Jan. 20, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Jim Kubinski, Head Men’s Golf Coach with the University of Notre Dame, has signed a 3-year contract extension through the 2013-14 season. Since taking over as the head coach of the team prior to the spring season of 2005, Kubinski has amassed a record of 529-493-18 (.517).
“”I’m excited to move forward as coach of the Irish,” stated Kubinski. “We’ve worked hard to build a stable foundation, one that can compete on a yearly basis in the new environment of college golf and feel the years ahead look to be very bright for us. Our program has a long and proud history of success in golf. Yet, the landscape of college athletics in recent years provided great challenges. The last decade or so has seen an incredible investment in every sport, which has made our sport both more competitive at the highest level and deeper in total than ever before. We’ve made such great strides, with tremendous support from our Notre Dame community, in enhancing sport performance, facilities, scheduling and recruiting. I anticipate we’ll continue our push toward great success at the very highest level nationally.”
Over Kubinski’s seven-plus years overseeing the Irish program, his teams have claimed BIG EAST Conference Championships on three occasions (’05, ’06, ’11), earning automatic qualification to the NCAA Regionals each of those years. The ’11 season also saw Kubinski named BIG EAST Coach of the Year after claiming the conference championship on the heels of an 86-32 season that saw eight top-five finishes and two tournament titles. All told, Kubinski’s teams have claimed a total of eight tournament victories along with earning top-five results at 35 events, as well as posting the six best team season stroke averages in program history including last year’s program leading mark of 291.50.
Several of Kubinski’s golfers also have garnered individual recognition. Senior Max Scodro entered his final season after claiming BIG EAST Player of the Year honors and being selected to the PING All-Midwest Region Team in `10, while sophomore Niall Platt claimed conference Freshman of the Year. Scodro is one of five golfers under Kubinski’s tutelage to earn All-Midwest honors, while he and Platt represented the first Irish players to earn the conference recognition in just the third year of the awards being presented.
“I have very much enjoyed being a part of the Notre Dame family and give thanks for the opportunity to work with our student-athletes,” remarked Kubinski. “We have a tremendous group of young men who work very hard on the course, in the classroom and in the community. To watch, first hand, their growth as people over their years at Notre Dame is such a special part of my job.”
Kubinski and the Irish are set to get their spring schedule underway Feb. 13-14 at The Match Play at the Reunion Resort – Watson Course in Orlando, Fla. The team currently stands 57th in the Golfstat rankings.
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