Jan. 21, 2004

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Monday marked the 30th anniversary of Notre Dame’s landmark 71-70 men’s basketball victory over UCLA that ended the Bruins’ all-time record 88-game winning streak that remains the longest in the history of college basketball.

Members of that 1973-74 Irish team will gather in South Bend this weekend – and will be honored Sunday at halftime of the Notre Dame-Kentucky men’s basketball game at the Joyce Center (4:00 p.m. EST tip-off on CBS).

The current Irish basketball staff will play host to a Sunday afternoon pre-game lunch for the returning team. Then, the players, coaches and staff from that ’73-’74 squad will be individually introduced at halftime of the Notre Dame-Kentucky contest.

Fans attending the game Sunday will be able to view a display of memorabilia from that ’74 contest on the Joyce Center concourse. They’ll also have a chance during the halftime ceremony to watch the final few minutes of that famous Notre Dame-UCLA game on giant screens located at both ends of the arena.

The first 3,000 fans attending the game Sunday will receive a reprint of the actual program from the ’74 Notre Dame-UCLA contest, along with a reproduction of the final box score from the game.

Former players, coaches and others tentatively returning this weekend include:

* Roger Anderson (then a 6-9 sophomore from St. Paul, Minn.)
* Gary Brokaw (6-4 junior from New Brunswick, N.J.)
* Dwight Clay (6-0 junior from Pittsburgh, Pa.)
* Peter Crotty (6-8 junior from Rockville Centre, N.Y.)
* Bill Drew (6-5 freshman from Centereach, N.Y.)
* Tom Hansen (6-2 senior from Erie, Pa.)
* Dave Kuzmicz (6-3 freshman from South Bend, Ind.)
* Ray Martin (6-1 freshman from Long Island City, N.Y.)
* Gary Novak (6-7 senior from La Salle, Ill.)
* Bill Paterno (6-5 freshman from Spring Lake, N.J.)
* Myron Schuckman (6-9 sophomore from McCracken, Kan.)
* John Shumate (6-9 junior from Elizabeth, N.J.)
* Chris Stevens (6-6 senior from Washington D.C.)
* Tom Varga (5-11 junior from South Bend, Ind.)
* Ken Wolbeck (6-7 senior from Peoria, Ill.)
* Digger Phelps (head coach)
* Dick DiBiaso (assistant coach)
* Frank McLaughlin (assistant coach)
* Arno Zoske (trainer)

Other team members included Adrian Dantley (6-5 freshman from Washington D.C.), Toby Knight (6-9 freshman from Port Jefferson, N.Y.) and Greg Schmelzer (6-6 senior from Park Ridge, Ill.).

UCLA came into that ’74 game at the Joyce Center (then known as the Athletic and Convocation Center) ranked number one in the nation with a 13-0 record, while Notre Dame stood 9-0 and was ranked second. UCLA had won seven straight NCAA tiles coming into the ’73-’74 campaign – and coming into that game had won 88 straight games overall, dating back to its last loss – an 89-82 defeat on that same floor against Notre Dame on Jan. 23, 1971. The previous NCAA record streak had been 60 straight wins by San Francisco from 1955-57 – and UCLA’s record-breaking 61st consecutive win had come on Jan. 27, 1973, also against Notre Dame at the Joyce Center.

The ’74 game featured an amazing comeback by Notre Dame, as the Irish scored the final 12 points of the contest from the time UCLA took a 70-59 with 3:32 left. The winning points for the Irish came on a corner jump shot by Dwight Clay with 29 seconds remaining – then Notre Dame survived a final flurry of missed attempts by the Bruins.