June 18, 2007

Notre Dame, Ind. – James Seacord, defensive line coach at Gardner Webb University, has been appointed assistant coach for strength and conditioning at the University of Notre Dame.

Seacord served as defensive line coach at Gardner Webb during the 2006 season, helping guide the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a 6-5 record and a second-place finish in the Big South Conference. He also was a defensive end coach at the collegiate level in 1985 at the University of South Carolina.

Prior to joining the staff at Gardner Webb, Seacord was a high school football, men’s track, and weight training and conditioning coach for more than 30 years. He helped the South Mecklenburg (NC) to the 1981 North Carolina AAAA state football championship. He also started the football program at Providence (NC) High School, with 46 former players earning college scholarships and three moving on to the National Football League.

Seacord brings over 30 years of weight training and conditioning experience to Notre Dame. He developed the first weight-training program in Charlotte, N.C., designed to improve athletic performance and prevent injury with South Mecklenburg in 1978. His regimen is still in use in the school district today.

A 1971 graduate of Gardner Webb, Seacord was a two-year captain and four-year monogram winner while earning a degree in health and physical education. He later attended graduate school at the University of South Carolina.

Seacord and his wife, Susan, have two daughters, Brandon and Erica.