Sept. 13, 2017 Monica Cundiff has been promoted to associate athletics director for athletic events and game operations at the University of Notre Dame — and Victor Saavedra has been named associate athletics director for facilities.
In addition to her ongoing responsibility for myriad events taking place in Irish athletics facilities (including post-season conference and NCAA Championship events), Cundiff now serves as the game manager for Notre Dame home football games. She also assumes oversight of crowd control/Notre Dame ushers and liaisons with Monterrey Security.
She continues to oversee and organize hosting of athletic sporting events for all 26 sports as well as major Joyce Center events, and she serves as sport administrator for the Notre Dame softball program.
A member of the Notre Dame athletics department staff since 1997, Cundiff previously spent five years as assistant athletics director of event/game management. That continued a role she held for the past 14 years as event manager of the Joyce Center, including both Notre Dame and outside events held in the facility.
Key events Cundiff has supported in her role include the 2014 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship regional, the first time Notre Dame held an NCAA regional event on campus in the current 64-team basketball championship format; the 2015 NCAA Softball Championship regional, the first time Notre Dame played host in Melissa Cook Stadium, and the 2016 Shamrock Series football game in San Antonio.
In addition, Cundiff coordinates the NBC Sports executive client hospitality program as part of the University’s partnership with the broadcast network. She previously was a member of the BIG EAST Conference softball committee.
Prior to her current role, Cundiff supervised Notre Dame’s Olympic sport facilities, including Frank Eck Stadium (baseball), Melissa Cook Stadium (softball), Arlotta Stadium (lacrosse) and Alumni Stadium (soccer). Cundiff also directed the marketing and promotional efforts for many of the Notre Dame varsity sports teams from 1998 through 2003. In addition, Cundiff served as the adviser for the Leprechaun Legion, a club comprised of students supporting the Notre Dame men’s basketball team. In 1997, Cundiff served as a sports promotions assistant at Notre Dame, with a concentration with volleyball, women’s basketball, baseball and softball.
Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Cundiff was director of marketing for Sagamore Publishing of Champaign, Illinois, from 1995-97, and was a marketing assistant for the Champaign Park District in 1994 and 1995. The Peoria, Illinois, native is a 1992 graduate of the University of Illinois, where she earned four letters as a member of the Fighting Illini women’s basketball team.
Saavedra joined the Notre Dame athletics staff from the on-campus facilities, design and operations office where he was on staff as an architect and project manager. He is a 1995 Notre Dame graduate and has worked in Notre Dame’s facilities office since 2005.
Saavedra served as project manager on myriad Notre Dame athletics and recreational projects:
- Harris Family Track and Field building
- Eck Baseball team room addition
- Geothermal well field/Ricci synthetic turf fields/Ricci support building project
- McConnell Family Boathouse
- Multi-venue athletics project consisting of Alumni and Arlotta stadia, LaBar football practice fields and the Mondo track installation
- Melissa Cook softball stadium and batting cages
- Stinson rugby field
- Conversion of Eck Baseball Stadium and Notre Dame Stadium fields from grass to synthetic turf
- Risk management project to install 65-foot-high protective netting systems between athletic venues
- Men’s and women’s basketball offices/team area renovations, the student-athlete welfare and development area and renovations of the Heritage Hall concourse and Joyce Center Gates 1 and 2 common areas
- Loftus Center synthetic turf replacement and the football locker room plunge pool installation within the Guglielmino Athletics Center
In addition, Saavedra assisted with the Compton Family Ice Arena.
Previously, he worked as architectural manager for Ziolkowski Construction/Design-Build from 2002-05 when he served as designer and architect of record for the new Logan Center facility in South Bend. He was a graduate architect and project manager for DLZ Architects/Engineers from 2000-02 and worked in the same role with James E. Childs and Associates from 1995-2000.
Saavedra holds a National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Certificate, Indiana Architectural License and LEED AP Certificate. He was the facilities committee chairman for St. Joseph’s High School in South Bend from 2014-17 when he developed the long-term maintenance and renewal plan for the high school and Diocese to follow to maintain the new facility and sports venues.
A native of South Bend, Indiana, Saavedra and his wife Brenda have two children, Max and Jack.
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