Monogram Club 2004 Summer Update
New board members to include Michael Eiben, Michael Frantz, Kristine Kramer Richards and Chris Smith; Jill Matesic also to remain on board through 2007; Jim Morse receives Krause Award; honorary monograms go to Tim Collins, Ed DeVivo and Jack Hickey.

June 27, 2004

(Note: For photo galleries from the 2004 Monogram Club events held during reunion weekend, also see the Monogram Club main page by Clicking here).

The annual Monogram Club June meeting and awards dinner (held June 3, 2004, in the Joyce Center’s Sports Heritage Hall), yielded several news items and honorees, including (details for each of these notes follow below):

* The Club’s board of directors approved a mission statement for the Notre Dame Monogram Club. The board also approved condensing the organization’s name from Notre Dame National Monogram Club to Notre Dame Monogram Club, in part due to the growing international nature of the Monogram Club membership.

* The board of directors unanimously approved adding the name of Father James Riehle, C.S.C. – formerly the longtime executive director of the Monogram Club – to the Monogram Club’s Brennan-Boland scholarship fund, which now will be known as the Brennan-Boland-Riehle Fund.

* Four new directors – Michael Eiben (wrestling, ’66), Michael Frantz (football, ’73), Kristine Kramer Richards (cross country/track and field, ’95) and Chris Smith (football, ’85) – were approved to serve terms on the Monogram Club from 2004-07 while Jill Matesic (soccer, ’95) will remain on the board as the fifth member who will serve through 2007.

* Former Notre Dame football player and University benefactor Jim Morse received the 2004 Moose Krause Award, presented to a Monogram Club member in recognition of distinguished service.

Kevin O’Connor.

Chris Kane.

* Three honorary monograms were presented to: the Notre Dame athletic department’s longtime video technician Tim Collins (presented by associate AD John Heisler), former Notre Dame assistant coach and benefactor of the Irish fencing program Ed DeVivo (presented by legendary ND fencing coach Mike DeCicco), and South Bend area home builder and athletic department supporter Jack Hickey (presented by former ND football coach Ara Parseghian). Notre Dame team physician David Bankoff earlier had been presented an honorary monogram, at the athletic department’s 2003 Christmas party.

* In addition to reading the mission statement to the dinner attendees, Monogram Club president Dave Duerson made general comments to the gathering and formally thanked outgoing the outgoing Monogram Club directors: Chris Kane (tennis, ’75), Kevin O’Connor (lacrosse, ’89), Jim Seymour (football, ’69 football) and Dr. John Sweeney (football, ’83).

John Sweeney.

Jim Seymour.

* Highlights from the 2003 Monogram Club meeting and awards dinner had included: passing of the president’s gavel from Jim Carroll to Dave Duerson; announcement of Marc Kelly as the Club’s new second vice president; presentation of the Moose Krause Award to Pete Demmerle (represented by his daughter Cara); introduction of board members (to serve from ’03-’06) Christy Grady (manager, ’98), Marvin Lett (soccer, ’87), Kevin McDermott (manager, ’73), Mike Mitchell (basketball, ’82) and Van Pearcy (football/track, ’85); and presentation of honorary monograms to longtime Notre Dame athletics photographer Mike Bennett, athletic trainer Skip Meyer and retired Joyce Center manager Joe Sassano.

(Details follow below, separated by headlines, for the above categories:)

MONOGRAM CLUB MISSION STATEMENT (adopted June 3, 2004)

“Bridging the Gap Between Legend and Legacy” – The Notre Dame Monogram Club is comprised of individuals who have earned the University’s varsity athletic insignia for their athletic or team support endeavors or who have been honorary monogram recipients.

The Notre Dame Monogram Club supports the primary goal of the University, which is the spiritual, intellectual and physical development of its students and alumni.

The Notre Dame Monogram Club provides its members the opportunity to foster and maintain relationships across different sports, generations and geographical locations. In this way, the club aspires to contribute, through the common bond of sport, to the social and professional enrichment of its members and provide a means for ongoing association with the University. As an integral part of the Notre Dame family, the Monogram Club endeavors to uphold and enrich the great tradition of Notre Dame athletics.

FATHER RIEHLE’S NAME ADDED TO BRENNAN-BOLAND FUND

Comments from former Monogram Club president and current advisor Marty Allen: “The Brennan Boland Fund is the crown jewel of the Monogram Club. It had its beginning back in 1960 and 1970 because there were two scholarship funds, one in the name of Joe Boland, one of Rockne’s players, a former Monogram Club director and former voice of Notre Dame football. And another was in the name of Father Tom Brennan. … This fund started in 1971 with a grand total of $78,000. About the same time, a relatively young priest took over as the executive secretary of the Monogram Club and his name was Jim Riehle. Under his stewardship, that fund has grown to over $3.5 million and over 100 scholarships have been awarded for $1.3 million. Given that, Father Riehle probably is more of a legend than they are, not only in his work with the Monogram Club but also as dean of students and of course as a chaplain. And we treasure having mass said by him on so many occasions. The Monogram Club board of directors unanimously voted that the name of Father Jim Riehle be added to the fund, so now the fund is called the Brennan-Boland-Riehle Scholarship Fund.”

Joe Boland (’27) was a football player from the Knute Rockne era who went on to serve as a Notre Dame assistant coach, an alumni association director and voice of Irish football on South Bend’s WSBT. Father Thomas Brennan, who died in 1972, had endeared himself to many student-athletes as a logic professor and part-time team chaplain.

The name of Rev. Jim Riehle, C.S.C. – shown here receiving the Monogram Club’s 2001 Moose Krause Award – now will be a part of the Club’s scholarship fund that benefits Monogram Club member children who are attending Notre Dame: The Brennan-Boland-Riehle Fund.

Riehle – who received the Monogram Club’s 2001 Moose Krause Award, in recognition of his distinguished service – served more than 25 years as the chaplain for the athletic department, traveling with the Irish football team and tending to the spiritual needs of Notre Dame’s athletes and coaches. He also served as the executive director of the Notre Dame National Monogram Club from 1978-2002 (he now is the executive director emeritus). In that role, he served as an on-campus liaison and organizes national monogram reunions and maintains historical data on former award winners.

A 1949 Notre Dame graduate, Riehle earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and then studied theology at Holy Cross College in Washington, D.C., from 1960-64. He earned his master’s in business administration from Notre Dame in 1978.

Riehle was ordained as a deacon at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C., in 1963. On June 10, 1964, he was ordained as a priest in Sacred Heart Church. His first assignment was as chaplain for Dillon Hall before he went to Sacred Heart Parish in New Orleans, La. In 1966, Riehle returned to Notre Dame as the assistant dean of students and rector of Sorin Hall. He assumed the dean of students post in 1967 and served in that capacity until 1973. For 12 years, until 1985, Riehle served as rector of Pangborn Hall.

Riehle has held several posts at the University, including chairman of the board of directors for the University Club (1971-77) and director of energy conservation (1973-93). Notre Dame recently dedicated an intramural field-Riehle Playing Field-located adjacent to Stepan Center. Riehle was presented with the honor during a surprise brunch, held April 29 in the Monogram Room of the Joyce Center.

NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNOUNCED (TO SERVE FROM 2004-07)

Four new directors have joined the Notre Dame Monogram Club board while former Irish soccer player Jill Matesic – who had served for one year from 2003-04, filling a void on the board when Marc Kelly was named second vice president – will remain on the board along with the four new members, each serving three-year terms from 2004-07. The new board members include Michael Eiben (wrestling, ’66), Michael Frantz (football, ’73), Kristine Kramer Richards (cross country/track and field, ’95) and Chris Smith (football, ’85).

Former Notre Dame wrestler Michael Eiben served as a Naval officer in Vietnam before launching a successful career in architecture that includes owning his own firm.

EIBEN was a four-year member of the Notre Dame wrestling team, earning a monogram as a senior in 1965 while wrestling in the 167-pound weight class. He posted a winning record in ’65 and advanced to the 4-I regional meet, with his teammates including the late Dick Arrington (one of just four ND football players ever to earn All-America honors in multiple sports, with the others including Moose Krause, Bob Golic and Raghib Ismail). Eiben returned for a fifth year of studies at Notre Dame, completing his thesis year before graduating in ’66 with his degree in architecture. He also was a member of the Naval ROTC at Notre Dame and was a fleet captain with the ND sailing club in 1966. Eiben went on to serve as a Naval officer in Vietnam from 1966-68 and then completed a three-year architecture internship at Chicago-based Bertrand, Goldberg & Associates before embarking on a successful career in architecture that has included the last 23 years as president and chief architect of his own firm, Michael R. Eiben, AIA.

His architectural practice includes institutional and commercial projects, including designs for the Silvetti Hospital and Burn Center in Chicago and rehabilitation services for the Illinois Childrens School, the Illinois Visually Handicapped Institute and other state projects. Eiben also has completed two projects for the City of Chicago Board of Education, designing gymnasiums, auditoriums and kitchen facilities for Christ the King grade school and Webster preschool. In 1997, he was retained for evaluation and preliminary planning for the Chicago Police Department’s Education and Training Center – with his firm’s other projects over the years including office buildings, auto dealerships, a shopping mall project in Michigan City, Ind., correctional facilities, and other residential and industrial projects.

Prior to founding his own firm, Eiben worked 13 years for Bertrand, Goldberg & Associates, from 1968-72 as an associate architect and then from ’73-81 as an architect and president of subsidiary CSI. He was heavily involved with the $200 million State University of New York Medical School Complex and $80 million Affiliated Hospital Center in Boston, with his practice at BGA also including work on six major hospitals. Eiben received a 1979 appointment from President Jimmy Carter to serve on the Special White House Task Force on Small Business, representing military veterans interests. He also received 1979 appointments from Chicago mayor Jane Byrne to serve as commissioner and secretary of the Urban Renewal Board and as commissioner to the Commercial District Development Board. These panels helped establish the North Loop Development that included the State of Illinois Building, the theater district and the “Block 37” Michigan Avenue development.

Eiben is a frequent lecturer in his field and has chaired seminars on the subject of computers and architecture. He was certified by the Illinois Department of Health as an asbestos abatement project designer in 1988, became a registered energy professional in Chicago (’02) and has been an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. He also has been a member of the national committee for Architecture for Health and Architecture for Justice, is a former general secretary of CEPA (Computers in Engineering Planning and Architecture) and is an inventor and patentee of a Computer System for Generating Architecture Specifications and Project Control Institutions.

Before embarking on his architecture career, Eiben served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He was the officer in charge of a beach jumper unit that fought in defense of Quang Tri Province, south of Hue, and the city of Da Nang, South Vietnam, during the Tet offensive in 1968. His unit – part of the operation that provided relief to embattled Marines at Khe Sanh in April of ’68 – was awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation while he received the Naval Achievement Medal, awarded with the combat “V” device for valor in action. Eiben credits his readiness for military service to the values he learned at Notre Dame as a student-athlete and member of the ROT (he even ranked as one of the top marksmen on the ND Navy ROTC rifle team).

Eiben – who served as a volunteer wrestling coach at Christ the King from 1980-83 – was a wrestler at St. Edward’s High School (a C.S.C./Holy Cross order school) in his native Cleveland, with his family moving to Lebanon, Pa., during his college years. He and the former Suzanne Scanlan were married in Chicago in 1969 and the couple has four children: Jennifer (a ’92 ND grad who received her PhD from the University of Chicago), Larry (ND ’94, law degree from Loyola University), Gretchen and Emily.

The phrase “Notre Dame family” holds a unique connection for Eiben and his fellow Monogram Club board member Matesic, as her husband Tim Gilroy and Eiben’s son Larry were Carroll Hall roommates during their undergraduate days at Notre Dame.

Former Notre Dame football defensive end Michael Frantz played alongside some of the top linemen in Notre Dame history before moving on to co-found his own law firm.

FRANTZ was a walk-on defensive end with the Notre Dame football program in the early 1970s, lettering as a senior on a 1972 squad that included future All-Americans Greg Marx, Mike Fanning and Steve Niehaus on the defensive line. He also played earlier in his career as a member of an Irish defensive line that included the likes of All-Americans Walt Patulski and Mike Kadish. After graduating magna cum laude from Notre Dame (’73) with a degree in political science, he went on to earn his law degree from Georgetown in 1976 and now has his own firm of Frantz Ward LLP in Cleveland.

His practice focuses on litigation, labor and employment law, construction and higher education. He has extensive experience in defense of labor and employment disputes and has negotiated hundreds of contracts on behalf of employers in a broad range of industries. Frantz also has lectured extensively on various issues involving labor, employment and higher education law. He was a member of the class of 2004 for the Greater Cleveland Growth Association Leadership organization, has served on the advisory committee of the Notre Dame Club of Cleveland, is a former president of the St. Raphael Parish Council and has served on several board of trustees, including: the Downtown Cleveland Partnership, Hanna Perkins School, Anny Katan Foundation, Catholic Charities, St. Malachi Center (also president) and St. Joseph Academy.

Frantz – who credits former Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian and defensive line coach Joe Yonto with impacting his life through their coaching and leadership – was born in Sidney, Ohio, and grew up as part of a family that could have fielded its own starting 11 on the gridiron (he has seven brothers and five sisters). He played football at Holy Angels High School in Sidney and St. Gregory Seminary in Cincinnati. Frantz and his wife, the former Julie Brunetto, were married in 1973 in Piqua, Ohio. The couple has three sons and four daughters, including Elizabeth (a 2000 Notre Dame graduate) and Mary, who will be a freshman at St. Mary’s in the fall of 2004.

Kristine Kramer Richards.

RICHARDS (the former Kristi Kramer) was a top distance specialist with the Notre Dame cross country and track and field teams, captaining both teams as a senior before graduating magna cum laude in 1995 with a degree in history. She went on to receive her law degree from Notre Dame in 1998, also serving from 1996-98 as the student representative for Notre Dame’s faculty board on athletics and a graduate assistant coach with the Irish cross country/track and field teams. Currently an in-house legal counsel with Glenwood Capital Investments, LLC – a Chicago-based alternative investment firm and a member of The Man Group, plc -Richards previously was a corporate attorney at Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman in Chicago (’98-’03).

Kristi Kramer was one of the top distance runners at Notre Dame in the mid-1990s.

After walking on to the Irish cross country team in the fall of 1991, Kramer went on to be a scholarship performer and one of the top distance runners at Notre Dame later in her career. Her career highlights included winning the 1994 Midwestern Collegiate Conference cross country title (after placing fifth as a sophomore and third as a junior), also placing eighth at the District IV meet before being Notre Dame’s third finisher at the NCAAs. She added plenty of track highlights as well – with her top finishes including setting an MCC record in 1993 for the 5,000 meters (17:46), running a season-best time in that event while finishing second at ND’s ’93 Meyo Invitational (17:43), turning in a 10:01 for her best ’93 time in the 3,000 outdoor and finishing the 10K race at the ’95 Drake Relays in 35:17. That last time qualified her the 1995 NCAAs, where she placed 18th in the 10,000 meters.

Kramer also helped the Irish finish fourth at the 1992 District IV cross country meet, earned national all-academic honors from the track-and-field coaches association as a junior and senior and received the ND track and field team’s Rockne Student-Athlete Award for ’94-’95. She had one season of eligibility remaining in track and competed during her first year of law school (’96) while her time on the Irish coaching staff included working closely with record-setting All-American JoAnna Deeter.

Kristine Kramer Richards has maintained an impressive pace in her postgraduate life, earning her law degree from Notre Dame in ’98 and recently starting a family in Chicago.

The Sandusky, Ohio, native captained the cross country and track teams at St. Mary’s Central High School, twice earning all-state honors while leading St. Mary’s to three undefeated seasons and four Ohio state cross country titles (plus four undefeated seasons for the track and field team). She also helped win two state titles in the 3,200 relay (’88, ’89, plus runner-up in ’90), setting school records in that event (9:37) and the 1,600 relay (4:19).

Richards – who broke the three-hour barrier while finishing 24th in the 1997 Chicago Marathon (2:57) before taking 51st in the ’98 Boston Marathon (3:01) – was an assistant coach with the DePaul women’s cross country team in 2000 and assisted with the Law Explorers Program, sponsored by the Chicago Bar, that helps high school students prepare for National Moot Court competitions. She and her husband Brian – both actively involved in charitable work with Catholic education – are the parents of 2-year-old son Conor and the couple is expecting their second child in July.

Chris Smith.

SMITH was a key member of the Notre Dame backfield during his four seasons with the Irish football team, graduating in 1985 with a degree in American studies and playing two seasons with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. He has gone on to hold various leadership positions with Sprint, Gateway and Teletech Holdings, serving 14 years in sales and customer service management as a proven leader in telesales and customer relations. He currently is CEO and president of Divine Cleaning LLC, a commercial cleaning contractor in the Kansas City area.

The majority of Smith’s post-graduate employment years were spent working for Sprint Communications (’90-’95, ’97-’02) in four different cities, managing several groups in areas such as sales, service, training, resource management, and recognition/incentive programs. He was a sales supervisor in Kansas City from 1990-92, receiving a Presidents Club Award for having the top 10% of revenue in the company. Smith then was promoted to lead an inside sales organization as a sales manager (’92-’94) before being promoted to site manager for Sprint’s Maryland Relay Center in Baltimore (’94-’95), where he directed a staff of 200 that oversaw services to the deaf and hard-of-heading community while handling 30,000-plus calls per month. He also developed a FlexBank attendance program for the Maryland Relay Center.

Smith returned to Sprint as a group manager in Lenexa, Kan. (’97-’01), directing a sales operation staff. He then was named a director for Sprint’s operation in New Century, Kan. (’01-’02), where he led an implementation effort to provide CRM solution (Siebel, Genesys, PeopleSoft) for the call center while also developing a successful employee compensation plan.

Chris Smith was a four-year monogram winner with the Irish football team in the mid-’80s and played two seasons with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.

Prior to his first stint with Sprint, Smith worked as a store manager in Blue Springs, Mo., for the aftermarket retailer Autoworks, Inc. (’87-’88) and was a management trainee with the Marriot Corp. in Kansas City (’88) before serving as a Holiday Inn banquet and catering manager in Olathe, Kan. (’88-’89). He later was a sales and service manager for Gateway Computers in Kansas City (’95-’97), with responsibility for 250-plus employees while helping drive more than $600 million annually in personal computer sales. Most recently in ’03-’04, he was a site director in Topeka, Kan., with TeleTech Holdings, a global provider of customary management solutions.

Smith – who received his MBA from Baker University in Overland Park, Kan. (’01) – was one of 55 former Notre Dame football players who competed in the 2000 Charity Bowl in Hamburg, Germany (the ND alumni team won that game, 14-10, over the Hamburg Blue Devils). The four-year monogram winner was the fourth-leading rusher as a freshman tailback on the 1981 Irish team and then served mostly as a special teams player and goalline rusher in 1982 (after the arrival of Allen Pinkett, who would go on to become ND’s all-time leading rusher). Smith then split time at fullback in ’83 with fellow Cincinnati native Mark Brooks, with Smith starting 11 games while gaining 421 yards on 77 carries. That total does not include the career-best 104 yards he gained on 18 rushes in the 1983 Liberty Bowl victory over Boston College (marking the second time he earned offensive MVP honors in ’83). He continued to share time with his classmate and roommate Brooks in ’84, gaining 260 yards on 61 carries (yielding a career total of 846 rushing yards) while helping Pinkett finish 19th on the NCAA career rushing charts.

Chris Smith – who resides in Olathe, Kan., with his wife Billie Jean and two children – currently is the CEO and president of Divine Cleaning LLC, a commercial cleaning contractor in the Kansas City area.

A consensus All-American at LaSalle High School, Smith rumbled for 1,300-plus yards as a prep senior (including a school-record 94-yard run) and also was a two-year letterwinner as the leading scorer and rebounder with the LaSalle basketball team.

Smith was signed by the Chiefs as a free agent but failed to make the final 1985 roster. He returned to training camp in ’86 and earned a spot on the final roster, only to be sidelined for most of the year due to a knee injury. He then closed out his football career by playing for the Chiefs in the strike-shortened 1987 season.

In addition to serving as president of the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Kansas City and on the board of directors for the Black Alumni of Notre Dame, Smith also has been active as a Kansas City Chiefs Ambassador and with the Derrick Thomas Third and Long Foundation. He and his wife Billie Jean resides in Olathe, Kan. and are parents of two children: Sheena, a junior at the University of Kansas, and Brian, a sophomore at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

Jill Matesic captained the Notre Dame women’s soccer team in 1994 before graduating a semester early, as an accounting major.

MATESIC is in her fourth year as an investment professional in the private wealth management group at Goldman Sachs in Chicago. She received her MBA from the Harvard Business School in 2000, after working in Hoffman Estates, Ill., at the privately-held company Natural Golf (’97-’98) and in Pittsburgh at the McKinsey and Co. management consulting firm (’95-’97).

A three-year starter with the Irish soccer team, Matesic suffered a broken leg in ’92 before serving as a senior captain in ’93 (she was slowed by injury in that NCAA runner-up season). She graduated summa cum laude in December of ’94 (as a member of the class of ’95), finishing her accounting degree requirements in seven semesters.

Jill Matesic received her MBA from Harvard (’00) and currently works for Goldman Sachs in Chicago, where she resides with her husband Tim Gilroy.

Matesic spent her formative years in Pittsburgh, earning prep All-America honors as a soccer player at North Allegheny High School. She has run in two Chicago Marathons (’98, ’02), plus the 2001 N.Y. City Marathon and the ’03 Boston Marathon, with her time in the 2002 Chicago event (3:29.48) qualifying her for the Boston race.

MORSE RECEIVES MOOSE KRAUSE AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

Former Notre Dame football player Jim Morse (’57) was presented with the 2004 Moose Krause Award, in recognition of his many years of distinguished service. Notre Dame president Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., made the presentation at the annual Monogram Club awards dinner, held in the Sports Heritage Hall on the Joyce Center concourse level.

Morse has been a major benefactor to Notre Dame throughout his postgraduate life and most notably presented the gift that served to underwrite the James and Leah Rae Morse Center for Academic Services. Named after the former Irish football star and his wife, the Morse Center was dedicated in March of 2001. The building – located near the center of the south quadrangle on the Notre Dame campus – encompasses both the University’s distinctive First Year of Studies (the academic program in which all first-year undergraduates are enrolled) and Academic Services for Student-Athletes, the program that provides advising, tutoring and other services for students participating in varsity athletics.

Former Notre Dame football captain Jim Morse (center) – pictured with Notre Dame president Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C. (right) and Monogram Club president Dave Duerson – received the Monogram Club’s 2004 Moose Krause Award in recognition of his distinguished service.

Morse – a private investor who resides in his native Muskegon, Mich. – has shown interest in hotels, radio stations, jet aircraft and factory outlet malls. He has served on the advisory council for Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters since 1981 and also serves on the Athletic Alumni Development Committee. Morse was the ABC radio voice of Notre Dame football from 1964-67 and his other previous gifts to Notre Dame have included several scholarship funds and an endowed fellowship for MBA students.

A three-year starter at right halfback for the Irish football team from 1954-56, Morse captained the Irish in 1956 and was the only three-year regular on the ’56 squad (freshmen were not eligible at the time). He became just the ninth Notre Dame player (and now one of 21 all-time) to lead the Irish in receiving during multiple seasons – making 17 catches for 424 yards in 1955 and 20 for 442 in ’56 (setting an ND record at the time for pass reception yardage).

His 41.6 yards-per-catch (5 for 208) in the 1955 game versus Southern California still remain an NCAA record while he also played a key role in the 1954 comeback win over USC (23-14), scoring twice including the decisive touchdown on a 72-yard rumble in the fourth quarter (part of a 19-carry, 179-yard day).

Morse totaled 12 touchdowns in his career while playing alongside many future All-Americans, among them quarterbacks Ralph Guglielmi and Paul Hornung, fullbacks Dan Schaefer and Nick Pietrosante, end Dan Shannon, tackle Frank Varrichione and guards Pat Bisceglia and Al Ecuyer. His fellow starting halfback in the 1956 backfield was two-sport star Aubrey Lewis, who won the 400-meter hurdle competition at the 1956 NCAA track meet.

His son Jim Morse, Jr., played for Notre Dame as a defensive back during the 1976 and ’77 seasons.

EXCERPTS FROM FATHER MALLOY PRESENTATION OF MOOSE KRAUSE AWARD TO JIM MORSE: “It’s a real pleasure and privilege to make this presentation. Our recipient was a varsity football player, in fact the starting right halfback who received three monograms and was the captain of the 1956 team. … We honor him not only for what he achieved as a student-athlete but for the multiple contributions he has made later on in his professional career. He has been a member of our advisory council of the College of Arts and Letters since 1981. His family has made multiple gifts to the university, they have underwritten a Notre Dame football and baseball scholarships and have endowed a fellowship for MBA students. He has provided aircraft assistance for the athletic department on a number of occasions and also has been a wonderful steward in his hometown, providing challenge grants of a million dollars in 1998 and half a million in 2000 for Catholic education there. … We remember him in a special way here for a building that is named after him and his wife, which houses our center for Academic Services for Student-Athletes on the south side of the campus. He also made a major gift to the Guglielmino Athletic Complex and most of all we honor him and recognize him as a wonderful husband and father of seven children, two of whom are Notre Dame graduates. So now we present the 2004 Moose Krause recognition award goes to Jim Morse.”

EXCERPTS FROM JIM MORSE COMMENTS: “I’m not much of an awards guy but this award is different because of the guy it’s named after. For those of you who didn’t know Moose, he was a giant of a man with a wonderful sense of humor. He and I attended a banquet in Chicago and he introduces me as the captain of the 1957 team and a great All-American. Later, I said, ‘Moose I wasn’t captain of the 1957 team. He said, ‘I know, you were captain of the 1956 team but that was a such a lousy team I didn’t want to associate you with it.’ And I said, ‘Moose, I was never really an All-American.’ And he said, ‘You’ve got to realize that 10 years out of Notre Dame, everybody is an All-American.’ He had a unique way of problem solving. A guy came in all distraught and said, ‘Moose, there’s somebody parked in my parking spot and Moose without hesitation said, ‘Go park in his spot.’ A simple solution to a terrible problem here at Notre Dame. … Thank you.”

HONORARY MONOGRAMS BESTOWED UPON COLLINS, DeVIVO AND HICKEY

Three honorary monograms were presented at the 2004 Monogram Club dinner, with the recipients including: the Notre Dame athletic department’s longtime video technician Tim Collins (presented by associate AD John Heisler), former Notre Dame assistant coach and benefactor of the Irish fencing program Ed DeVivo (presented by legendary ND fencing coach Mike DeCicco), and South Bend area home builder and longtime supporter of Notre Dame athletics Jack Hickey (presented by former ND football coach Ara Parseghian). Notre Dame team physician David Bankoff earlier had received an honorary monogram, at the athletic department’s 2003 Christmas party.

Longtime Notre Dame athletic department video technician Tim Collins (center) received his honorary monogram from associate athletic director John Heisler (right).

COLLINS – who is entering his 14th year in charge of video and filming needs for Notre Dame’s athletic department – travels to shoot footage at Irish football games in addition to combining with his staff in taping home games for the men’s and women’s basketball and hockey teams. Working out of his office in Notre Dame Stadium, Collins puts together all video packages utilized by the Notre Dame football coaches in their scouting and game preparation.

The South Bend native is a 1987 graduate of John Adams High School and attended Indiana Vocational Technical College in South Bend. He also spent three years as a part-time news cameraman at WNDU-TV, the NBC affiliate in South Bend. Collins was named the Independent Conference video coordinator of the year in 1997, ’98 and ’03 by the Collegiate Sports Video Association. He was elected an executive director/secretary of the CSVA in 2001 and served as treasurer of the organization in ’02. Collins and his wife, the former Michelle Williamson, were married in 1990.

Former Notre Dame assistant fencing coach Ed DeVivo (center) received his honorary monogram from his mentor and former Notre Dame legendary fencing coach Mike DeCicco (right).

DeVIVO attended law school at Notre Dame from 1975-78 and served as DeCicco’s assistant coach with the men’s fencing program during those three years, in addition to returning to assist with the coaching staff during the 1979 and ’80 spring seasons. DeVivo was part of the coaching staff during the program’s first two national team championship seasons (’77 and ’78) while molding sabreman Mike Sullivan into a two-time NCAA individual champion who still owns one of the most dominant four-year careers in NCAA fencing history. In addition to winning the NCAA sabre individual titles in ’77 and ’78, Sullivan also placed third in ’76 and second in ’78 while racking up a 95-9 career record (.913) in NCAA round-robin bouts. He also won 98 percent of the regular-season bouts during his Irish career (183-4) and won conference titles in ’76 and ’78.

The 1977 NCAA Championships provided a unique perspective for DeVivo, as his alma mater NYU and Notre Dame finished tied for the title – leading to a rare fence-off in each of the three weapons (if necessary). Sabre was the first weapon contested and Sullivan faced Miklos Benedek (DeVivo former high school and college teammate), with Sullivan posting a 5-3 win that was followed by a 5-0 victory by ND foilist Pat Gerard as the Irish claimed their first national title. DeVivo also coached two other Notre Dame sabres who went on earn All-America honors: Chris Lyons (6th at 1980 NCAAs) and Greg Armi (3rd in ’81).

DeVivo first began fencing as a walk-on at Essex Catholic High School in Newark, N.J., but he went on to serve as a senior captain on the 1971 Essex Catholic team that won the state title. He then became the first freshman ever to compete on a varsity team at New York University, where he fenced alongside future fencing legend Peter Westbrook. During his career, NYU won two NCAA titles – with DeVivo serving as team captain during his senior year and twice being named the East Coast Athletic Conference scholar-athlete of the year. He represented the U.S. at the Junior World Games in Buenos Aires during his sophomore year, was president of the NYU Honor Society, graduated with honors and was nominated for the Rhodes Scholarship. He also received the NYU Founders Day Award, as outstanding pre-law student, and began work towards a masters in philosophy (he later completed the thesis at NYU in ’82).

He has his own Wall Street law firm, DeVivo and Company, P.C., that specializes in labor law, construction, aviation and product liability litigation. He has been published extensively in aviation, product liability and international law (including the ND Law Review) and has set precedents in international treaty jurisdiction and product liability. During the mid-1980s, he served on President Reagan’s Council for Physical Fitness.

DeVivo – who resides in Montclair, N.J., with his wife Judi – currently serves on the board of trustees at Essex Catholic High School, which has reopened as a private Catholic school after being closed by the diocese in 2003. The mission of the school is to provide a solid foundation of Catholic education to the inner-city students of Newark and Essex County.

South Bend builder Jack Hickey (center), a longtime supporter of the Notre Dame athletic department, received his honorary monogram from former Irish football coach Ara Parseghian (right).

HICKEY has been a fixture in the South Bend housing scene for nearly 40 years while also proving to be a steady supporter of Notre Dame athletics. His company, the Hickey Group, Inc., has constructed thousands of homes in the South Bend area, dating back to 1969, with Hickey’s developments including many popular residential neighborhoods.

Hickey and his wife Rosemary reside in South Bend and Naples, Fla., and are the parents of two sons: John (who has a law degree from Marquette and resides in Shorewood, Wis.) and Scott, who received a masters degree from Notre Dame and assists in the family business.

Notre Dame team physician David Bankoff was presented his honorary monogram during the athletic department’s 2003 Christmas party.

BANKOFF – who has served as a Notre Dame team physician since 1984 – has worked since 1978 at the South Bend Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Clinic and has been an associate director of Notre Dame’s sports medicine program since ’84. The Chicago native received his B.A. from Northwestern (’70) before graduating from Indiana University Medical School in 1974. He interned at St. Vincent’s Hospital (’74-’75) and remained in the Indianapolis area while completing his residency at IU Medical Center (’75-’78). Bankoff and his wife Billie recently welcomed their first grandson, Keegan. Monogram Club executive director Bill School made the presentation of the honorary monogram during the Christmas dinner.

EXCERPTS FROM MIKE DeCICCO PRESENTATION OF HONORARY MONOGRAM TO ED DeVIVO: “I’m thrilled and proud to recommend someone who is very deserving of being a member of the Notre Dame Monogram Club. Former Notre Dame fencing coach Walt Langford once told me, ‘The success of any team deals more with the assistant coaches than any head coach.’ I believed that and he was right. In 1964, I remember meeting with Ara Parseghian and he, too, said you can only have a successful program if you have the right staff around you. This man had great fencing and academic credentials at NYU when he came to our law school. He worked with one of the top sabremen in the country, a young man named Mike Sullivan. I put the two of them together and what happened after that is a matter of record. Mike Sullivan went on to win two national championships, finish second and third. This coach was a skilled and dedicated young man and put us on a different track. From 1977 on, we have won six national championships and it all started with him. Ed, we want to welcome you into a rather unique family, one that is comprised of people who have given very much to this University. I hope that you wear your monogram with pride, as we all do.”

EXCERPTS FROM ED DeVIVO COMMENTS: “You have before you a trial lawyer at a loss for words and I would say take advantage of it now. I am more than honored, humbled, by this recognition. Mentors like Mike and Polly DeCicco have been so important to my life, not just when I was here in school, but throughout the years up to the present time. I just want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much.”

EXCERPTS FROM JOHN HEISLER PRESENTATION OF HONORARY MONOGRAM TO TIM COLLINS: “If you glance at the list of the honorary monogram winners, you see some names that just jump out of you. You are going to see some other names that are Notre Dame administrators, alumni, subway alumni and people who contribute way behind the scenes in Notre Dame athletics. Our next honoree falls into that last category. You might recognize his name or face or might have seen him work, but then again you may have not – because much of his work goes on behind closed doors and far from the fields of competition. He’s a regular member of the Notre Dame traveling squad and the expertise he brings to the table involves creativity, imagination and technology, not to mention the long hours and dedication. And when Notre Dame wins, he may be the last to earn any public credit but the coaches with whom he works know full well the work he does. For 15 years, he and his staff have documented the video end of Notre Dame football and other sports from behind the lens of a camera. He has taken the world of game-film preparation from a millimeter projector to a laptop computer and it’s appropriate that he’s working here tonight. On behalf of the Notre Dame Monogram Club, please welcome this honorary recipient. He’s the Notre Dame athletic department’s video technician, Tim Collins.”

EXCERPTS FROM TIM COLLINS COMMENTS: “I’m not one of many words but thank you to the Monogram Club. This is a great honor. Thank you very much.”

EXCERPTS FROM ARA PARSEGHIAN PRESENTATION OF HONORARY MONOGRAM TO JACK HICKEY: “This is a gentlemen that I have known for a number of years. He is a member of the South Bend community and has been a great follower of the Notre Dame athletic department. He also has been an outstanding benefactor to the athletic department. I’ve been around here for 40 years and he was here before I got here. He is most deserving of this jacket. This gentlemen has put up a lot of roofs and houses for people in Notre Dame athletics and has treated the athletic department with distinction. It’s a pleasure for me to present this jacket to Jack Hickey, a builder here in South Bend.”

EXCERPTS FROM JACK HICKEY COMMENTS: “This really is a surprise. I’d like to say thank you all to so many friends who are here. I love the Irish and am honored with this award.”

ADDITIONAL 2004 DINNER COMMENTS FROM CLUB PRESIDENT DAVE DUERSON

In addition to reading the approved mission statement – which includes the introductory phrase “Bridging the gap between legend and legacy” – Monogram Club president Dave Duerson also thanked the outgoing board members and clarified the condensing of the Club’s official named to Notre Dame Monogram Club (dropping the word “National”). He also stressed the focus on increasing active membership in the Monogram Club, saying to the dinner attendees: “We are hopeful that our membership is going to continue to grow. Please let others know of the good things that we are doing. We encourage you to communicate with us and let us know what we can do to make this a better club and what we can do to bring more former monogram winners into the club.”

Monogram Club 2003 Summer Update
Monogram Club 2002 Summer Update
Monogram Club 2001 Summer Update