby, it got too sad.” By exploring the loss of trust that comes with people not being fully honest and lacking closure, HAIM explores the grief that comes with uncertainty.
The deluxe version of the album closes with the song, “Even the bad times.” This song extrapolates on “The story of us,” discussing the consequences of giving in and getting back together. “Every time that we try / I know it’s not right, baby / I fight with
you like you are a child / I feel like a fool / I could leave like I should / Baby, but / I can’t help it, even the bad times wеre good.”
While this chorus concedes that the relationship is unhealthy, it also highlights the ways that being in any relationship is easier than being alone. The outro cites nostalgia as a reason that the relationship is easy, but the lyrics tell the story of someone who is insecure about honoring their own voice. While this song does not directly give advice to the listener, it enables the listener to be an outsider, see the dangers and hopefully apply the lyrics to their life, thereby serving as guidance.
Oddly enough, there are several titles on this deluxe album that closely match song titles of Taylor Swift’s music. HAIM’s “All over me” is awfully close to Swift’s “You All Over Me” featuring Maren Morris from “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” and both HAIM and Swift now have songs entitled “The story of us.” Interestingly, Swift and HAIM collaborated on “no body, no crime,” from Swift’s ninth album, “evermore,” and HAIM was an opener for Swift’s Eras Tour. Despite the similarities in titles between
HAIM and Swift’s songs, the songs actually foil one another both thematically and sonically.
While the title of the album, “I quit,” had fans questioning if this was the final album from this girl group, the sisters have assured fans that this is not the end. HAIM is already touring this album. They have already taken a lap through the United States with support from Dora Jar and flowerovlove and have scheduled upcoming shows in the United Kingdom.
With all of these moving parts, the album had a weird rollout. It started with the singles, before moving into the main album, then circling back for another round with the collaboration single for the deluxe track and now finally the full deluxe album. Not to mention, all of that had a tour wound up in the middle of it. This rollout, combined with the sonic inconsistencies, leaves listeners questioning if the album was pushed to release before it was truly ready. However, with the full deluxe album now released, fans can sit back and just enjoy the record.
Contact Mara Hall at mhall27@nd.edu
MEG HAMMOND | The Observer
Holy War continues as Notre Dame travels to BC
By Payton Dymek Sports Writer
This weekend, the Holy War travels to Chestnut Hill as Boston College prepares to host Notre Dame. Despite the rivalry’s fierce name, the “Holy War” doesn’t stem from hostility, but from numerous similarities between the schools. Notre Dame and Boston College are the only two Catholic universities that play football at the Division I level in the NCAA. While they battle on the field and courts, they compete in the classroom as well, both consistently being ranked among the nation’s top universities.
The Irish and Eagles met for the first time on September 15, 1975, and their last matchup was on November 19, 2022. Though they haven’t played annually, the two have met 27 times, with Notre Dame leading the series 17-9. The
Irish win in 2012 was vacated (along with all their wins from the 2012 and 2013 seasons) due to academic misconduct by a trainer, but the Irish hold the longest active streak (2009-present) and the largest victory margin of 54-7 in 1992. While the series itself has been inconsistent, it’s been home to memorable games that have left an impact on both fanbases.
As mentioned earlier, Notre Dame held Boston College to only seven points in 1992; however, the Eagles had entered the game with high expectations, thinking they could reach a bowl game. In the third quarter, the Irish were up 370, which is when Boston College knew it was over. Additionally, the crowd shots from the final game in “Rudy” were shot at halftime of this matchup. The next year, the Eagles came back hungry for a win as they held a 38-17 lead with a little over 10 minutes left in the game;
however, the Irish fought back and successfully had a 22-point comeback. Although fans thought the game was secured, Boston College’s David Gordon kicked a 41-yard field goal to beat Notre Dame, drop them to fourth, and ruin their plans of finishing first in the nation. This also marked the Eagles’ first win over the Irish.
In 1999, the Irish came into the matchup with even more riding on the line, since they were in need of a win to avoid an ineligible bowl season. However, the Eagles fought hard to a 17-17 tie at halftime. Boston College’s Tim Hasselbeck snuck into the end zone to secure touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters, and Notre Dame battled back but missed a crucial extra point. After a 67-yard punt return touchdown by Julius Jones, the Irish failed a two-point attempt, and a late interception led Boston College to a 31-29 win.
In 2002, for the first time in three years, and their first time at home in 17 seasons, Notre Dame sported its green jerseys for its matchup against the Eagles. The Irish had a rough game where they fumbled the ball seven times and threw two interceptions, causing Boston College to win 14-7 and walk away with its first top-five win since beating Notre Dame in 1993. In 2008, the Irish traveled to Chestnut Hill in hopes of finding a win against the Eagles; however, it led to the first shutout in series history: Boston College on top 170. This marked their sixth straight win over Notre Dame and tied the series at nine wins each. The following year, the Irish sought redemption, and in a close game that had five different lead changes, Jimmy Clausen threw two touchdown passes to Golden Tate, securing the Irish victory before a final interception by linebacker Brian Smith.
More recently, in 2015, after a couple of seasons off, Notre Dame entered ranked fourth. However, it dealt with Boston College’s number one-ranked defense, which kept the game close and secured five turnovers. Despite throwing three interceptions, quarterback DeShone Kizer threw two touchdowns, securing the Irish victory 19-16. This weekend, Notre Dame is the 28.5-point favorite to beat Boston College. However, another time we saw this spread was when the Irish were favored by the same amount to beat Northern Illinois in 2024. Despite spreads or rankings, traditions stay the same, and the Holy War is sure to be a matchup of faith, pride and history: one that no fan will want to miss.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Chestnut Hill.
Contact Payton Dymek at pdymek@nd.edu
Fall break sports recap: Saint Mary’s College
By Claire Watson Associate Sports Editor
While the Saint Mary’s campus was quiet over fall break, the Belles volleyball team was in action playing a total of five matches over an eight-day period. The Belles soccer team also played three games in a seven-day stretch as the cross country team competed in one meet.
Elmhurst
The first team that the Belles volleyball took on was Elmhurst, who they played on Oct. 17, right before fall break began. While the Belles battled hard, they fell 3-1 against the Blue Jays.
Elmhurst jumped out early in the first set with a 25-18 win. Early on in the set, the two teams traded points with kills from both sides. The Blue Jays continued their control into the second set with a 25-18 win, but Saint Mary’s came back in the third set with a close 25-21 win. That forced a fourth set, but the Belles fell short 25-11. Freshman outside hitter and defensive specialist Shannon Rudge led the Belles with eight kills while junior middle hitter Caroline Carens followed with seven kills of her own. Sophomore setter Giuliana Graczyk was a big asset to Rudge and Carens as she finished the game with 14 assists.
Adrian
The second team that the Belles faced off against was Adrian, who they played at home on Oct. 22. In this match, the Belles took a 3-2 win, moving them up to 13-7 on the season and 1-4 in the MIAA.
Saint Mary’s took the first set 2519, but Adrian did not give up that easily taking the second set 25-23 and the third set 26-24. As they went into the fourth set, the Belles
fought back to tie the score up at two with a 25-17 win. Now in the fifth set, the two teams battled it out for the win and the Belles prevailed with a 15-12 decisive victory.
Sophomore outside hitter Kalli Lewkowski and Rudge paved the way for the Belles as they each totaled 11 kills while Carens finished closely behind with 10.
The Belles traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to face off against Wisconsin River-Falls, Millsaps and Rhodes in a tournament on Oct. 24 and 25.
Wisconsin-River Falls
Although coming off of the thrilling win over Adrian, Wisconsin-River Falls presented a challenge of another level, as they soundly beat the Belles 3-0.
Saint Mary’s took the early lead in the first set, but River Falls pushed back, adding on eight points at the end of the set to take the 25-23 win. The second set looked similar as the two teams traded points, but River Falls came out on top with a close 2521 win. Saint Mary’s was not done fighting yet. In the last set of the match, River Falls prevailed with a 25-21 win, taking all three sets in close showdowns.
Millsaps
In their second match of the day, the Belles faced off against Millsaps and were once again swept 3-0.
The two squads exchanged rallies in the first set, keeping the score close throughout. Millsaps took the lead late in the set streaking for six points in a row to take the lead, which they wouldn’t squander to take the set 25-21. Millsaps did not stop in the second set, holding their lead throughout its entirety for a 25-20 win. The final set looked similar as Millsaps
maintained their lead from start to finish and took the final 25-19 win.
Rhodes
The final match of the weekend was against Rhodes on Oct. 25, when the Belles collected their first win of the weekend, in a hardfought, five-set battle.
Saint Mary’s kicked off the first set with a 25-16 win thanks to the combined efforts of Lewkowski, Carens and senior middle and outside hitter Grace Braselton. Rhodes battled back in the second set to claim the close 25-22 win, but Saint Mary’s returned the favor with a 28-26 win in the third. Rhodes came back in the fourth set to take a 25-12 win, tying up the score but in the final set of the day. Saint Mary’s came out on top with a 15-12 win.
Overall for the weekend, Carens led with 35 kills over the three matches, Lewkowski followed with 32, Braselton finished with 12 and Rudge added 11.
The Belles now move to 14-9 on the season and 1-4 in the conference as they prepare to host Kalamazoo for Senior Day on Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.
The Saint Mary’s soccer team faced off against Alma, Albion and Trine over break.
Alma
In an extremely close matchup, Saint Mary’s traveled to Alma on Oct. 18 with the Belles winning 1-0 in a very rainy contest.
In a scoreless first period, the Belles and Scots battled equally to take the lead. As both teams tried to fight slippery conditions,
Saint Mary’s led Alma 6-1 in the shot column. Saint Mary’s was able to find the back of the net in the second period thanks to a penalty kick goal from junior defender Brooke Baumann.
At the end of the game, the Belles led 12-7 in shots and 6-5 in shots on goal. The two teams were even as both goalkeepers had five saves for the game.
Albion
Coming back home for their second game over the break, the Belles faced off against Albion on Oct. 22, finishing in a 2-2 draw.
Starting the first period, Albion scored the first goal in the 4thminute. About 12 minutes later, the Belles equalized as Baumann got on the board to tie up the score. Heading into the second period, Albion knocked in their second goal to take the 2-1 lead, but senior midfielder Grace Reyda leveled for the Belles with a double assist from sophomore defender Danielle Escobedo and senior defender Izzy Sherman. The two teams battled until the final moments, but the game ultimately ended with the teams sharing the spoils.
Trine
The final game over fall break was at Trine on Oct. 25, where the Belles would suffer a disappointing 4-1 defeat.
Trine scored all four goals in the first period, with their first being early on in the 4th-minute. They snuck by sophomore goalkeeper Keona Caraballo a minute later to make the score 2-0 and didn’t stop there. Trine found the back of the
net again roughly 10 minutes later to go up 3-0. They scored their final goal of the period toward the halftime whistle, extending their lead to four. Saint Mary’s entered the scoresheet in the 84th-minute behind sophomore defender Isabella Kreydich.
As the Belles took the 4-1 loss, they fell to 8-4-3 on the season and 2-4-1 in conference. They wrapped up the season with a 4-0 loss to hope on Tuesday.
Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble
Also over the break, the cross country team finished up their regular season as they competed in the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble. The Belles finished in 13th place out of the 25 teams competing.
Three juniors led the way for the Belles as Savanna Paulson finished with a time of 24:06.5, Cecilia Conrad with 24:30.5 and Jordan Siminski with 24:35.8. A freshman trio would follow them. Jackie Clemente finished with a time of 25:08.9, Katelyn Huber finished in 25:13.4 and Mary Caroline George ran closely behind with a time of 25:18.9. Sophomore Allie Glendening finished with a time of 25:21.6 and following her were seniors Mary Weber and Isabella Auch who finished with times of 25:38.1 and 25:40.1, respectively. Freshman Sarah Couri rounded out the Belles’ finishes with a time of 25:45.4.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson7@nd.edu
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
How many candles have you lit at the Grotto this year?
Molly Lanahan sophomore Regina Hall
“Not enough.”
Susie Fuselier freshman Cavanaugh Hall
“Three.”
Clare Kapsch freshman Cavanaugh Hall
“Two.”
CROSSWORD | WILL SHORTZ
Keira Kapsch freshman Farley Hall
“Three.”
Meghan Burke freshman Cavanaugh Hall
“Three.”
SOCIAL MEDIA POLL
Have an idea for a poll? Email dstangel@nd.edu
When picking senior housing, what matters most?
A recent survey conducted by The Observer via Instagram asked students what matters to them most when picking senior housing. The majority of respondents, 44%, said that saving significant amounts of money mattered to them most. The next largest group, 27%, said that being close to friends was the most important factor to them. Some students, 22%, said that getting a feel for the real world was most important. The smallest number of students, 7%, said that commute convenience to campus mattered most.
THE NEXT FIVE DAYS
Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Wednesday
Lecture by Ireland Ambassador Geraldine Bryne Nason Hear about Ireland’s foriegn policy and U.S-Ireland relations. 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. McKenna Auditorium
Thursday
Notre Dame women’s basketball vs. Purdue Northwest
The Irish face the Pride in their first home game of the year. 7 p.m. Purcell Pavillion
Friday
Halloween Festival: Paranormal Playground
Experience a haunted house, dance to a DJ and have a treats. 9 p.m. - midnight Library Lawn
Saturday
Notre Dame men’s hockey vs. Michigan
The Irish face the Wolverines for a white out night.
7 p.m.
Compton Family Ice Arena
Sunday
Organist Ilona Kubiaczyk-Adler performance
Hear a Polish-born organist play international songs.
8 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Basilica of the Sacred Heart
PHOTO OF THE DAY
MARIELLA TADDONIO | The Observer
Quarterback CJ Carr hands the ball off to running back Jadarian Price during the Notre Dame vs. USC rivalry football game on Oct. 18. The Irish won 34 - 24 against the Trojans, continuing their winning streak.
Irish split last October weekend in North Carolina
By Payton Dymek Sports Writer
After facing tough competition at home against then No. 6 Pitt and No. 8 SMU (now fourth and seventh respectively) and putting up big numbers against both, Notre Dame traveled to North Carolina to face the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Duke during fall break. The Irish returned 1-1, facing a reverse sweep from the Tar Heels and completely sweeping the Blue Devils in three sets.
Overall on the weekend, sophomore outside hitter Morgan Gaerte had 36 kills and 12 digs, junior outside hitter Sydney Helmers was close behind with 33 kills and 12 digs plus four aces, freshman outside hitter Mae Kordas put up 14 kills, freshman outside hitter Chichi Nnaji had eight kills, sophomore middle Grace Langer had seven kills and sophomore middle Anna Bjork had six kills. Freshman setter Maya Baker had 51 assists and 15 digs while senior setter Harmony Sample only played in the match against North Carolina but received 27 assists. Freshman libero Maya Evens led the team defensively with 30 digs on the weekend.
North Carolina
At the time of play, the Tar Heels were ranked 21st in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll and have had a very successful season, now sitting at 16-3 overall and 9-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Their only losses come from a five-set thriller against South Carolina, another five-set game against Kansas State and a very recent four-set loss to No. 8 Louisville. North Carolina has put up big numbers on the year so far, ranking fourth in ACC for hitting percentage with 0.262, sixth in assists with 886, fifth in kills with 969 and second in blocks with 211.
The Tar Heels are led in kills by junior outside Safi Hampton who hit many career records during her sophomore year and is looking to break them this year. Right now, she has 265 kills for the season and a hitting percentage of 0.279, with 17 kills coming from the match against the Irish where she hit a 0.273. Redshirt junior Chelsea Thorpe has 191 kills on the year and hits a 0.282, while averaging a little over three points per set. She had 11 kills and scored 12 points against Notre Dame this weekend. Junior setter Zoe
Behrendt leads with 432 assists, 25 coming from the match against the Irish, while senior libero Maddy May leads with 286 digs, 10 of which were from the match against Notre Dame.
After struggling early on in set one, the Irish fought their way back to take a 13-10 lead on a six-point scoring run, which completely shifted the momentum of the match and helped them close out with a 11-5 scoring run, ending the match on a Helmers ace and a score of 25-19. The second set started quickly for Notre Dame as North Carolina kept making unforced errors, leading to an early 8-2 lead. The Irish played textbook volleyball, limited their mistakes and stole the second set from the Tar Heels 25-15.
The next two sets were very quick and consisted of many scoring runs made by North Carolina that took the Irish by surprise, and despite big kills and strong defensive efforts, were too much to handle. Notre Dame fell in the third set 25-17 and the fourth 25-20. With high energy, the Irish came out to a quick 5-2 start in the fifth set and pushed it to 8-4 with kills from Kordas, Gaerte and Bjork; however, the Tar Heels had a shifted mindset after
HCC SPORTS
their timeout and came back hungry to win the match. The match was sealed. North Carolina had broken in their new home court with good vibrations from a 3-2 reverse sweep.
Duke
At the time of play, the Blue Devils were 5-15 on the year with big losses to Louisville, Boston College, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and North Carolina; however, they have conference wins against Clemson and NC State. Duke is currently ranked lower in the ACC in hitting percentage with a 0.180, 12th in assists with 875, 12th in kills with 949 and 18th in blacks with 150.
The Blue Devils are led in kills by sophomore outside hitter Taylor Williams, who was named 2024 AllACC Freshman Team and already has 222 kills on the season, but was held down to only nine against the Irish. Freshman outside hitter Ashby Zubchevich is not far behind Williams with 221 kills, eight of which came from her match against Notre Dame. The offense is led by top freshman recruit Charlotte Glass who has 350 assists on the year, but was limited to 19 on Sunday. The
defense is led by sophomore libero Mailinh Godschall who has 332 digs on the year, but was only able to get seven this past weekend.
In the first set, a 4-0 run capped by a Helmers kill gave the Irish an early 10-6 lead, one they took advantage of, allowing them to never look back. Notre Dame went on a 9-0 scoring run highlighted by blocks from Langer and Kordas that pushed the lead to 19-7 before closing out the set 25-13. Set two was very similar as back-to-back aces extended a close game to 118, and a 4-0 scoring run, once again, secured the Irish lead to push the momentum in their direction for the rest of the set, leading to a 25-18 win. Duke attempted to fight back in the third set, going up seven points early; however, Notre Dame rallied tough to tie it 22-22. Consecutive and crucial kills from Gaerte and Langer pushed the match to 25-22, sealing the Irish sweep.
Notre Dame is back at Purcell Pavilion this week, hosting Louisville on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to play the Cardinals on their home court on Nov. 1.
Contact Payton Dymek at pdymek@nd.edu
Fall break sports recap: Holy Cross College
By Claire Watson Associate Sports Editor
Over fall break, the Holy Cross Saints were in action as both of their soccer teams played three matches.
The men’s soccer team stayed active over the intermission as they competed against Viterbo, Trinity Christian and Olivet Nazarene.
Viterbo
The men’s soccer team faced off against Viterbo right at the beginning of fall break on Oct. 18, falling 1-0 in a back and forth showdown.
In a scoreless first period, the two teams battled back and forth but neither team was able to find their way into the goal. Senior goalkeeper Isaias Rubio kept Viterbo out of the goal as he finished the first period with a total of three saves while goalkeeper Peter Kolenyo saved one for Viterbo. In the second period, the two teams continued to show equal amounts of effort as Rubio excelled in goal with four more saves. The Viterbo goal did not come
until the end of the match, as they broke through in the 88th-minute to secure the victory
Viterbo had control of the game, outshooting the Saints 20-5, but the Holy Cross defense stayed vigilant to dispel many of the Viterbo opportunities.
Trinity Christian
The second game that the Saints played was on Oct. 22 against Trinity Christian, resulting in a close 4-3 loss.
Trinity Christian knocked in the first goal of the game early on in the first period in the 7th-minute, but the Saints followed as freshman Xavier Fox scored to tie up the score at the half-hour mark. Trinity Christian returned the favor moments later, putting in their second goal of the game to take a 2-1 lead to the dressing rooms.
In a thrilling second period, the two teams battled back and forth, exchanging goals. Trinity Christian put in the first two goals of the period, both within the first 20 minutes as they pushed the advantage to 4-1. The Saints battled back as late in the
period freshman midfielder Andrew Koshakji scored before junior midfielder Anthony Panayiotou snuck in goal to make the score 4-3. The Saints were unable to complete the comeback, and Trinity Christian escaped with the 4-3 triumph.
Olivet Nazarene
The final game over the break was played against Olivet Nazarene on Oct. 25, in which the Saints were exposed in a 7-1 drubbing.
Olivet Nazarene scored three times in the first 10 minutes, before neither team scored for the remainder of the first period. The Saints scored early in the second period thanks to a penalty kick goal from freshman Daniel Alfaro. Olivet Nazarene would score four more times over the final 40 minutes to complete the domination.
With that loss, the men’s soccer team fell to 8-7 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
The Saints women’s soccer team also competed in three games, as they faced Indiana Northwest, Governors State and Indiana University South Bend.
Indiana Northwest
The women’s soccer team kicked off fall break as they traveled to face off against Indiana Northwest, finishing with an even 3-3 draw.
Both teams showed strong defense in the first period as only one goal was scored, with Indiana Northwest opening matters in the 42nd-minute. Junior defender Abigail Fouts sent in the first goal for the Saints, but Indiana Northwest responded by adding another goal in the 56thminute to regain the 2-1 lead. Three minutes later, Fouts completed her brace to level the tally once more. After the two teams’ defenses battled for the next 20 minutes, Indiana Northwest was able to find the back of the net to take the 3-2 lead. Ending the second period, Holy Cross secured a point from a penalty kick goal by junior forward Miriam Iturriaga-Sanchez.
Governors State
The Saints kept their momentum going as they faced Governors State and took the 2-0 win. Holy Cross found the back of the net thanks to a penalty kick from junior
Frances Park in the early stages of the contest. In the second period, Holy Cross snuck by the Governors States goalkeeper as senior forward Mia Garatoni doubled the advantage to nail down the 2-0 victory.
IUSB
The final game that the Saints played was against local rival IUSB, in which they collected another 2-0 win.
The first period was quiet scoring wise, as the two defenses battled for possession. In the final moments of the period, Iturriaga-Sanchez broke through to put the Saints up 1-0. Going into the second period, Fouts scored again to provide cushion for Holy Cross. With IUSB unable to comeback, the Saints took the final 2-0 win. With this win, the women’s soccer team improved its record to 9-5-2 overall and 8-12 in conference. The Saints will now travel to Trinity Christian to finish their regular season on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Contact Claire Watson at cwatson7@nd.edu
Irish place 15th, finish fall at Landfall Tradition
By Harrison Brown Sports Writer
Notre Dame women’s golf recently traveled to North Carolina to compete in the Landfall Tradition, hosted by the University of North Carolina Wilmington from Oct. 24 to 26. The Irish shot a collective 33 over par through three rounds, finishing with a total score of 897 and placing 15th out of 18 teams.
In the first round of the tournament, the Irish carded an even 300(+12). In the following round, the team had a one-stroke improvement,
this time tallying a total of 299(+11). They concluded the weekend with their best round of the event, at 10 over par.
Leading the Irish was junior Alexsandra Lapple, who was even with par after three rounds. To begin the tournament, she shot one under par, with a 71 in the first round. In the second, her score of 76 was four over par. She finished off the competition strong, as four birdies and an eagle fueled her best round at three strokes under par. Her total of 216 strokes secured her 13th place individually.
Notre Dame’s second-lowest
score belonged to sophomore Maddy Bante. She opened the event at three over par in round one, then followed it up with her best round of the weekend as she finished one under par. Closing out the weekend in round three, she shot five strokes above par. Bante finished seven over par overall, ranking 41st on the leaderboard.
Notre Dame fielded a relatively young lineup, comprised primarily of sophomores and freshmen. Two freshmen would compete for the team: Taryn Cagle and Jordan Levitt. The two players would
ND WOMEN’S SOCCER
finish within two strokes of each other, with Cagle at 12 over par and Levitt at 14 over par. Cagle’s best round was her second, where she carded a 74. Overall, she finished with a score of 228, which slotted her in 64th place. As for Levitt, she had her best round to open out the event, shooting a 75 in the first round. By the end of the tournament, she sat in 74th with 230 strokes. Closing out the lineup was sophomore Bridget Wilkie. Scoring a 247 through the three rounds, Wilkie would finish 95th on the player leaderboard.
On the team leaderboard, No. 24 North Carolina claimed first place, led by top-three finishes from senior Megan Streicher and sophomore Marie Prats-Rigual. Individually, Kent State junior Veronika Kedroňová captured the title, winning by seven strokes.
As the Irish rounded off their fall season, their next event will come during the spring when they travel to Boca Raton, Florida, for the FAU Paradise Invitational in February.
Contact Harrison Brown at hbrown23@nd.edu
Irish win, tie to close in on unbeaten regular season
By Chris Dailey Sports Writer
Over fall break, the No. 1 Notre Dame women’s soccer superstar sophomore forward Izzy Engle did what the rest of the country expects from her: score, and score a lot. Engle netted four goals in the Irish’s two fall-break games against Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. The Irish’s fall break campaign kicked off at Virginia Tech on Oct. 23 after a lengthy 11-day break from their 3-0 win over SMU. The all-American Engle fired in a hat trick
as Nate Norman’s team cruised by the Hokies 5-0.
Sophomore Annabelle Chukwu struck first for the Irish 15 minutes into the match. Chukwu received the ball toward the edge of the box before dancing around a Hokie defender and sliding the ball into the far post. However, as the old saying goes, it takes two to tango. For Chukwu, that tango partner is none other than Engle. Five minutes after Chukwu’s goal, the Hermann-Trophy frontrunner toe poked the ball past Virginia Tech’s goalkeeper
while a Hokie defender attempted a slide tackle.
Then, just 90 seconds removed from the second goal, Chukwu was fouled inside the box. Engle converted the penalty to bring the Irish lead to 3-0 through the first 45 minutes of play.
Engle scored once again in the second half off of a nicely struck cross from junior Charlie Codd. The ball was placed just in front of Engle, whose sliding effort resulted in an awkward but successful strike. Junior Morgan Roy wrapped up the Irish’s
offensive frenzy with a fantastic solo effort from just outside the 18.
The win moved the Irish to 13-0-1 on the season, with their only blemish coming from an early 2-2 draw against then-No. 6 Arkansas. That jaw-dropping statistic didn’t last for long, however. Three days following their battering of Virginia Tech, the Irish drew to Wake Forest 1-1.
Unsurprisingly, Engle got things going for the Irish 19 minutes into the match. After receiving a clever through ball from Codd, Engle chopped the
ball from her left to right foot. The move made a defender miss and created a chance for Engle from a mere six yards out. The goal is Engle’s 17th of the season, two shy of the national lead held by Florida Gulf Coast’s Erika Zschuppe. Engle is also two shy of matching her mark from last season, postseason included.
The Irish now look to round out their regular season against Pitt on Oct. 30 starting at 7 p.m.
Contact Chris Dailey at cdailey2@nd.edu
Irish bookend fall break with three wins, one tie
By Ryan Murphy Sports Writer
Notre Dame hockey bookended fall break with a four-game unbeaten streak. A two-game sweep of St. Lawrence (8-2, 3-0) opened the home schedule — and new head coach Brock Sheahan’s career at Compton Family Ice Arena — on a positive note. On the back side of the academic break, the Irish welcomed Robert Morris with a 6-3 victory but finished the weekend on a disappointing note, tying the Colonials 2-2.
Kempf earns his first shutout
After a difficult start to the season — allowing five plus goals in each of Notre Dame’s first two games — sophomore goaltender Nick Kempf has settled in nicely over the last four games.
Game two against St. Lawrence marked his first career shutout, as the Irish blanked the Saints 3-0.
Kempf stopped 26 Saints shots en route to his first win of the season.
Sheahan has frequently touted Kempf’s raw talent and ability, but the USA Hockey National Development Program product remains young. He appeared in 13 games for the Irish last season, posting a .895 save percentage. Sheahan has seemingly handed him the reins for good this year — only eight goaltenders in college hockey have played more minutes than Kempf to start the year.
The more comfortable Kempf gets in net, the higher Notre Dame’s ceiling this season rises. The last two weekends have provided evidence that he’s well on the right path.
Slow starts for skating Irish
In three out of Notre Dame’s last four contests, the Irish have conceded the first goal, at least. The Irish went down 2-0 in the first 10 minutes of game one against both St. Lawrence and Robert Morris, and also allowed the first goal in the first period of game two against the
Colonials.
“I don’t think the maturity of our game is there yet, but that’s why we play these games and practice,” Sheahan said after the Irish conceded the first two in Friday night’s 6-3 over Robert Morris.
“Overall, I thought it took us a while to truly get to how we are capable of playing, literally until the third period in a way.”
On Saturday night, it wasn’t Notre Dame’s start that was the issue. The Irish went down 1-0 in the first, but unlike their previous three wins, weren’t able to generate anything later in the contest.
“I actually thought we had a good start,” Sheahan said after Saturday’s tie. “We just didn’t sustain it. Credit [Robert Morris] ... They made it hard on us, and in my opinion, we didn’t break them down.”
Muzzatti lighting the lamp
The top goal scorer for Notre Dame through six games played: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate transfer Sutter Muzzatti.
Muzzatti scored three goals over the course of the series against Robert Morris, bringing his total this season to six.
“For a guy that size, you usually don’t have hockey sense to the level that he has. He’s reliable, you can put him in all situations, and he played to his capability almost the entire game tonight, maybe one shift I thought he could’ve done better,” Sheahan said after Muzzatti netted two goals in Friday’s win.
Muzzatti, whose four-year career with the Engineers was severely limited due to injury, graduated early from RPI. According to Sheahan, he has one year of eligibility in addition to this season with the Irish. He’s healthy, and playing like the imposing veteran Notre Dame needs.
“He’s tough to stop in practice, it’s not someone you want to go up against,” senior captain Michael Mastrodomenico said of Muzzatti Friday. “He has the longest stick in the league, and he uses his frame and his length so well.”
Muzzatti, for his part, seems to be enjoying the change of scenery — and the change in health — as well.
“Absolutely no complaints here,” Muzzatti said. “Campus is beautiful, academics are great, this program’s unreal. We have everything here to make us better and keep us healthy.”
No. 2 comes to town Don’t look now, but Notre Dame’s next opponent, Michigan, was rated No. 2 in the nation in Monday’s U.S. College Hockey Online poll.
The Wolverines are 7-1, with their only loss last weekend to defending national champions Western Michigan. They sport the nation’s most goals per game (5.8) and fewest goals against per game (1.5) and are looking like a wagon. In years past, Notre Dame has been a thorn in the side of Michigan’s most talented teams. Another new chapter of the rivalry begins this weekend.
Contact Ryan Murphy at rmurph22@nd.edu
HOCKEY
Stock up, stock down: Notre Dame takes down USC
By Ellie Collins Sports Writer
On a rainy night in South Bend, the now 12th-ranked Fighting Irish stormed past rival USC 34-24. With the longstanding and only intersectional rivalry in danger of not being extended in the current college football environment, the passion put on display by both sides made clear how much this game mattered to the players. The same can be said for a raucous fanbase. Notre Dame has a lot to celebrate following its victory, but there are a few things the Irish need to hone before their upcoming matchup against Boston College — they do not want a reminder of 1993 on Saturday.
Stock up: Offensive line depth
The Irish lost expected standout sophomore right guard Charles Jagusah to a broken arm over the summer, and starting junior center Ashton Craig unfortunately suffered a season-ending knee injury against the NC State Wolfpack on Oct. 11. Freshman guard Guerby Lambert has played well in
place of Jagusah, and sophomore Joe Otting shone in his first career start at center in place of Craig against the Trojans. On Notre Dame’s second offensive play, Otting made a key lead block to help spring junior running back Jeremiyah Love’s 63-yard run. Otting and the rest of the unit dominated the Trojans as the Irish ran for a season-high 306 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately, Notre Dame’s depth will be further tested in the next few weeks, as junior captain and left guard Billy Schrauth hurt his knee and is out for at least the next three weeks. Sophomore Sullivan Absher is expected to start in his place.
Stock up: Interior defensive line depth
The defensive line also shone against USC despite being shorthanded, as senior tackle Gabriel Rubio sat out due to an elbow injury. The Trojans entered the contest averaging 227 yards per game on 6.4 yards per carry, but the Irish bottled up the USC ground game and made its prolific offense one-dimensional. USC managed only 68 yards on the ground on 2.3 yards per tote.
Starting in place of Rubio, senior Jason Onye (four tackles) played his best game of the season, and USC transfer Elijah Hughes disrupted his former teammates with consistent penetration. The Irish hope to get Rubio back before the end of the season. In the interim, the unit has elevated its play.
Stock up: Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price
It is hard to argue that the standout running back tandem of Love and Jadarian Price could possibly improve its stock, but their performance against the Trojans approached legendary status. Both put their names in the Irish record books.
Love shredded the Trojans on 24 carries for 228 yards, the most ever by an Irish running back in hallowed Notre Dame Stadium history. He broke off nine carries of 10 yards or more and scored a touchdown.
For all of Love’s heroics, it was Price who had the game’s biggest play. After USC grabbed momentum and a 2421 lead with 4:32 left in the third quarter on a 59-yard touchdown pass and successful two-point conversion,
FOOTBALL
Price took the ensuing kickoff and raced 100 yards for a touchdown to put the Irish back on top for good. Price became the first player in Notre Dame history with multiple kick return touchdowns of 100 yards, as he did so earlier in the season against Purdue. Even though Love grabs most of the national headlines, Price takes a backseat to no running back; he also could garner All-American recognition as a returner.
Stock down: CJ Carr and goal line execution
The USC defense targeted freshman quarterback CJ Carr with its game plan by keeping two safeties back for much of the game, and there were few explosive passing plays because of it. Among many inaccurate passes, Carr’s worst moment came late in the second quarter on third and goal from the two-yard line, when he threw an interception after 15 seconds of scrambling chaos. On first and second down, Love was stuffed on two runs into the teeth of the defense. Short-yardage play calls continue to be subpar. While he is the best running back in the country, Love always
receives the ball in a predictable fashion; perhaps bring in Price for a two-running back look to make the defense more indecisive.
As for Carr, his inconsistency was understandable, given that he is learning on the job. It is part of the natural progression for a quarterback, especially in big-game settings. With his abilities and his commitment to improvement, his growing pains will benefit him in the long run.
Stock down: the kicking game
Unfortunately, kickers are mainly mentioned when they fail. But senior Noah Burnette’s missed extra point and missed field goal and freshman Erik Schmidt’s two out-of-bounds kickoffs could have been costly in the Irish win. Maybe it was the rainy weather, remnants of Burnette’s hip injury or even a holder issue — whatever it was, it needs to be corrected before Saturday. The Irish likely will need to rely on Burnette’s and Schmidt’s legs at some point in a high-leverage spot in order to go on a playoff run.
Contact Ellie Collins at ecollin9@nd.edu
Lytle: ND must take all measures to keep Freeman
By Henry Lytle Associate Sports Editor
Notre Dame is up to 5-2 this season after a convincing win over USC on Saturday, Oct. 18. Not only is the team’s play garnering national attention, but its leader, Marcus Freeman, has been a popular name in the coaching carousel. With big-name programs desperate enough for coaching excellence to warrant more-than $50 million buyouts, Freeman’s name regularly appears in conversations for other top jobs after a national championship appearance and consecutive successful recruiting cycles at Notre Dame. Pete Bevacqua and Notre Dame need to do any and everything possible to keep Marcus Freeman. Where do they start?
The most obvious step is with money. Just a few hours south, Curt Cignetti received a large extension from the Indiana Hoosiers through 2033, paying over $11 million per year, Indiana announced earlier this month. Despite Indiana’s generous contract and his 64 years of age, Cignetti was still mentioned in Penn State’s initial talks after the Nittany Lions fired James Franklin.
On the contrary, Freeman is young, successful, charismatic and marketable, yet he is reportedly making just $7.4 million per year for the 26th highest salary in college football. He was extended last December, which, when kicked in, should produce payouts up to $9 million per season through 2030, placing him in the top 15 of salaries. But that has certainly not excluded Freeman’s name from the searches. While a bonus from his first contract with the Irish, it is still below what other programs are paying big-name coaches and what some of the biggest programs could offer.
What could the other programs offer? While every job that will be open by the end of the season is clearly not present yet, Penn State and Florida will likely be the biggest opportunities available, barring unforeseen chaos. These programs can give Freeman more resources for recruiting, which he has already shown to be a savant at, even with higher academic and character standards at Notre Dame. At Florida, Billy Napier had play-calling duties, football administrative power and a voice in the direction of the program. While
Freeman has delegated many of these duties to his coordinators and the corresponding Notre Dame athletics leadership, if he wants more control in the specific direction of a more malleable program, these jobs could hold some appeal.
Freeman would also be given a larger recruiting bucket for NIL, more money to work with in the transfer portal and lower academic standards for players. Some of these schools may also be willing to pay Freeman a lot more. This kind of commitment from a big-time program would likely include a massive buyout with hefty bonuses.
So who is after Freeman? There have been rumors swirling about Freeman as both Penn State and Florida’s primary target. Even though he has consistently shown loyalty to the Irish, it won’t hurt these teams to at least attempt to lure him away.
Freeman’s loyalty certainly appears unwavering, but after what Irish fans experienced recently with Brian Kelly just a few off-seasons ago, Freeman is by no means locked into Notre Dame forever. The Irish coach has been floated to the NFL as a potential college coach capable
of making a successful transition, and who’s to say he won’t try? After five seasons and a national championship at LSU, Nick Saban tried his hand at the NFL with the Dolphins. Just two seasons ago, Jim Harbaugh jumped back into the NFL after turning Michigan around. Notre Dame cannot let this happen and needs to take every precaution to keep Freeman around.
Although the University just extended Freeman in December, I argue that his salary number should be raised to avoid any concerns.
It’s difficult to imagine a better coach for Notre Dame in this day and age. I won’t gloss over the fact that Freeman inherited a talented roster, capable athletic program and nationally renowned brand from Brian Kelly, as well as a storied Irish history. His contributions for the culture of Notre Dame, though, far exceed his recent predecessors and represent the pillars of the University every Saturday.
On top of the 38-12 record, National Championship Game appearance and multiple 10-win seasons, Freeman has undeniably changed the Notre Dame culture. He has
reinstated the pre-game team mass, focused on player accountability and emphasized the “next man up” mentality. More than that, the players’ commitment to faith is evident in nearly every interview. Converting to Catholicism in August of 2022, Freeman personally aligns with the core message of Notre Dame and is thus the perfect person to lead the team.
So give him whatever he wants to stay and whatever his agent requests to be extended to. Freeman so well embodies the football program that he is arguably the most marketable and charismatic coach in college football today. With the success of Notre Dame football growing around the ethos of the Catholic faith and Freeman’s contributions, it is hard to imagine him leaving for another job in the collegiate ranks. I would be the first to say that Freeman is one of the most likely “lifers” in college football presently to actually remain in his post. As long as Freeman continues to win, which it doesn’t seem will change anytime soon, Notre Dame won’t want another coach for a long time.
Contact Henry Lytle at hlytle@nd.edu