FROM PRESS ROW: FOOTBALL COMING BACK TO NOTRE DAME AS THEY BUILD BACK THE RIGHT WAY WITH A MODIFIED PROGRAM (2024-06-23)

Few Section IV schools have the kind of history in football that Notre Dame has.

From legends of the sport like Mike D’Aloisio and Mike Johnston Jr. roaming the sidelines, to one of the most memorable athletes in Section IV history Joel Stephens wearing the jersey, the Crusaders have a history on the gridiron that goes back decades.

That’s what has made the past two Falls so tough, watching football seasons begin without a team at Notre Dame.

All of that is going to change in the fall as football will return for the Crusaders, albeit at the modified level.

While it’s not varsity football right now, it’s the start to getting football back at a school that truly cherishes the sport.

Just feet outside the stadium fence sits a statue of D’Aloisio. A short walk down the path and you get to the Stephens statue. And, turn toward the wall of the school and you see a big mural of D’Aloisio.

You cannot walk into Brewer Stadium and not see the history of Notre Dame football on display.

What’s more, the stadium is named after Joe Brewer, a former three-port standout at Notre Dame, who was killed in the Vietnam war. One of those three sports? You guessed it, football.

Football is a part of the fabric that makes Notre Dame High School. It’s a sport that many have missed since it ended.

In the fall the Crusaders will have a Modified A team, made up of seventh through ninth graders.

It’s not varsity football yet, but it’s the first step toward getting back to that.

When Notre Dame had to cancel football due to a lack of numbers, the plan was exactly what is happening now. Start with a modified team. Help build the numbers back up, and gain experience at the modified level, and hopefully as those players head to high school bring back varsity football.

The path Notre Dame is taking is the path to not just bring football back, but get it back to being a successful program with strong numbers year in, and year out.

Sure, schools can take a short cut. You could try and draw up interest and maybe find enough players to form a varsity team.

But, you’d have a team without experience, and one that doesn’t have a strong foundation.

What the Crusaders are doing is building up the foundation. Getting kids into the sport at the modified level, and growing the sport the right way, so when the day comes to bring back a varsity team it will be a team with experienced players, ready to continue the successful tradition of Notre Dame football.

“As a school we are excited to bring back football,” Notre Dame Athletic Director Brad Bellinger said in an e-mail announcing the return of football. “Football belongs at Notre Dame.”

Football does belong at Notre Dame. And on Sept. 9 at Brewer Stadium the lights will turn on, and football will once again be on the turf at Brewer Stadium.


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