Tag: college

Notre Dame Leads in APR Public Recognition Awards

Notre Dame is known for their tough academic standards and again walked away with an impressive amount of student-athletes in 2020.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame led all Football Bowl Subdivision programs with 13 Academic Progress Rating (APR) Public Recognition Awards and totaled 13 perfect scores (1,000) in the latest set of statistics issued by the NCAA.

Each Fighting Irish program scored above the APR average in each sport, while men’s cross country, men’s fencing, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s track, softball, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse and women’s volleyball all earned perfect 1,000 scores.

Notre Dame’s 13 programs with scores of 1,000 tied with Stanford to lead all FBS programs and marked the fifth time in the 14-year history of the APR in which at least 13 Irish teams had scored perfectly (also in 2006, 2015, 2016 and 2018).

No other FBS institution has had more years of at least 13 perfect scores than Notre Dame. Only three schools (Notre Dame, Boston College and Stanford) in the 14-year history of the APR have had 13 or more teams post scores of 1,000 in a single report.

Notre Dame’s number of perfect scores of 1,000 has ranked either first or second among all FBS programs for 15 consecutive years. Notre Dame led FBS schools in 1,000 scores in 2019 (with 13, tied with Stanford), 2016 (with 16), 2015 (with an institutional record 17), 2013 and 2012 (both with 12), 2009 (with nine), 2008 (with eight, tied with Duke) and 2006 (with 14, tied with Boston College). Notre Dame finished second in number of 1,000 scores in 2018, 2017, 2014, 2011, 2010 and 2007.

The ACC once again had a strong showing as 83 teams from member schools received APR recognition awards, second-most among Power 5 conferences and third among all Division I conferences, trailing only the Ivy League (113) and Big Ten (84).

The APR, created to provide more of a real‐time measurement of academic success than graduation rates offer, is a team-based metric where scholarship student-athletes earn one point each term for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. Schools that don’t offer scholarships track their recruited student-athletes.

Every Division I sports team submits data to have its Academic Progress Rate calculated each academic year. The NCAA reports both single-year rates and four-year rates, on which penalties for poor academic performance are based. National aggregates are based on all teams with usable, member-provided data. APRs for each team, lists of teams receiving public recognition and those receiving sanctions are available online through the NCAA’s searchable database.

University of Notre Dame 
APR Ratings by Sport

Baseball — 990
Football — 970
Men’s Basketball — 989
Men’s Cross Country — 1,000
Men’s Fencing — 1,000
Men’s Golf — 988
Men’s Ice Hockey — 991
Men’s Lacrosse — 991
Men’s Soccer — 1,000
Men’s Swimming and Diving — 1,000
Men’s Tennis — 1,000
Men’s Track — 1,000
Softball — 1,000
Women’s Basketball — 995
Women’s Cross Country — 995
Women’s Fencing — 993
Women’s Golf — 1,000
Women’s Lacrosse — 1,000
Women’s Rowing — 993
Women’s Soccer — 1,000
Women’s Swimming and Diving — 1,000
Women’s Tennis — 1,000
Women’s Track — 992
Women’s Track, Indoor (Prior to 2015) — 992
Women’s Track, Outdoor (Prior to 2015) — 990
Women’s Volleyball — 1,000

Here is where Notre Dame has ranked annually among FBS institutions in terms of raw numbers of individual team 1,000 APR scores:

2020 —  1. (tie) Notre Dame (7 men’s sports, 6 women’s sports), Stanford 13; 3. Northwestern 12; 4. Arizona State 11; 5. (tie) Temple, California 10

2019 — 1. Notre Dame 13 (6 men’s sports, 7 women’s sports); 2. (tie) Stanford, Northwestern 12; 4. Boston College 11; 5. Syracuse 9

2018 — 1. Stanford 16; 2. Notre Dame 12 (5 men’s, 7 women’s); 3. (tie) Boston College, Northwestern 11; 5. (tie) Duke, North Carolina 10.

2017 — 1. Stanford 14; 2. Notre Dame 12 (4 men’s, 8 women’s) , 3. Boston College 11; 4. (tie), Duke, Minnesota, Northwestern 9; 7. Michigan 8; 8. (tie) California, North Carolina, Rice, Rutgers 7.

2016 —  1. Notre Dame 16 (7 men’s, 9 women’s); 2. Stanford 14; 3. Boston College 12; 4. Minnesota 11; 5. Rice 10; 6. (tie) Duke, Northwestern 9; 8. Tulane 7, 9. (tie) Auburn, Michigan, North Carolina 6.

2015 — 1. Notre Dame 17 (9 men’s, 8 women’s) ; 2. Stanford 15; 3. Northwestern 12; 4. Boston College 10; 5. Duke 9; 6. Minnesota 7; 7. (tie) Arizona State, Tulane, Vanderbilt 7; 10. (tie) Illinois, North Carolina, Penn State, Rice 6.

2014 — 1. Stanford 12; 2. Notre Dame 11 (7 men’s, 4 women’s), 3. Northwestern 10; 4. Minnesota 9; 5. (tie) Boston College, Duke 8; 7. Penn State 7; 8. (tie) Ohio State, Vanderbilt 6.

2013 — 1. Notre Dame 12 (8 men’s, 4 women’s) , 2. Stanford 11; 3. Duke 10; 4. (tie) Boston College, Northwestern 9; 6. Vanderbilt 7; 7. Rice 6.

2012 — 1. Notre Dame 12 (8 men’s, 4 women’s) ; 2. (tie) Boston College, Duke 9; 4. (tie) Northwestern, Vanderbilt 8; 6. Stanford 7; 7. (tie) North Carolina, Rice, Texas 5.

2011 — 1. Duke 10; 2. Notre Dame 9 (5 men’s, 4 women’s); 3. Boston College 6, 4. (tie) Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State, Texas, Tulane, U.S. Naval Academy, Vanderbilt 5.

2010 — 1. Duke 10, 2. Notre Dame 8 (5 men’s, 3 women’s); 3. Boston College 7.

2009 — 1. Notre Dame 9 (4 men’s, 5 women’s); 2. Duke 8; 3. (tie) Boston College, Stanford 6; 5. U.S. Naval Academy 5; 6. Michigan 4.

2008 — 1. (tie) Notre Dame (5 men’s, 3 women’s), Duke 8; 3. Boston College 7; 4. Stanford 5; 5. (tie) Northwestern, Rice, U.S. Naval Academy 4.

2007 — 1. Boston College 10, 2. Notre Dame 9 (5 men’s, 4 women’s); 3. (tie) Rice, Stanford, U.S. Naval Academy 7; 6. Duke 6; 7. Northwestern 5.

2006 — 1. (tie) Notre Dame (7 men’s, 7 women’s), Boston College 14.

Retired Saints fullback, old SMU teammate Zach Line helped recruit Margus Hunt

The Saints added a veteran in Margus Hunt, who said his chat with retired Saints fullback and old SMU teammate Zach Line helped win him over

[jwplayer lLUY4G25-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints have been known for the pipeline that runs to Columbus, Ohio, funneling Ohio State Buckeyes star talents like Malcolm Jenkins, Michael Thomas, Marshon Lattimore, Vonn Bell, and Eli Apple down south, but the team has an even stronger connection running out west, into oil country — where the SMU Mustangs play in Dallas.

In fact, former Mustangs now outnumber the three Buckeyes in New Orleans (with Bell and Apple trying their luck in free agency). Punter Thomas Morstead, long snapper Zach Wood, and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders were recently joined by another familiar face in defensive lineman Margus Hunt.

While Morstead only played with Sanders in college, during the 2008 season, Hunt joined the squad during Sanders’ senior year in 2009. So did former Saints fullback Zach Line, who retired earlier this year. Line and Hunt were teammates for four years at SMU, and remained close enough all these years later for Hunt to ask for advice when the Saints expressed interest in him as a free agent.

“The first thing I did was reached out to Zach Line,” Hunt said during his introductory conference call with New Orleans media. “I have a great relationship with him and he told me so many positive things about the organization and the locker room and everything. He told me basically if this is serious, by all means take it because you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity.”

Hunt was drafted highly by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2013, and had his best year as a pro with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018. While he’s comfortable with his scheme fit in New Orleans as a versatile lineman who can play anywhere from nose tackle to defensive end, Line’s praise for the Saints team culture won him over.

He continued, “Well, for me right now too, with being married with two kids, he just said from that point of view it’s very family-oriented. They do a huge deal about family and kids and everything. That was one of the reasons.

“Another one was obviously the locker room. Great guys, all pros, they do the right things. They work hard, practice hard. They teach each other hard and they work every day to get to that title. That was one of the big things.”

[lawrence-related id=27172]

[vertical-gallery id=33161]

Trey Mancini Opens Up About Cancer Diagnosis

Baltimore Orioles 1B/OF Trey Mancini revealed his colon cancer diagnosis that will keep him out for the 2020 baseball season.

Former Notre Dame baseball star and current Baltimore Orioles first baseman and outfielder Trey Mancini today revealed that if baseball ends up being played in 2020 he won’t be a part of it. That’s because Mancini is going through chemotherapy to fight the Stage III colon cancer he’s been dealing with.

Mancini wrote a a lengthy piece today for The Players Tribune that’s worth your time if you have a few minutes.  In it he details his spring training in which things just felt off, fighting cancer in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and the importance of surrounding yourself with good people.  It’s all there in full-detail.

Mancini also details the six months of treatment he’ll undergo to treat and ultimately beat the cancer.

Mancini was a bright spot for an otherwise forgettable 2019 Orioles squad as he had a career best season in 2019 as he led the Orioles with 35 home runs, a .291 average, .364 on-base percentage, .535 slugging and .899 ops.

All the best to Trey during this fight.  We can’t wait for next spring training, either.

 

Natalie Srinivasan named WGCA national player of the year

She led the Southern Conference in wins and with a 70.78 stroke average, a full shot lower than her nearest competitor.

Furman golfer Natalie Srinivasan has been announced as the Division-I PING Women’s Golf Coaches Association National Player of the Year.

“You see all these people who win and think maybe that could be me one day and it’s just been surreal,” Srinivasan said. “Obviously I wasn’t able to finish (playing) my last semester so that’s been nice they’re still doing these postseason awards. It’s been really positive.”

The Spartanburg, S.C., native earlier this week was named a WGCA Division-I First-Team All-American, just the seventh first-team selection in Furman history and first since 1998. She is also one of 10 remaining in consideration for the ANNIKA Award given annually to the nation’s most outstanding Division-I golfer. It will be announced next month.

“First team is pretty hard to get, you have to play really well and I was lucky enough to be able to play well this year at the right time,” Srinivasan said. “That’s been really cool to represent Furman and give the name recognition.”

Natalie Srinivasan of Furman tees off during the final round of the 2017 Annika Intercollegiate golf tournament. Bruce Kluckhohn – USA TODAY Sports

Furman coach Jeff Hull said in a release, “I am so proud of Natalie for being the recipient of the PING WGCA Player of the Year award,” Hull said in a release. “She had an amazing career at Furman and for her to cap it off with this award is a testament to her hard work and dedication over the past four years. Natalie epitomizes what a student-athlete should be and has set a very high bar going forward.”

Srinivasan finished this past abbreviated season as the country’s top-ranked women’s player by Golfstat and is 14th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. She posted three victories, a solo second (finishing one back in her final Furman event at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Hilton Head’s Long Cove Club) and ties for 16th and 26th in her six starts as a senior.

[jwplayer KxqjZgKK-9JtFt04J]

She led the Southern Conference in wins and with a 70.78 stroke average, a full shot lower than her nearest competitor and her 72.6 career stroke average over 118 rounds is the lowest in Furman history. She earned a second-consecutive invitation to play in the now-canceled Augusta National Women’s Amateur and was likely to be selected for the prestigious U.S. Curtis Cup team before that event was postponed until next year.

″(The Curtis Cup) was kind of what I was looking forward to after the season got canceled and I probably would’ve been on the team so it’s unfortunate,” Srinivasan said. “But it’s been nice to have these other honors to kind of make up for that and have a little positivity right now.”

Srinivasan was the 2018 Southern Conference Player of the Year and a three-time all-conference selection. She has a 3.87 GPA in health and sciences and will graduate in May. She was the recipient of the Winston Babb Memorial Award, given by the Furman Chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa to the woman in each class who has demonstrated the most outstanding qualities of leadership, scholarship, and service to the university.

She plans on turning professional after graduation.

[opinary poll=”is-the-500-rule-necessary-in-college-gol” customer=”golfweek”]

Must See: Cole Kmet Gets the Call from the Chicago Bears

In a time where we’re stuck in our homes or hanging out with pretty much just our immediate families, the Kmet family had a thriller of a Friday night by any standard, let alone during the Illinois order to “Stay in Place”.

If you’re looking for something to make you smile today take the next minute to watch Cole Kmet get the call of a lifetime as he’s drafted by his hometown Chicago Bears.

In a time where we’re stuck in our homes or hanging out with pretty much just our immediate families, the Kmet family had a thriller of a Friday night by any standard, let alone during the Illinois order to “Stay in Place”.

A lot to love from this video from the girl (no idea if it’s a sister of girlfriend) noticing something is up to mom sitting next to Kmet trying to keep the room’s volume down before jumping onto the Facetime call with Bears head coach Matt Nagy herself.

“I can’t wait!”

Either can we Cole, either can we.

 

GCAA, WGCA among those opposing NCAA waiver that could cut programs

Representatives of 17 coaches’ associations, including the Golf Coaches Association of America and the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, have written to NCAA President Mark Emmert opposing a recent proposal from a group of college conference …

Representatives of 17 coaches’ associations, including the Golf Coaches Association of America and the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, have written to NCAA President Mark Emmert opposing a recent proposal from a group of college conference commissioners that the association consider providing schools temporary relief amid the coronavirus pandemic from several Division I membership requirements. This includes one that sets the minimum number of varsity teams Bowl Subdivision schools must field.

At present, FBS schools must field at least 16 teams, with a minimum of six men’s teams and a minimum of eight women’s teams. Division I schools must field at least 14 teams.

In a letter to Emmert dated April 10, the commissioners of the Group of Five conferences – the American Athletic, Conference USA, the Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt – said: “In order to provide NCAA Division I institutions flexibility in addressing the challenges for the foreseeable future, we request temporary relief from several regulatory requirements for a period of up to four years. A blanket waiver for relief will provide institutions the ability to make prudent and necessary decisions for the financial well-being of the institution.”

The coaches’ groups, from so-called non-revenue sports, have responded with a letter in which they expressed concern that a temporary waiver of the sport-sponsorship requirement would result in permanent cuts.

“The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic places a lasting burden on both higher education and intercollegiate athletics alike,” the letter says, “but slashing opportunities for students is not the solution. … Reducing the minimum sports sponsorship requirement that would open the door to eliminating sports should not be an option.”

[jwplayer CYq8DKaK-vgFm21H3]

The letter comes from associations representing coaches in baseball, softball, volleyball, wrestling and golf, among others.

Meanwhile, Golfweek received a copy of the letter GCAA CEO Gregg Grost sent out to members, detailing the concern the group has over the potential waiver.

“If this waiver passes, it would mean the potential for fewer teams, fewer scholarships and fewer opportunities for student-athletes competing in Olympic and non-revenue producing sports,” the letter said. “The GCAA strongly opposes this drastic measure and has signed off on a letter with other coaches associations that was sent to NCAA President Mark Emmert.”

The letter also asked members to avoid using student-athletes to fight for the cause, saying, “we do not think they should be on the front lines.”

Meanwhile, the WGCA tweeted to followers something in the same spirit, asking members to help spread the word.

How Did Drew Brees Perform vs. Notre Dame?

There was one thing Brees never did in his time with the Boilermakers, though, and that’s win at Notre Dame Stadium.  Here’s the Drew Brees career stat-lines versus the Fighting Irish:

In the wake of the news Drew Brees is heading to NBC Sports and having a role on Notre Dame telecasts once he retires from the NFL, I was curious how Brees fared against Notre Dame in his memorable time at Purdue.

Brees led Purdue to only their second appearance in a Rose Bowl back in 2000, a year he should have been awarded the Heisman Trophy over Chris Weinke if we’re being honest.  There was one thing Brees never did in his time with the Boilermakers, though, and that’s win at Notre Dame Stadium.  Here’s the Drew Brees career stat-lines versus the Fighting Irish:

Three starts (1998, 1999, 2000)
1-2 win/loss record
60/98 passing, 799 yards, five touchdown passes, four interceptions, one rushing touchdown

The games:
1998 – Notre Dame 31, Purdue 30
Notre Dame fell behind 14-0 and trailed 30-21 with under eight minutes to play before a Jim Sanson field goal with under a minute left eventually won it for the Irish.
Brees:  24 of 26 for 261 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions

1999 – Purdue 28, Notre Dame 23
Notre Dame jumped out to a 10-0 lead in West Lafayette before Brees guided the Boilermakers to victory.  He finished the afternoon with a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown and ran in a two point conversion in the Purdue victory.
Brees:  24 of 40 passing for 317 yards, one touchdown pass, one interception and a two point conversion run

2000 – No. 21 Notre Dame 23, No. 13 Purdue 21
In Godsey We Tust…as long as the defense plays ridiculously well. That’s what happened on this afternoon in 2000 when a Shane Walton pick-six of Brees put the Irish up 14-0 in the first quarter.  The Irish wouldn’t find the end-zone again that afternoon but three Nick Setta field goals, one of which came as time expired, did the eventual Big Ten Champions in.
Brees:  13 of 22 passing for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception

The Latest Update on Notre Dame/Navy in Ireland

“We’re looking at all of those possibilities for alternate sites.  We would still like to to play it there if it’s at all possible.  I think it’s prudent that we’ve begun the process of looking at alternative sites and well, not necessarily knowing truly what the situation will be.”

We’re just under five months from when the 2020 college football season is supposed to kick-off and Notre Dame gets a part this year in Week Zero as they’re currently scheduled to take on Navy in Dublin, Ireland to start the year.  Due to the Covid-19 outbreak world-wide though, that and the season as we know it are anything but guaranteed.

The head coaches of both programs, Brian Kelly and Ken Niumatolo of Navy, joined Full Ride on ESPN U Radio Thursday and made news in regards to the season opener.

Are there contingency plans or have they at least begun being made if this game can’t be played in Ireland?

“Oh, absolutely” Kelly said, “We’re looking at all of those possibilities for alternate sites.  We would still like to to play it there if it’s at all possible.  I think it’s prudent that we’ve begun the process of looking at alternative sites and well, not necessarily knowing truly what the situation will be.”

So no, it hasn’t been cancelled.

Yet.

Niumatolo didn’t get asked about the chances of the game being played in Dublin but did get asked about the amount of time that’d be necessary in order to be able to play that game as scheduled.

“I think if you ask coaches, we’d all want longer. I saw something, I think it was Brian Kelly, talked about a month and a month. A month to start doing physical conditioning with your strength coach and another month to start practicing. I’ve heard somebody say, ‘Hey, we probably could do it in a month. The product may not be the greatest, so to speak.’

“Maybe your guys are in good enough shape that they won’t get hurt. From a fan’s perspective, it will look like football and things will be great. And from a coach’s perspective, maybe you’ll look and see your routes aren’t as crisp. Your pad-level isn’t as great, or whatever the case may be. I think you can still play.”

I wish I had a good answer on it but I don’t.  My rule of thumb is usually splitting the extremes so if one says four and one says eight weeks, my guess is you’re looking at six weeks realistically and almost certainly not a day shorter than that to have to be able to get ready.

Kelly also went on to discuss the high expectations he has for the 2020 Fighting Irish, starting with his quarterback and offense and then complimenting his linebackers especially when praising the defense.

So no, nothing has been canceled but it doesn’t sound like anyone is anticipating going to Ireland at this point, either.

NCAA Extends Recruiting Dead Period

It’s not a surprise by any means but the NCAA announced on Thursday afternoon that the recruiting dead period has been extended.

It’s not a surprise by any means but the NCAA announced on Thursday afternoon that the recruiting dead period has been extended.

From the NCAA offices:

It’s not a surprise as early on Thursday we saw Florida implement stay-home guidelines and just days ago President Trump extended the command to continue to socially-distance until the end of May.

What Does It Mean for Recruits/Coaches?

Pretty much that they just can’t meet in person.  The stories we’ve heard about running game coordinator Lance Taylor showing up in North Carolina regularly to see coveted Will Shipley will continue to be paused.

However, coaches can still reach out to recruits by phone call, text message, Facetime/Skype calls or if they’re really feeling good about themselves, by sliding into their DM’s.

April is a wash for this and at this point, May appears iffy at very best in terms of visits occurring.  My best guess is that we’ll see a one-time rule change for visits to be made under these extreme circumstances.

Notre Dame Greatest Game Tournament – Final Day of Elite Eight Voting

Last call for voting in the Elite Eight of the greatest games tournament is here. Check it out and get your votes in. Will any 1 seed fall?

We’re into the closing minutes (hours, actually) of the Elite Eight round in the 2020 Fighting Irish Wire Tournament.  In determining the greatest Notre Dame football games since 1986 we’ve gone from 64 to eight and will be into our Final Four later tonight.

Thoughts on the tournament so far?

Mine are that the seeding committee did too good of a job to date.  With eight “teams” remaining, all are the 1 and 2-seeds in their respective regions.  Sure we’ve seen a few upsets but there is no Cinderella in the round of eight.

So who moves on?  That’s up to you and you have until 10 p.m. ET Monday night to get it done.  Vote here for the Elite Eight match-ups:

Basilica Regional Final:
[polldaddy poll=10526785]

Grotto Regional Final:
[polldaddy poll=10527041]

Hesburgh Regional Final:
[polldaddy poll=10528036]

Golden Dome Regional Final:
[polldaddy poll=10528040]

Voting will close again at 10 p.m. ET and we’ll know our Final Four then.  Based off the time of posting (just after 3 p.m. ET) we already seem to know one of your regional winners as ’88 Miami has a 97-3% lead in voting over the Sugar Bowl upset of Florida.