Notre Dame Basketball Great, Former Athletic Director Dies at 91

RIP to a true Notre Dame man.

One of the all-time greats to ever wear a basketball uniform for the University of Notre Dame has died at the age of 91.

Richard (Dick) Rosenthal, who was an All-American basketball player at Notre Dame before playing for the NBA’s Ft. Wayne Pistons, died Tuesday at his home in South Florida.

Rosenthal played three seasons for the Pistons while also spending his off-season serving in the United States Army.  Shortly after his basketball career he got into banking, becoming bank president at St. Joseph Bank & Trust Co. in South Bend, Ind.

After Rosenthal retired from that post in 1987, Notre Dame named him their Director of Athletics.  There he oversaw the athletic department when Notre Dame won its most recent college football national championship as well as many other historic events, including Notre Dame’s entry to the Big East.

Per the South Bend Tribune:

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at The Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. The Mass will be live-streamed at basilica.nd.edu/sacraments/funerals/funerals-livestream/