Monogram Club Holds 2010 Fall Letter Jacket Ceremony

Nov. 11, 2010

NOTRE DAME, Ind. –

2010 Fall Letter Jacket Ceremony Photo Gallery

The Notre Dame Monogram Club awarded letter jackets to 115 first-time monogram winners at the organization’s annual fall letter jacket ceremony Wednesday night in the Joyce Center.

More than 200 individuals, including student-athletes, coaches, parents and administrators, gathered in the Monogram Room to celebrate an important Notre Dame tradition, started by the Monogram Club two years ago.

Although the organization has awarded letter jackets to varsity student-athletes since the Club’s inception in 1898, a formal ceremony was implemented in 2008 to properly honor student-athletes for the competitive accomplishments to which only 8,000 individuals in the history of Notre Dame can stake claim.

“Some things at Notre Dame have never changed, and one constant has been that letterjacket,” Monogram Club president Joe Restic ’79 (football) said during his welcome speech. “It still stands for commitment, dedication, teamwork, sacrifice and personal pride. So to the 115 student-athletes here this evening, you are now part of a very select group, and I’d like to be the first to offer my congratulations. Hopefully, this evening will be one of the many milestones you will achieve during your careers here at Notre Dame.”

After his remarks, Restic introduced University of Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. Jenkins praised the student-athletes in attendance for the way they serve as model ambassadors for Notre Dame, often under a high level of scrutiny and attention.

“Whenever you wear that letter jacket or any uniform from Notre Dame, you have a special responsibility and a special privilege to represent this University,” Jenkins said. “I’m often so very proud of the way Notre Dame student-athletes behave, not necessarily because they won the match or the game or the championship, but just as much for the way they carry themselves, for how hard they work and for the intensity in which they play.”

While the letter jacket symbolizes athletic accomplishments and success while at Notre Dame, it also serves as a treasured memento for student-athletes once they leave Notre Dame and a reminder of the bonds they share with teammates long after their careers are over.

The importance of this bond was stressed by keynote speaker Pat Garrity ’98 (basketball), a 10-year NBA veteran and the 1998 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year while at Notre Dame.

“Over the years we develop many relationships, but if you go down the list in your head, I’m willing to bet the ones you count as truly meaningful are the ones you share with other people who have the same set of core values that you do,” Garrity said. “Once you leave Notre Dame, it will be the shared experiences and values that you had with one another as athletes at this institution that will draw you back to here and will allow you to deepen the relationships that many of you are forming right now.”

At the conclusion of the formal program of speakers, Restic welcomed faculty athletic representative Patricia Bellia to the podium, who invited the first-time monogram winners up to the stage by sport. During the presentation of each group, coaches and administrators joined the athletes to celebrate the accomplishment.

Sophomore fencer Marta Stepien closed the ceremony by representing her fellow student-athletes with remarks about why earning a monogram represents so much of what Notre Dame student-athletes believe.

“There are many things that the world signifies as success. It involves winning, championships, making lots of money, buying fancy cars,” Stepien said. “But for us, it means attending the University of Notre Dame and being able to participate in athletics at their highest level. We want to play the game, not just for ourselves, but also for our family, our commitment to Notre Dame, and the spirit of the Fighting Irish.”

Parents from all over the country attended the ceremony to see their children receive their jackets first hand, and many became emotional as the ceremony reached its conclusion.

Cathy and Joseph Finkel flew in from New Jersey to surprise their daughter, Chrissy, a sophomore on the track & field team.

“This is truly a culmination of her entire athletic career and we wanted to share it with her,” Cathy Finkel said. “She worked so hard and this is amazing accomplishment and an amazing way to recognize it.”

2010 FALL LETTER JACKET RECIPIENTS