Nov. 30, 2000
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- Date: Saturday, December 2, 2000
- Place: Memorial Gymnasium (14,100), Nashville, Tenn.
- Time: 6:00 p.m. CST
- Radio: Host Communications Inc. (Jack Lorri, Jack Nolan) originates the Notre Dame Radio Network (includes WNDV-1490 AM and WNDV-92.9 FM in South Bend, WNTS-1590 AM in Indianapolis, WGL-1250 AM WGL 1570 AM in Ft. Wayne, WEFM-95.9 FM in Michigan City, WGOM-860AM in Marion, WVHI-1330 AM in Evansville, WLUV-1520 AM in Rockford, Ill., KATD-990AM in San Francisco, Calif., WDEL-1550 AM in Wilmington, Del., and KIND-1010AM in Independence, Kan.). All radio broadcasts can also be heard through the World Wide Web at www.und.com.
- Television: FoxSports South (Dave Neal, play-by-play, and Mike Pratt, color analyst)
IRISH ITEMS FOR THE VANDERBILT GAME
The Irish (3-0) and Commodores (6-0) meet for the third consecutive year and seventh time overall this evening as Notre Dame looks to end a two-game slide against Vanderbilt. Notre Dame posted its third win of the season last Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. as the Irish defeated Cincinnati 69-51 in the inaugural Wooden Tradition. Troy Murphy led three Notre Dame players in double figures as he scored 30 points. Despite shooting just 40 percent for the game and 35.3 percent from three-point range, the Irish never trailed in the contest and outscored the Bearcats 15-2 in the final 5:53 of the game.
Notre Dame is ranked 11th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today rankings since the Irish headed into the 1986 NCAA tournament ranked 10th by AP and 11th by United Press International. The Irish are enjoying their first stint in the rankings since the 1989-90 campaign when they began that season as a ranked team (19th in the first AP ranking before dropping from that poll the following week).
The Irish went over the 100-point plateau in its first two games of the season posting victories over Sacred Heart (104-58) and Loyola (107-68). It marked the first time since the 1985-86 campaign that a Notre Dame team registered back-to-back 100-point contests. It also was the first time in school history that an Irish team began the season scoring 100-plus points in its first two contests.
RECAP OF CINCINNATI
Notre Dame never trailed in the contest as the Irish won the opening game of a doubleheader with a 69-51 victory over 13th-ranked Cincinnati in the inaugural Wooden Tradition in Indianpolis, Ind. It was the fewest points given up by an Irish team against a ranked opponent since dropping a 51-47 victory to UCLA on December 3, 1983.
Troy Murphy led three players in double figures as he registered 30-plus points for the 34th time in his career with a 30-point performance. He also had seven rebounds and personal best six blocked shots.
Senior Ryan Humphrey posted his first double double in a Notre Dame uniform (and 10th of his career) as he finished with 10 points and game-high 12 rebounds. David Graves finished with 17 points in 39 minutes of action. Senior point guard Martin Ingelsby also played 39 minutes in the game and had five points and five rebounds while dishing off eight assists and committing just one turnover.
After shooting a combined 60.7 percent from the field in its first two games and 61.9 percent from three-point range, Notre Dame shot 40.0 percent overall and 35.3 percent (22-55) and was six of 17 (35.5 percent) from three-point range against Cincinnati.
Notre Dame outscored the Bearcats 15-2 in the final 5:53 of the contest. The Irish defense held Cincinnati to just 33.8 percent accuracy from the field and just one three-point field goal in 17 attempts.
NOTABLES FROM THE LOYOLA GAME
Notre Dame’s strong outing against the Ramblers on Nov. 22 produced some noteworthy notes in the contest:
- Set school record for three-point field goals made (16) and three-point field goal percentage (.727 – 16 of 22).
- Tied the school record for blocked shots (12).
- Matt Carroll had a career-high nine assists and tied his personal best with 22 points.
- Second time since 1985-86 that the Irish recorded back-to-back outings (vs. Manhattan – 102-47 and vs. Miami (Fla.) – 126-73).
- Martin Ingelsby had 10-plus assists for the fifth time in his career when he dished off 11 assists in the game. It was the first time since his freshman season in 1986-87 that had had 10 or more assists. During that season, he posted 10-plus assists in four games.
POLL POSITION
Notre Dame stands 11th both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today rankings. This is the highest ranking for an Irish basketball team in the two basketball polls when Notre Dame headed into the 1986 NCAA Championship 10th in the AP and 11th in the United Press International.
HEAD COACH MIKE BREY
Mike Brey 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. Brey’s earned his first victory as Irish head coach last Saturday night in Notre Dame’s 104-58 victory. The win marked the 100th of his coaching career. He has an overall record of 102-52 for a .662 winning percentage. He guided the Blue Hens to a 99-52 record during his tenure while earning 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). His .662 winning percentage among Division I coaches with five years as a head coach stands second only to Tom Izzo of Michigan State (.721). 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.
NOTRE DAME vs. VANDERBILT
Tonight’s game marks the third consecutive year the two two teams have played each other and it is the seventh meeting in the series. The Commodores hold a 4-2 advantage and have won two straight over the Irish. Last year, Vanderbilt earned an 87-85 overtime victory at Notre Dame, and two years ago at home, defeated the Irish 68-63. The Irish are winless in their two appearances in Nashville, Tenn.
IRISH VERSUS SOUTHEASTERN
Notre Dame has an overall record of 34-46 (.425) against teams from the Southeastern Conference. Vanderbilt is one of two SEC schools on the Irish schedule this season. Notre Dame also is slated to play at Kentucky on Sat., Jan. 13.
500TH GAME AT JOYCE CENTER
Notre Dame played its 500th game at the Joyce Center on Saturday night against Sacred Heart. The Irish are 387-114 all-time at the Joyce Center for a .772 winning percentage since it began play in the inaugural 1968-69 season. The Irish were 16-4 (.800) at home in 1999-2000, marking the third time in school history they had 16 victories (the most at the Joyce Center). Notre Dame also recorded 16 wins at the Joyce during the 1976-77 and 1982-83 campaigns.
NEW IRISH STAFF
Joining first-year head coach Mike Brey on the Notre Dame sidelines this season are associate coach Sean Kearney, assistant coaches Anthony Solomon and Lewis Preston, and director of basketball operations Rod Balanis. Kearney spent the previous nine years, including five seasons as the top assistant to Brey, at Delaware, while Solomon, a former guard at Virginia, had been on the staff at Clemson for the past two years after serving on the staffs at several institutions, including Virginia, Richmond, Manhattan, Bowling Green and Delaware. Preston, who played at Virginia Military Institute from 1989-93, was an assistant coach on the staff at Coastal Carolina after enjoying a four-year stint playing professionally in Europe. Balanis had been on the staff at Colgate University since 1996, serving the last three years as an assistant coach. He played collegiately at Georgia Tech (1988-93) and his high school ball at DeMatha under Wooten and Brey.
BREY AND MENTOR KRZYZEWSKI REACH MILESTONES ONE DAY APART
First-year head coach Mike Brey earned his 100th career victory (in 152 games as a head coach) against Sacred Heart on Nov. 18. That win came just one day after his former mentor, Mike Krzyzewski, earned his 500th win at Duke on Nov. 17. Brey was an assistant under Krzyzewski at Duke from 1987-95.
FOLLOWING TROY ON THE WEB
Follow All-American Troy Murphy on the world wide web at www.und.com/troymurphy. The site includes biographical information, statistics, pictures, a weekly diary, a listing of awards and honors and links to articles on the web which have been written on Irish junior. For more information on the site, contact the Notre Dame Sports Information Office at (219) 631-7516.
NOTING THE WINS A YEAR AGO
Notre Dame’s 22 wins during the 1999-2000 campaign marked the most for an Irish team since the 1986-87 season when that squad finished with a 24-8 mark and advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament. It also marked the 19th time in school history that an Irish team had won 20 or more games. Notre Dame had not posted back-to-back 20-win seasons since the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons.
MURPHY AND THE WOODEN WATCH
Troy Murphy is one of the Preseason Top 50 candidates for the 2000-2001 John R. Wooden All-America team. Murphy, a member of the 10-member squad last season, has been designated as one of the top 25 vote-getters. He and Duke senior Shane Battier are the only two previous candidates among the list of 50. The Award Committee will release a Midseason Top 30 list with the 10-member Wooden Award All-America team announced on March 27, 2001. From that squad, one member will receive the Wooden Award Trophy as the nation’s “Most Outstanding Collegiate Basketball Player.” The announcement will be made on April 6, 2001, and will be shown on a one-hour telecast on Fox Sports Net.
NAISMITH WATCH
Troy Murphy is listed as the second-leading vote-getter among 30 preseason candidates announced for the 2000-01 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The preseason candidates including Murphy are: Shane Battier (Duke), Lonny Baxter (Maryland), Charlie Bell (Michigan State), Carlos Boozer (Duke), Cory Bradford (Illinois), Eric Chenowith (Kansas), Jarron Collins (Stanford), Juan Dixon (Maryland), Joe Forte (North Carolina), Jason Gardner (Arizona), Tony Harris (Tennessee), Udonis Haslem (Florida), Brendan Haywood (North Carolina), Casey Jacobson (Stanford), Richard Jefferson (Arizona), Joe Johnson (Arkansas), Ken Johnson (Ohio State), Kaspars Kambala (UNLV), Jason Kapono (UCLA), Mike Kelley (Wisconsin), Terence Morris (Maryland), Tayshaun Prince (Kentucky), Kenny Satterfield (Cincinnati), Brian Scalabrine (Southern California), Jamaal Tinsley (Iowa State), Jason Williams (Duke), Loren Woods (Arizona), Michael Wright (Arizona) and Vincent Yarbrough (Tennessee).
MURPHY GOES HAWAIIAN
Troy Murphy’s travels took him twice to Hawaii within a two-week span in August and early September. The Irish junior participated in the Pete Newell Big Man Camp just before returning to campus for the start of the school year and met up with former Notre Dame standout and 1997 BIG EAST Player of the Year Pat Garrity. Murphy made a second trip across the mainland when he played for the USA Men’s Select Team on Sept. 2 in Honolulu against the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team. The game was televised by NBC and Murphy finished with four points and three rebounds.
HOT STUFF
As a team, the Irish are shooting 53.9 percent from the field (90-167), 54.2 percent from three-point range (32-59) and 76.4 percent from the line (68-89). Notre Dame has held its opponents in its first three games to just 33.5 percent overall (70-209), 16.1 from the three-point arc (10-62) and 60.0 percent (27-45) from the free throw line.
GOOD WILL
Notre Dame has made the most of its opportunities from the free-throw line this season as the Irish have converted on 76.4 percent of their chances (68-89) from the charity stripe. The Irish are averaging nearly 23 free throws made per game. Notre Dame opponents have had half as many opportunities (45) and made only 27 free throws (9.0 per game) this season.
FIRST HALF FIRE DRILL
Notre Dame’s first-half shooting totals in its first two games against Sacred Heart and Loyola were hard to imagine as the Irish shot 67.9 percent from the field, 75.0 percent from three-point range and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. Those numbers came down after the Cincinnati game, but are still impressive nonetheless.
THIRTY SOMETHING
Troy Murphy has scored 30-plus points in two of Notre Dame first three games this season. The junior forward had 31 in the season opener against Sacred Heart and 30 in last Saturday’s outing against Cincinnati. He scored 30 or more points in nine games last season and has 14 career 30-plus outings.
HUMPHREY GETS FIRST DOUBLE DOUBLE IN IRISH UNIFORM
Ryan Humphrey registered his first double double in an Irish uniform when he scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Cincinnati in the victory. During his two seasons at Oklahoma, he posted double doubles in 10 outings and grabbed 10-plus rebounds in 16 contests.
IRISH THREE-POINTERS EXTEND TO 53 STRAIGHT GAMES
Notre Dame has had at least one three-pointer in 53 consecutive games, a mark that dates back to the 1998-99 campaign. The last time the Irish failed to connect on at least one three-pointer in a game was against Connecticut in a 101-70 loss in Hartford, Conn., on January 12, 1999. Notre Dame set the school’s single-game three-point mark nailing 16 three-pointers against Loyola.
INGELSBY RETURNS TO STARTING ROLE
Senior Martin Ingelsby returned to his role as Notre Dame’s starting point guard in the season opener against Sacred Heart. A starter in his first two seasons, Ingelsby lost his starting job in the seventh game of the season a year ago and averaged just 14.8 minutes and 4.8 points per game in 1999-2000. He is averaging 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists in three games. Ingelsby responded to his return as an Irish starter with 15 points nailing a career-high five three-pointers in the first game. He hit on all five of his three-point attempts from beyond the arc in the first half and finished with six assists and just one turnover in the contest. Against Loyola, he had scored nine points (all from three-point range), dished off 11 assists and just one turnover. In the win against Cincinnati, he had five points, five rebounds, eight assists while playing 39 minutes.
DISHING IT OUT
Martin Ingelsby leads the Irish with 25 assists. His 11 assists (one shy of his career-high) against Loyola (Chicago) on Nov. 22 marked the fifth time in his career he had 10-plus assists. The previous four outings in which he had 10 or more assists occurred in his freshman season (1986-87). For the season, Ingelsby has 25 assists and just three turnovers. He has played a total of 92 minutes in the first three games and is averaging a turnover every 30.7 minutes. Ingelsby’s assist-to-turnover ratio is 0.12.
CONSISTENT CARROLL
No Irish player has been as consistent throughout the preseason and in the first three games as sophomore Matt Carroll. He registered double figures for the 20th time in his career against Loyola (Chicago) as he tied his career best with 22 points. He also dished off a personal best nine assists in the contest. Carroll is shooting 62.5 (15-24) percent from the field, 61.5 (8-13) from three-point range and 88.9 (8-9) from the charity stripe. Even more impressive is that he is second in the assist columnn with 16 (5.3 per game). Carroll had a career-high seven rebounds against Cincinnati.
HUMPHREY A SHINING STAR
Ryan Humphrey, who transferred from the University of Oklahoma prior in the fall of 1999 and sat out all of last season, had 19 points and nine rebounds in his official regular-season debut in an Irish uniform against Sacred Heart. Humphrey’s first two points at Notre Dame player came on a dunk 2:37 into the contest. He connected on seven of 10 shots from the field and played a total of 26 minutes. Humphrey had 16 points and seven rebounds against Loyola and 10 points and 12 rebounds for his first double double with the Irish versus Cincinnati. He is averaging 15.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in the first three games.
THE ALL-AMERICAN CONTINUES TO POST ALL-AMERICAN NUMBERS
Troy Murphy recorded his 33rd career double double against Sacred Heart night when he scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the season opener. The junior forward’s 30 points against Cincinnati in the 69-51 Irish win also marked the 13th time that he has scored 30-plus points in a game. Murphy had 23 points against Loyola which marked the 65th time in 66 career game that he has scored in double figures and 37th time in which he has netted 20-plus points.
UNSELFISH IRISH
The most telling statistic from the first three games — the 71 assists. Notre Dame has made a total of 90 field goals in their first three games which translates into an assist for every 1.27 baskets. As a team, the Irish have committed just 44, resulting resulting in a 0.62 assist-to-turnover ratio and a turnover every 2.73 minutes. Last season, Notre Dame had more turnovers (656) than assists (643).
GRAVES WILL BE NEXT IRISH 1,000-POINT SCORER
It won’t be long before junior David Graves becomes the 41st player in Notre Dame history to reach the 1,000-point mark. He has 901 points in 70 career games and owns a 12.9 career scoring average.
MOVING UP IN THE BIG EAST
Notre Dame’s 8-8 mark in BIG EAST play last season marked the first time since the Irish joined the conference in 1995-96 that the team did not have a losing mark in league play. Notre Dame was 4-14 in 1995-96, 8-10 in both 1996-97 and 1998-99 and 7-11 in 1997-98. Notre Dame had never been two games above the .500 level in BIG EAST play until last year’s team began with a 2-0 record.
NEW KIDS ON THE BIG EAST BLOCK
Mike Brey and Miami’s Perry Clark are the two new coaches in the BIG EAST this season. Hired by their respective schools within eight days of each other, Clark was named head coach of the Hurricanes on July 6 after 11 years at Tulane, while Brey was introduced as Notre Dame’s 17th head coach on July 14.
THREES ARE HEAVEN FOR IRISH
Notre Dame hit for a school record 287 three-pointers in 1999-2000, shattering the mark of 178 set by the 1993-94 Irish team. Last year’s squad also set the single-season record for most three-point attempts with 752, eclipsing the old mark of 472 established in 1993-94. Notre Dame hit on 14 of 23 three-point field goal attempts in its win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 22. The 14 three-pointers set a school single-game record, topping the old mark of 13 set against Syracuse on Jan. 21, 1998, and Dayton on Jan. 9, 1993. Jere Macura accounted for four of those threes along with Martin Ingelsby (three), Troy Murphy (two) and David Graves (two). On Feb. 23, 2000 against Providence, the Irish tied the school record with 14 three-pointers as Matt Carroll and Graves each had five.
TRIPLE THE PLEASURE FOR GRAVES AND CARROLL
David Graves’ 83 three-point field goals last season set the Irish single-season mark. The previous mark of 80 was set by Ryan Hoover during the 1993-94 season. Matt Carroll was second behind Graves with 64 three-pointers on 183 attempts. Graves and Carroll combined for 51.2 percent of Notre Dame’s three-point arsenal.
IRISH SHOW TRIPLE THREAT AGAIN
Notre Dame’s three-point shooting appears to be alive and healthy again this season as the Irish have canned an average of 10.7 three-pointers (32-59) in its first two games. Martin Ingelsby leads the way with nine, after nailing five in the season opener against Sacred Heart. In the season opener, the Irish began the contest by hitting eight of their first nine from beyond the three-point arc. They also had a school-record 16 against Loyola on Nov. 22. Last season, the Irish averaged 7.8 three-pointers per game.
BIG EAST DIVIDE
With the addition of Virginia Tech, the 14-team BIG EAST Conference has been split into two divisions. BIG EAST teams will once again play a 16-game conference schedule. Annually, teams will meet each divisional opponent on a home-and-home basis and will play four games against teams from the other division. Notre Dame has been designated to the West division, which also includes: Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse and West Virginia. The East division members are: Boston College, Connecticut, Miami, Providence, St. John’s, Villanova and Virginia Tech. The Irish play Boston College, Connecticut, St. John’s and Virginia Tech in the single games this season.
BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT TO CHANGE
For the first time in the history of the BIG EAST Conference, every team will not advance to the league’s postseason tournament. The top six teams in each division will qualify for the 2001 AT&T BIG EAST Championship in Madison Square Garden on March 7-10. First-round tournament games will featue cross-divisional matchups (the No. 3 seeds will play No. 6 seeds and the No. 4 seeds will play the No. 5 seeds). The top two teams in each division will be awarded first-round byes.
MURPHY MOVING UP IRISH SCORING CHARTS
Troy Murphy became the 40th player in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 points on Jan. 29, 2000 when the Irish defeated St. John’s. He started the season 16th on the all-time scoring list, but the 84 points he has scored in in his first three games have elevated him to 11th on the scoring list with 1,442 career points. Last Saturday, he moved ahead of Don Williams who finished his Irish career with 1,433 points and needs 47 points to pass Elmer Bennett who currently holds down the 10th spot on the career scoring list. Murphy became the second-youngest player in Irish history to score 1,000 points at 19 years and 272 days old. Former Irish All-American Adrian Dantley (1973-76) was 18 years and 355 days old when he scored his 1,000th point. Murphy also joins Dantley as the only Irish sophomores with 1,000 points. He scored his 1,000th point in his 48th career game — the fifth-fastest among Notre Dame’s 39 previous 1,000-point scorers. All-time leading scorer Austin Carr (1968-71) needed just 35 games, while Dantley needed 44. It took John Shumate (1972-74) and Bob Arnzen (1966-69) 46 games to score 1,000 points.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE FOR MURPHY
Among active Division I players according to STATS Inc. Troy Murphy is second with 33 career double doubles. He has scored in double figures in 66 of 67 career games he has played and has registered double figures in 54 straight contests heading into this afternoon’s matchup with Loyola. The only time Murphy has failed to score in double figures was against Syracuse on Dec. 29, 1998.
HOME COOKIN’
Eight of Notre Dame’s first 10 games of the season are at home and only one of those games is on the opponents’ home floor. Following tonight’s game, Notre Dame will play its next six games (exactly one month) at the friendly confines of the Joyce Center. This is the only road game scheduled before Notre Dame begins BIG EAST play on the road at Syracuse on Jan. 2.
LIGHTS, CAMERA ACTION
Notre Dame will make nine national television appearances during the 2000-01 season as the Irish will be featured three times on CBS and six times on ESPN. It is the most regular-season telecasts since the 1988-89 campaign when that Notre Dame squad also had nine of its games nationally televised. The national lineup is as follows: Indiana (Tues., Dec. 5 on ESPN), at Syracuse (Tues., Jan. 2 on ESPN), at Seton Hall (Mon., Jan. 8 on ESPN), at Kentucky (Sat., Jan. 13 on CBS), St. John’s (Mon., Feb. 5 on ESPN), at Rutgers (Wed., Feb. 14 on ESPN), Seton Hall (Sun., Feb. 18 on CBS), at Connecticut (Mon., Feb. 26 on ESPN) and Georgetown (Sun., Mar. 4 on CBS).
IRISH ARE AP’S FINEST
The University of Notre Dame is the only Division I-A institution currently ranked among the top 20 teams in Associated Press standings in the sports of football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.
The Irish currently stand 11th in football (8-2 record), while also rating fourth in women’s basketball and 11th in men’s basketball in the AP this week. It marks the first in Notre Dame’s athletic history all three of those Notre Dame teams have been ranked in the top 20 in the same week.
Those rankings also qualify in several other ways:
- It’s the highest ranking for the Irish in football since Notre Dame stood ninth heading into the ’98 regular-season finale at USC.
- It marks the hightest ranking for the Notre Dame women’s basketball program.
- It’s the highest ranking for an Irish team since the 1985-86 season.
All told, Notre Dame is nationally ranked this week in seven different sports. In addition to football and men’s and women’s basketball, here’s where Notre Dame teams stand:
- First in women’s soccer as the Irish (20-0-1) head into its matchup with North Carolina on Friday night in the College Soccer Cup.
- 18th in women’s swimming (current 6-1 record).
- 20th in men’s cross country as the Irish finished ninth at the NCAA championships in Ames, Iowa.
- 20th in volleyball (25-6 and 11-0 in the BIG EAST) after winning the BIG EAST tournament championship and finshing as the regular-season conference champion. The Irish are playing a first and second-round NCAA tournament matches this weekend in Columbus, Ohio as they open up play against Cincinnati.
In other rankings, Notre Dame stood 19th in the U.S. News & World Report ratings of national universities in its fall 2000 standings — and the Irish are heading into fall NCAA competition after finishing 21st in 1999-2000 in the Sears Directors’ Cup standings.
BASKETBALL LUNCHEONS 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, 4, 2000 (the day before the Notre Dame-Indiana game), Monday, Jan. 22, 2001 (the day before the Notre Dame-Syracuse), Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2001 (the day before the Notre Dame-Boston College game). All three luncheons, which begin at noon, will feature Brey, members of his squad, video presentations and other special guests. The Dec. 4 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 219-631-7246.
BASKETBALL TICKET SALES
Season-tickets for the 2000-01 Notre Dame men’s basketball season are sold-out. A limited number of single-game tickets for contests against Tennessee Tech (Dec. 17), Canisius (Dec. 19), Vermont (Dec. 21), Long Island (Dec. 29) and Rutgers (Jan. 6) are still on sale. All 3,200 student season-tickets allotted for the upcoming campaign also have been sold, a figure that has doubled from the 1,600 sold for the 1999-2000 season. Remaining tickets for the Tennessee Tech, Canisius, Vermont, Long Island and Rutgers cOntests can be purchased at the ticket office in the Joyce Center or by calling 219-631-7356.
WNTS TO BROADCAST 12 IRISH BASKETBALL GAMES
WNTS Radio 1590 AM in Indianapolis, Ind., will broadcast 12 Notre Dame men’s basketball games during the 2000-01 season in the Indianapolis market as part of the Notre Dame Basketball Network originated by Host Communications. WNTS 1590 AM, which is owned by S&M Broadcasting Company, Inc., has been broadcasting its signal in the Indianapolis area since 1974. The men’s basketball games on WNTS this season include: Nov. 22 vs. Loyola (Chicago) at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 5 vs. Indiana at 9:00 p.m., Dec.19 vs. Canisius at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 21 vs. Vermont at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 2 at Syracuse at 7:00 p.m., Jan. 8 at Seton Hall at 7:00 p.m., Jan. 16 vs. Pittsburgh at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 23 vs. Syracuse at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 5 vs. St. John’s at 7:00 p.m., Feb. 14 at Rutgers at 9:00 p.m., Feb. 21 vs. Boston College at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 26 at Connecticut at 7:00 p.m.
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” is scheduled to aird from 11:00-11:30 p.m. for 30 consecutive Sundays on ESPN radio (1000 AM in Chicago, 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.
IRISH LIFE SKILLS PROGRAM HONORED AS ONE OF NATION’S BEST
The Notre Dame CHAMPS/Life Skills Program has been identified as one fo the best in the nation by the NCAA Division I-A Athletic Directors’ Association. Notre Dame received one of four program of excellence award at the Association’s Sept. 25 awards dinner in Dallas. Honored along with Notre Dame were Arizona State University, the University of Iowa and Michigan State University. Notre Dame’s Life Skills Program currently is under the direction of Bernard Muir, associate athletic director for student-athlete welfare. In existence since August 1996, Notre Dame’s Life Skills Program is committed to the total development of the University’s student-athletes. It fosters the cultivation of skills that allow for their maximization on and off the playing field. The program develops and implements events and activities which are designed to facilitate learning in five key areas: academic excellence, athletic success, career preparation, community involvement and personal development. By the time a Notre Dame student-athlete graduates, he or she will have participated in approximately 40 hours of required skill building and development workshops in each key area. All freshmen and their parents participate in orientation sessions designed to assist in the transition into the University and to inform them about the Life Skills Program as well as other support services.