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IRISH ITEMS FOR MIAMI GAME — Notre Dame (7-1) looks to rebound from its loss at Indiana on Wednesday night in its matchup today with Miami (2-3). This is the fourth consecutive year the two schools have played each other with the Irish looking to snap a four-game losing streak to the RedHawks. Notre Dame is off to its best start since the 1979-80 campaign when that Irish squad won its first seven games before dropping its next two and then finishing with a 22-6 mark. The Redhawks dropped to 2-3 on Monday night following a 67-63 overtime loss at Evansville. The Irish are led by Ryan Humphrey, the team’s leading scorer (23.3) and rebounder (9.2). The 6-8 forward has scored 20-plus points in five of the six games he has played. Notre Dame has been impressive through the first eight games of the season as it has outscored its opponents by an average of 28.1 points per game. Heading into its matchup with Indiana, Mike Brey’s squad was coming off a 27-point win (82-55) over DePaul on Dec. 1 at the United Center in Chicago, Ill. It was the third straight game in which Notre Dame’s margin of victory was 27-plus points. In each of its two wins prior to the DePaul game, the Irish defeated both Monmouth (85-48) and Army (86-49) by 37 points. Today’s game is the third of five straight road games for the Irish who will only play one game throughout the entire month of December (Dec. 30 vs. Colgate is the next Irish home game). Five of the Irish’s seven wins have been by 27 or more points, four of those victories have been decided by 37 or more points. This is the eighth meeting between the two schools and the fourth consecutive year the two teams have met. The RedHawks lead the series by a 4-3 count. Notre Dame’s only appearance in Oxford, Ohio came two years ago with the Irish dropping a 71-55 decision. The last Irish victory came in the first round of the NCAA tournament on March 12, 1957 (89-77). Notre Dame’s 7-0 start equalled the third best in school history. The 1945-46 Irish squad began the season with 13 wins en route to a 17-4 final record, while the 1973-74 squad won its first 12 before finishing with a 26-3 mark. Notre Dame also was 7-0 to start the 1976-77 and 1979-80 campaigns before finishing with 22-7 and 22-6 final records, respectively. Brey’s squad is averaging 87.0 points per game and has limited its opponents to just 58.9 points per contest. Prior to the Indiana, game, only one other opponent (UT-Chattanooga) had scored more than 58 points. The Irish are shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from three-point range. Notre Dame opponents have shot just 35.8 percent and 31.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Irish own a +7.4 rebounding advantage and have been outrebounded by their opponent in just one game (UT-Chattanooga). Notre Dame also has forced an average 16.4 turnovers per game. Humphrey recorded his second consecutive double double and third of the season against the Hoosiers as he finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Harold Swanagan tied a personal best by playing 38 minutes in the contest and finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds. Chris Thomas reached double figures for the sixth time as he finished with 24 points (tying his career best) while playing all 40 minutes of the contest. Five Notre Dame starters are averaging in double figures. In addition to Humphrey, Thomas is second in the scoring column with a 15.8 average, while also dishing off an average of 7.25 assists. David Graves owns 15.4 and 5.3 scoring and rebounding averages, while Matt Carroll and Swanagan are the teams fourth and fifth leading scorers with 11.3 and 10.4 scoring averages, respectively. In addition, Swangan is the team’s second-leading rebounder with a 7.5 average.
RECAP OF INDIANA GAME — Notre Dame fell one point short of snapping a 12-game losing streak at Indiana as the Irish dropped a 75-76 decision. Brey’s squad never led in the contest (there was one tie at 2-2) and fell behind by as many 14 in the first half while shooting just 35.7 percent from the field. Notre Dame, however, rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit and outscored the Hoosiers 45-36 in the second half while hitting 59.3 percent of its shots. Notre Dame closed to within four points on several occasions throughout the second half and pulled to within two on Chris Thomas’ jumper with 54 seconds remaining in regulation. Indiana held a four-point advantage (74-70) with 30 seconds left in the contest, but Thomas’ three-pointer with 21 seconds remaining pulled the Irish to within one (74-73). Two free throws by Indiana gave the Hoosiers a three-point advantage before Ryan Humphrey’s basket following a missed three-pointer by Carroll, which would have tied the game, just over 2.8 seconds remaining. Indiana missed the front end of a one-and-one at the free-throw line and Humphrey’s shot hit the top of the basket. Thomas finished with 24 points and three assists, while Humphrey registered his second consecutive double-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and six blocked shots. Harold Swanagan added 17 points and eight boards as he connected on six of his field goal attempts. Indiana shot 46.8 percent from the field and was just the second Irish opponent to shoot better than 40 percent.
HEAD COACH MIKE BREY — Mike Brey is in his second year as the Notre Dame head coach and seventh in the collegiate ranks. He was named the 17th head coach in the program’s history on July 14, 2000 following five seasons (1995-2000) as head coach at the University of Delaware where he led the Blue Hens to an overall record of 99-52. In his first season with the Irish, he guided Notre Dame to a 20-10 record and 11-5 BIG EAST mark in claiming the league’s West divisional championship, the first conference title in school history. In addition, he helped Notre Dame earn an NCAA tournament berth for the first time in 11 seasons as the Irish advanced to the second round for the first time since 1989. Notre Dame’s 19 wins during the regular season under Brey a year ago represented the most wins by an Irish coach in his first season. He also became just the second coach in school history to take his team to the NCAA Tournament in his first year as a head coach and the only first-year coach to lead his team to a first-round victory. John Dee also made the tournament in his first season in 1964-65, but lost in the first round to finish 15-12. Brey has an overall record of 126-63 (.667) as a head coach and is 27-11 (.711) at Notre Dame. He earned his first victory as Irish head coach on Nov. 18 with a 104-58 triumph over Sacred Heart, which also marked the 100th of his coaching career and came in the 152nd game as a head coach. While at Delaware, Brey guided the Blue Hens to berths in three postseason tournaments. Under Brey, Delaware appeared in two NCAA tournaments (’98 and ’99) and played in the National Invitation Tournament in his final season (2000). Prior to his arrival in Newark, Del., he spent eight seasons (1987-95) on the Duke sidelines along Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and before that stint was an assistant coach at DeMatha High School under legendary coach Morgan Wootten from 1982-87.
THE CAPTAINS — Seniors David Graves, Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan will serve as Notre Dame’s tri-captains for the 2001-02 campaign. Both natives of the state of Kentucky, Graves and Swanagan hail from Lexington and Hopkinsville, respectively. Graves averaged 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, while Swanagan netted 4.1 points and 3.4 rebounds. Humphrey was the second-leading scorer and rebounder for the Irish a year ago with averages of 14.1 points and 9.0 rebounds.
SERIES RECORD — This will be the eighth meeting between the two schools and the fourth consecutive year that the two teams have played each other. Miami has won four straight and leads the series 4-3. Notre Dame is 0-1 in its only appearance at Millett Hall as the Irish dropped a 71-55 decision in December of 1999. The last time Notre Dame defeated Miami of Ohio was in the first round of the 1957 NCAA tournament in Columbus, Ohio as the Irish earned an 89-77 victory.
TURNING THE TABLES — Notre Dame has had little success recently against Miami as the Irish have dropped four straight, including decisions in ’98, ’00 and ’01. Heading into the matchup with DePaul a week ago, Irish teams had dropped four straight to the Blue Demons as the 82-55 victory snapped a four-game losing streak. Notre Dame was looking to erase a six-game losing streak to Indiana on Tuesday night, but fell one game short in Bloomington, Ind.
OFF TO A QUICK START — Notre Dame’s 7-0 start was its first since the 1979-80 campaign when the Irish were undefeated in their first seven games to achieve a No. 3 ranking before losing 86-80 on the road against second-ranked Kentucky and then dropping a 67-59 decision to San Francisco. That ’79-’80 squad finished the season with a 22-6 mark.
7-0 START IS THIRD BEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY — Notre Dame’s 7-0 start equalled the third best in school history. The Irish also were 7-0 in 1976-77 and 1979-80. The two best starts by Notre Dame teams were in 1945-46 (13-0) and 1973-74 (12-0). Those Irish squads finished 17-4 and 26-3, respectively.
IRISH CONTINUE FIVE-GAME ROAD STRETCH — This afternoon’s game against Miami is the third of a a five-game road stretch for the Irish who do not play at home again at the Joyce Center until Dec. 30 versus Colgate. Following today’s game, Notre Dame breaks for a two-game hiatus before traveling to Buffalo, N.Y. to play Canisius on Dec. 22 and then to New Orleans, La., to take on Alabama in the Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic. on Dec. 27.
A PERFECT NOVEMBER — With its win against Army on November 28, Notre Dame finished the first month of the season with a perfect 6-0 slate. It’s the most wins ever by an Irish team in the month of November and the second time in the program’s history that Notre Dame has played six games during that month. The Irish played six games in the month of November during both the 1999-2000 and 1998-99 campaigns and finished with 4-2 and 2-4 marks, respectively.
WINNING BIG — Notre Dame’s margin of victory through the first eight games of the season has been by an average of 28.1 points per game. Only one win (UT-Chattanooga), has been decided by less than 27 points. Notre Dame’s have included a 42-point victory over New Hampshire, a 40-point win over Hawaii Pacific and 37-point margins against Monmouth and Army. Notre Dame has beaten six teams by 27-plus points and every victory has been by 10-plus points. Its closest margin of victory was a 13-point win (97-84) over Tennessee-Chattanooga in a second-round matchup in the Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS — Notre Dame’s Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic title marked the fourth time the Irish have captured the championship of an in-season tournament and the first in 10 years. Previously Notre Dame won the title of the Sugar Bowl Tournament in 1954, 1955 and 1992.
77 AND COUNTING — Heading into this afternoon’s game against Miami, Notre Dame has hit at least one three-pointer in 78 straight games, which dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time the Irish did not make a three-pointer was in a 101-70 loss to Connecticut in the Hartford Civic Center as Notre Dame finished 0-7 in the contest from three-point range.
LOOKING TO REGAIN THE TOUCH FROM THREE-POINT RANGE — As a team, Notre Dame has made 40.4 percent of its three-point attempts (61-151), but has struggled in the last two games as the Irish have connected on just 6-26 (.231) from beyond the arc and is just 22-66 (.333) in their last four contests. Notre Dame’s best effort from three-point range was against UT-Chattanooga as the Irish connected on 10 of its 15 attempts for a 66.7 shooting percentage.
CONFERENCE CALL — Notre Dame’s 13-game non-conference schedule features teams from 11 different conferences — America East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Ivy League, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Mid-American, Northeast, Pacific West, Patriot League, Southeastern and Southern. The Irish will play teams from two of those conferences twice — the Patriot League (Army and Colgate) and SEC (Alabama and Kentucky).
HOT STUFF — Ryan Humphrey has been nearly unstoppable from the field as he has made 64.8 percent of his shots (57-88). In three of the six games he has played, he has shot 80.0 percent from the field. Humphrey was 12-of-15 from the field against Army and Hawaii-Pacific and eight-of-10 from the field versus Monmouth. Against Tennessee-Chattanooga, he hit eight-of-13 from the field for 61.5 percent.
BOMBS AWAY — Matt Carroll was six-of-six from three-point range against Tennessee-Chattanooga, matching the school record for three-point field goal percentage. Previously David Rivers and Martin Ingelsby each went five-for-five from three-point range. Carroll is the first Irish player to hit all six of his attempts in a game from downtown.
PICKING UP THE HAWAIIAN HARDWARE — Ryan Humphrey was named the Most Valuable Player of the Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic. He averaged 24.0 points and 6.3 rebounds, while shooting 73.7 percent from the field in helping the Irish to three wins and the tournament title. Humphrey registered a career-high 31 points against Hawaii Pacific in his first game of the season. Also earning all-tournament honors for the Irish were David Graves, Matt Carroll and Chris Thomas. Graves averaged 15.0 points per game, including nine three-point goals, and registered his fourth career double double against Tennessee-Chattanooga (13 points, 10 rebounds). Carroll averaged 16.7 points and hit 12 three-pointers, including a six-for-six performance against the Mocs. Carroll set a career-high and became the first Irish player in school history to hit six three-point goals in a game without a miss. Thomas averaged 10.3 points and 8.0 assists, including a career-high 13 in the Hawaii Pacific game.
FROM DOWNTOWN — The Irish are 61-of-151 (.404) from three-point range this season for an average of 7.6 three-point goals per game. The school record for three-pointers in a season is 287, set in 1999-2000, an average of 7.8 per game.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL — Notre Dame has done well taking care of the ball this season. The team has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.63 (165 assists to 101 turnovers). In addition, its assist-to-basket ratio is 1.59. Point guard Chris Thomas has turned the ball over only 15 times in eight games and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.87. He is averaging a turnover every 17.9 minutes played. Thomas went two games (Cornell and Hawaii Pacific) without turning the ball over and finished with a total of 19 assists. He dished off a personal best 13 assists against the Sea Warriors, the second 10-plus assist performance of his career.
MINUTEMAN — Heading into this season, Harold Swanagan had averaged just 18.3 minutes per game in the 97 career contests he had played in during his first three seasons. This season, Swanagan is playing an average of 26.8 minutes (a career best) — 8.5 more minutes than the average of his first three campaigns. His average would probably be higher had it not been for an injury in the season opener against New Hampshire which limited his playing time to just nine minutes in the contest. Against Indiana, he tied his career-high by playing 38 minutes of the contest.
GOING THE DISTANCE — Chris Thomas played all 40 minutes against Indiana and leads the team in minutes played (268) for an average of 33.5. He has played 30-plus minutes in all eight games with this season. Thomas played a season-low 30 minutes against DePaul last Saturday.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE — Ryan Humphrey registered his second consecutive double double amd third of the season on Tuesday night against Indiana as he scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. That come off his 18-point and career-high 16-rebound performance versus DePaul. Humphrey posted his first double double of the season as he scored a personal best 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He had 10 double doubles in 2000-01 and now has 23 in his career.
TERRIFIC TORRIAN — Sophomore Torrian Jones certainly ranks as Notre Dame’s most improved player of the year and has proven to be a real spark for the Irish in the lineup. The second-year player currently is averaging 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds. In outings against Monmouth and Army, he grabbed 16 rebounds in 36 minutes for an average of 2.3 rebounds per minute. In the Monmouth game, Jones tied his career-high (established against Hawaii-Pacific) with seven points and a career-best 10 rebounds.
DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE — Harold Swanagan registered his second double double of the season and fifth of his career when he had 16 points and 111 rebounds against DePaul. Swanagan’s first double-double of the of the season was against UT-Chattanooga as he had 19 points and 10 boards. Ryan Humphrey also posted his second double-double of the season against the Blue Demons as he finished with 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. His other double double this season came against Hawaii Pacific as he tallied 31 points and grabbed 10 boards. David Graves also has a double-double to his credit as he had 13 points and 10 rebounds versus UT-Chattanooga.
MAKING THE EARLY COMPARISONS — While it is early in his rookie season, Chris Thomas already has a couple of noteworthy accomplishments to his credit. With his 24-point effort against New Hampshire and 22-point performance in the Cornell game, he became the first Irish freshman to score 20-plus points in each of his first two games. He is also just the second Notre Dame player to record two consecutive 20-point outings in the first two games of his career. Only Austin Carr, who finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,560 career points, recorded back-to-back 20-point games in the first two games of his career. As a sophomore in his first season (1968-69), Carr opened up his career with point totals of 20 vs. Kings College, 26 vs. UCLA, 22 vs. Wisconsin and 30 vs. St. Louis in his first four games.
TRIPLE THE PLEASURE — It only took one game for freshman point guard Chris Thomas to do what no other Irish player had done previously in the program’s 96-plus year history — a triple double. Thomas scored 24 points, dished off 11 assists and made a school and Joyce Center record 11 steals against New Hampshire. The Irish rookie shot nine-of-18 from the field and five-of-nine from three-point range in 34 minutes of action.
GRAVES IN THE GROOVE — With classmates Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan not in the game against New Hampshire, tri-captain David Graves had one of the top performances of his career as he tossed in a game-high 26 points (third highest point total of his career), grabbed five rebounds and made a career-high seven steals all in just 27 minutes of action on the court. He hit 10-of-16 shots from the field and was three-of-six from three-point range. Graves is averaging 15.4 points and 4.8 rebounds this season.
MACURA FINDS HIS MATCH — Irish head coach Mike Brey made the decision at the start of the preseason to have forward Jere Macura become more of an inside player, which has seemed to benefit the junior’s play as he has registered back-to-back career-high outings in his first two games. Macura made the most of his two starts in the first two games of the season. Against New Hampshire, he had a then career-high 14 points, while also grabbing six rebounds in 26 minutes of action as he connected on six-of-nine shots from the field in the contest. Macura then followed that up with a career-high 16-point outing against Cornell. In addition, he also grabbed eight rebounds in the contest. Last season, Macura had just one double-figure game (10 points at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.) after scoring in double figures five times as a freshman. Currently, he is averaging 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds.
STEALING THE SHOW — Notre Dame had a school record and Joyce Center record 26 steals against New Hampshire, bettering the old mark of 22 set against Vermont on Dec. 21, 1976. Chris Thomas led the Irish with 11 (a school record), while David Graves had a career-high seven steals which would have tied the old mark set by Ray Martin in 1974. Notre Dame already has 35 more steals than their opponents (87-52).
JORDAN GETS INTO THE ACT — While freshman Chris Thomas certainly made his mark in his first even games, Notre Dame’s other rookie, Jordan Cornette, also has played well. The 6-9 forward logged 29 minutes against New Hampshire in the season opener and had eight points, six rebounds and three assists. His playing time increased when Harold Swanagan went out of the game with a knee injury, which left the Irish with just two frontline players — Macura and Cornette. Against Cornell, he started in place of Swanagan and played 29 minutes while scoring three points and grabbing six rebounds. Cornette has played in seven contests (did not see action against Indiana) and is averaging 16.4 minutes per game.
WING-ING IT — The perimeter play of outside shooters David Graves and Matt Carroll give the Irish a deadly three-point shooting arsenal. The duo made 127 (57.9 percent) of Notre Dame’s 219 three-point field goals last season and attempted 323 of team’s 570 shots from beyond the arc. Carroll shot 40.9 percent from three-point range, while Graves made 37.8 percent of his attempts. Graves has made 22 of his 47 attempts this season (46.8 percent), while Carroll is 15-of-37 (40.5 percent). Add freshman Chris Thomas to the mix because the Irish rookie is shooting 40.5 percent from behind the arc (17-42). Of the 61 three-pointers the Irish have made this season, the three have combined for 54 of those from beyond the arc (88.5 percent). Ryan Humphrey is a perfect three-for-three from long range.
IRONMEN — David Graves and Harold Swanagan have played in all 105 contests during their Irish careers — neither one has missed a game. They saw action in 30 games as freshmen and juniors and played in 37 contests in their sophomore season. Graves has earned 86 starting appearances during his three seasons, while Swanagan has made 56 starts.
BLOCK PARTY — Notre Dame set the single-season team record for blocked shots last season with 178 in 30 games for an average of 5.93 blocks per game. The previous mark of 145 was set by the 1991-92 Irish team. Notre Dame had 110 blocks during the 1999-2000 campaign. Ryan Humphrey led the Irish with 79 blocks, the second-highest individual single-season mark in school history and ranked 18th in the nationally with 2.7 blocks per game. Humphrey has blocked 22 blocks for an average of 3.67 blocks per game this season. As a team, Notre Dame has blocked 50 shots (6.25 per game).
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS — Notre Dame ranked 10th nationally in field goal percentage defense last season as Irish opponents shot just 39.3 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three-point range. Only one opponent, Indiana, shot above 50.0 percent from the field against the Irish. Notre Dame’s field goal percentage defense has been impressive again this season as the Irish have held six of their eight opponents to under 37 percent shooting from the field. Notre Dame has held four opponents to under 32 percent — New Hampshire (31.5), Monmouth (31.7), Army (29.5) and DePaul (29.6).
DEFENSE, DEFENSE — Notre Dame’s defense has limited its opponents to just 56.4 points per game with only two opponents — Tennessee-Chattanooga and Monmouth — scoring more than 60 points. The Irish are outscoring their opponents by 28.1 points per game. The Irish played their first two games of the 2001-02 campaign at home and came away with convincing victories over New Hampshire (95-53) and Cornell (78-48). The 103-point opponent point total in the two games is the lowest by an Irish team to start the season since the 1985-96 campaign when Notre Dame allowed 105 points in wins over St. Joseph’s of Indiana (79-49) and Butler (87-56). The Irish defense has yielded an average of 57.0 points in its last three games.
TIMMERMANS INJURY UPDATE — Tom Timmermans, who has missed the last three weeks with a sprained right knee, is expected to return to practice within the next couple of weeks. He may see action for the first time this season against Canisius on Dec. 22.
MR. INDIANA — Freshman point guard Chris Thomas is the first Mr. Basketball from Indiana to attend Notre Dame. He played in the McDonald’s All-American game and was a fourth team Parade All-American honoree. He led his Pike high school team to the Class 4-A state championship as a senior after averaging 23.3 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 steals. Thomas is the 12th McDonald’s All-American to attend Notre Dame.
MILLER TIME — Dan Miller, a 6-8, 223-pound guard/forward from Mt. Holly, N.J, has transferred to Notre Dame from the University of Maryland following three seasons. He has one year of eligibility remaining with the 2002-03 campaign. Miller was a former McDonald’s and Parade All-American at Rancocas Valley High School.
JERSEY #1 TO BE WORN FOR FIRST TIME AT NOTRE DAME — Freshman point guard Chris Thomas becomes the first player in the 96-year history of the Notre Dame men’s basketball program to wear jersey #1.
DANNY WHITE ADDED TO IRISH ROSTER — Head coach Mike Brey has added guard Danny White to the Irish roster for the 2001-02 season. White, the son of director of athletics Kevin White, played for Towson University, before transferring to Notre Dame in January of 2001. He will be eligible to play following final examinations for the ’01 fall semester.
IRISH INK THREE IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD — Notre Dame signed three players to national letters of intent on Nov. 14 — 6-3, 230-pound forward Rick Cornett (Country Club Hills, Ill./Homewood Academy), 6-10, 220-pound forward Torin Francis (Roslindale, Mass./Tabor Academy) and 6-1, 175-pound guard Chris Quinn (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman). Cornett averaged 17.9 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocked per game in 2000-01 while leading his prep team to the Illinois Christian School state title for the second consecutive year. In addition, he was a member of the Illinois Warriors AAU team which captured the 17-and-under national crown in 2001. A two-year starter at Tabor Academy, Francis averaged 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots last season as his squad captured its second straight New England Prep school championship. A member of the BABC AAU squad, he helped that team to a runner-up finish at the Nike Showcase in Orlando, Fla. Quinn averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds during his junior year. He set the single-season school assist record with 155 in 26 games while committing just 29 turnovers and was named the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division Player of the Year. All three have participated in the Nike All-America camps.
NOKIA SUGAR BOWL BASKETBALL CLASSIC — The 2001 Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, La., on Thur., Dec. 27 features two BIG EAST Conference opponents — Notre Dame and Miami (Fla.) — and two Southeastern Conference foes — squaring off against each other. Notre Dame will meet Alabama in the first game of the doubleheader at 7:00 p.m. (CST), while the matchup between Louisiana State and Miami will follow at 9:30 p.m. (CST). Both games will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION — Notre Dame once again will receive tremendous exposure with seven nationally-televised games on CBS, ABC and ESPN. Four of those appearances will be at home at the Joyce Center. Last season, Notre Dame was featured nine times on national telecasts during the regular season, the most since the 1988-89 campaign. Notre Dame will play twice on CBS (both at home against Kentucky and Providence), once on ABC (vs. Syracuse) and four times on ESPN (at Indiana, at Syracuse, home versus Georgetown and at Rutgers).
KEVIN WHITE RADIO SHOW — A weekly half-hour talk show featuring first-year athletics director Kevin White debuted Aug. 27 on Chicago’s ESPN Radio 1000. “The Kevin White Show” is scheduled to air from 11:00-11:30 p.m. for 30 consecutive Sundays on ESPN radio (1000 AM in Chago, www.espnradio1000.com). The show also can be heard in 35 states. White will welcome to the show a series of guests and prominent figures associated with college athletics, including administrators, coaches and media members.
MEN’S BASKETBALL LUNCHEON DATES SET — Three luncheons featuring Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey and his Irish players have been scheduled during the 2000-2001 season: Monday, Dec, 3, 2000 (the day before the Notre Dame-Indiana game), Friday, Jan. 18, 2002 (the day before the Notre Dame-Kentucky game) and Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2002 (the day before the Notre Dame-West Virginia game). All three luncheons, which begin at noon, will feature Brey, members of his squad, video presentations and other special guests. The Dec. 3 luncheon also will feature Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw. Tickets are $16 each. Tickets are available by mail by writing Athletics Business Office, 112 Joyce Center, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Checks should be made payable to University of Notre Dame. No telephone reservations will be accepted. For more information, call 219-631-5031.
SOLD-OUT — Notre Dame played its first home game to a sold-out Joyce Center (11,418) as the Irish played on a football weekend. The basketball contest was played following the pep rally.