Tag: Joyce center

Notre Dame legend Muffet McGraw to have statue outside Joyce Center

Congrats, Coach!

[autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] coached herself to two national championships with Notre Dame and the Basketball Hall of Fame. Now, her likeness will live forever outside the Joyce Center. Joining the many Notre Dame coaching legends with statues on the school’s athletic complex, McGraw will have her own statue unveiled before the Irish’s Dec. 17 game against Purdue.

McGraw earned 848 of her 936 career victories at Notre Dame, where she coached the women’s basketball program from 1987 to 2020, finish below .500 only twice during that time. Only six coaches are ahead of her on the all-time Division I wins list. She was named the consensus national coach of the year three times.

McGraw coached 20 WNBA players, five Olympians and 22 All-Americans. Among her most notable players at Notre Dame were [autotag]Ruth Riley[/autotag], [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag], [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag], [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag], [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] and [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag].

Join us in congratulating this Irish coaching legend. May she serve as an inspiration for Notre Dame women’s basketball players and coaches in the generations to come.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Original basketball court at Joyce Center torn up

Anyone have memories of this floor?

With Notre Dame students home for summer break, now is the time to make improvements to the campus. This includes renovating the playing area in the Purcell Pavilion portion of the Joyce Center. However, the renovation this year involves something very different. WHME-TV’s Chuck Freeby tweeted out this photo indicating that the building’s original basketball court still was there, but it’s there no more:

Considering that the Irish have played in the Joyce Center since 1968, that is a long time for a court to be held intact, even if it hasn’t seen any actual action recently. This has to be a bittersweet moment for older Irish alumni who have their own memories of that court. Still, nothing lasts forever, and this is the latest reminder of that. It’s sad to see a piece of history go like this.

It will be interesting to see what the new floor looks like or even if there’s a noticeable difference. We’ll find out in the fall, if not sooner.

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See it: Notre Dame Commencement Weekend Mass inside Joyce Center

This is a beautiful thing to see.

Most days out of the year in which the Joyce Center is open to the public, it’s to watch basketball at Purcell Pavilion. But when Commencement Weekend arrives at Notre Dame, the facility takes on a different purpose. As is tradition, graduating students and their families gather there to attend Mass. If you haven’t seen it before, take a look at the below video and photos showing off the capacity crowd:

Yes, it’s a little strange to see the area we mostly know for basketball not look its usual way. But it’s a reminder of Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, which Irish fans should reflect on more if they aren’t already. It isn’t only about wins and losses. It’s about doing everything possible to reflect what the university stands for.

You still can cheer for the Irish all you want, but never forget how Notre Dame came to be in the first place. It was Catholic in the beginning, and it will remain Catholic forever.

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Notre Dame commit among finalists for national player of the year

Quite the honor for the future Irish star.

The Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year has ended up at Notre Dame a few times. [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] won it in 2014 and [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag] in 2009. Two other winners, Erin Boley in 2016 and Michelle Marciniak in 1991, began their collegiate careers at Notre Dame but transferred elsewhere after one season. Another player could soon be joining those ranks.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] of Paul VI in Haddonfield, New Jersey, committed to the Irish on Nov. 15. This came a few months after winning gold with the U.S. in the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. Now, she is one of three finalists for the Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year.

When Hidalgo announced her decision to commit to the Irish, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] said the following:

“Irish eyes are smiling! We are ecstatic to welcome five-star point guard Hannah Hidalgo to the ND family!  Hannah brings swag, competitiveness, and a relentless drive that will instantly elevate our program. She is-multi dimensional, lightning fast and tenacious defensively with a scorer’s mentality and a high basketball IQ.  Hannah does a great job of pushing pace and making everyone around her better.  The Joyce Center will be electric to watch one of the fastest backcourts in the country with the additions of Hannah, Cass Prosper and Emma Risch.”

Here are some profiles of Hidalgo and the other two finalists for this award:

Notre Dame hosts, wins national championship

One program now stands alone atop the school national championship leaderboard.

If you’re looking for Notre Dame to dominate in any sport, have you considered fencing? This year, the national fencing championships were held at the Joyce Center, so you’d figure that would be an advantage for the Irish, right? Whether it was or not, the Irish won the national title for the second straight year. This is the 12th national championship for the fencing program, which now has surpassed football for the most of any athletic program at Notre Dame.

This competition was anything but as far as team scoring because the Irish finished 21 points in front of both Harvard and Columbia, both of which scored 168 (Harvard placed second). It’s the fourth national title for Irish coach Gia Kvaratskhelia. She previously won back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018.

Earlier in the competition, Kaylin Hsieh won the individual women’s épée title. That made her the sixth female fencer in program history to win a national championship in that category. She was named a first-team All-American as a result.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame celebrates anniversary of historic win over UCLA

Who remembers this?

With no game scheduled for Wednesday, Notre Dame is taking time to look back at arguably the program’s finest moment. When UCLA entered South Bend on Jan. 19, 1974, it had won a record 88 straight games as well as the past seven national championships. With the John Wooden-coached Bruins being led on the court by future Hall of Famers Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes, there was little reason to think this game would be any different from the recent past. Instead, the second-ranked Irish decided enough was enough:

The victory catapulted the Irish into the top ranking for the first and only time that season, but nobody thinks about that. What they do think about is the Irish took down a powerhouse, and those who were alive for it have fond memories to this day. Also, who wouldn’t storm the Joyce Center court after that? Hopefully one day, there will be a moment that will surpass that, like a national title.

Notre Dame combines Easter and basketball with one tweet

Happy Easter, everybody!

For Christians, Easter is the holiest day of the year. Naturally, the day is a big deal at Notre Dame, though you probably knew this given that you’re reading this site. Among the places Easter Mass is being held on campus this year is the Joyce Center. That meant the opportunity to stage a photo appropriate for both the day and the location:

There’s no word yet on whether the priest in this photo actually shot the ball or if he simply posed with it. We don’t even know if we’ll get an answer to that question. Regardless, you have to admit it’s an awesome sight to see a priest getting ready to celebrate Mass and working on his balling. He’s even using the correct hand on the left side the basket.

Happy Easter to everybody who comes to our site throughout the year. We appreciate you taking time out of your day to read what we have to offer. It makes all of our efforts worthwhile.

Notre Dame Releases “The Shirt” for 2020

Usually a former star player or the current head coach helps unveil “The Shirt” on the Friday night before the spring game as part of something that has almost become a ceremony.  With the spring game cancelled on the world taking countless precautions in the fight against Coronavirus, this years unveiling was held just like the vast majority of our work meetings anymore:  online.

One of Notre Dame’s unique football traditions happens each spring.  Each Friday before the annual Blue-Gold Spring Game, the release of “The Shirt” is made as the tens of thousands that flock to campus to treat their football fever.  Each year thousands upon thousands of “The Shirt” are sold in all ages and sizes as proceeds benefit Notre Dame students in a few different ways.

Usually a former star player or the current head coach helps unveil “The Shirt” on the Friday night before the spring game as part of something that has almost become a ceremony.  With the spring game cancelled on the world taking countless precautions in the fight against Coronavirus, this years unveiling was held just like the vast majority of our work meetings anymore:  online.

See the shirt below and if you want you can purchase it here.

Version 31 of “The Shirt” is now available for all to purchase.  Here’s to hoping the 2020 football season will get here soon and we’ll all be packed in the Joyce Lot on a Saturday morning enjoying brats, libations and some college football while watching thousands of folks in “The Shirt 31” walk by.

Watch: Muffet McGraw’s Emotional Response to Blowout Loss

As frustrating as it’s been for fans and players, it’s been that much harder on legendary head coach Muffet McGraw and she let it show after Sunday’s game.

It’s been a trying year for Notre Dame Women’s Basketball.

Rebuilds are tough and whether you like it or not, it’s what you get when your five best players from a season ago are playing in the WNBA now.

After a decade of Final Four appearances being the norm, getting even a home victory has become tough as the Irish sit just 6-11 overall and 1-4 in ACC play after getting routed Sunday by No. 9 North Carolina State.

As frustrating as it’s been for fans and players, it’s been that much harder on legendary head coach Muffet McGraw and she let it show after Sunday’s game.

An incredibly rare moment to see a coach wear their emotions on their sleeve quite like that, especially one as accomplished as McGraw.

Hopefully this dark season is an exception and things get turned around soon because seeings videos like this much longer will get rather tough to watch.

Watch: Basketball Improves to 6-1, Beats Farleigh Dickinson

Nate Laszewski led the way for Notre Dame as he finished with 16 points. Dane Goodwin added 15 while making all three of his attempts from downtown.

Jumping out to a 13-0 lead Tuesday night made way for Notre Dame’s sixth straight win, this one ending up 91-66 in favor of the Fighting Irish as they dispensed Farleigh Dickinson at Purcell Pavilion.

Nate Laszewski led the way for Notre Dame as he finished with 16 points. Dane Goodwin added 15 while making all three of his attempts from downtown.

John Mooney had another typical Mooney game scoring 13 points while taking down 13 rebounds.

Notre Dame hit 12 of their 25 three-point attempts on the night and cruised to the win.

They’ll return to action on Wednesday, December 4 when they travel to No. 5 Maryland to take on the Terrapins in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Watch the highlights of Tuesday night’s win here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDBOIpwqU28&w=560&h=315]