Irish Echoes: Rockne Award winners run the gamut of Notre Dame achievement

The day before Notre Dame met Wisconsin at Soldier Field, the fifth annual Knute Rockne Spirit of Sports Awards Celebration was held in front of a capacity crowd at the Chicago Sports Museum. The Rockne Awards recognized a slate of honorees representing more than a century of Notre Dame football.

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As a Notre Dame athlete, Bachman became Rockne’s football confidant. The pair was always analyzing the game and how it should be played and coached. Bachman had a Hall of Fame career as the head coach at Northwestern, Kansas State, Florida, and Michigan State.

Barry came to South Bend as a sixth grader in elementary school in 1910 and left Notre Dame with a law degree in 1921. A backfield mate of George Gipp on the undefeated teams of 1919 and 1920, he became a prominent Chicago attorney, judge and Illinois state legislator.

At Notre Dame, Moose earned All-America honors in football and was a three-time consensus All-American in basketball. He later coached both sports for the Irish, and in 1949 began a 32-year stint as athletics director, ushering the Irish program into the modern era.

A multi-sports star at Fenwick High in Oak Park, Ill., Lattner made his mark as a versatile halfback for Frank Leahy’s Irish. As a senior in 1953, he was a major force as a rusher, defender and kick returner, and became the school’s third Heisman Trophy winner.

Son of the legendary sports columnist Red Smith (ND 1927), Terry Smith had a five-decade career as an award-winning journalist, working as a political reporter, foreign correspondent, editor and television analyst with The New York Times, CBS News and the PBS NewsHour.

For 39 football seasons and nearly 250 games, Mike’s voice set the tone for Notre Dame Stadium as its public address announcer. His iconic call of “Here Come the Irish” greeted the team to the field, and his weather forecast and presentation of the facts became a staple of game days.

Maturi served as student assistant trainer for the 1966 national champions and took the lessons learned from coach Ara Parseghian on to a 40-plus year career in athletic administration at Wisconsin, Miami of Ohio, Denver and Minnesota, where he retired as athletics director in 2012.

A consensus All-American for Notre Dame in 1969, McCoy was a first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers and an 11-year stalwart NFL defensive lineman. Today, he delivers a message of hope and positivity to school-age kids across the country.

Standring came out of Leo High School to earn a Notre Dame scholarship, then returned to Chicago’s southwest side, where he has served four decades as teacher and coach at St. Rita High School, earning a legion of friends and admirers with his signature style of positivity and energy.

Schivarelli was an undersized, walk-on football player. He went from Notre Dame to a long career in the music business, managing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Chicago. He’s given back as a major benefactor of Irish athletics and the Notre Dame band.

As Notre Dame’s kicker, Thomas booted the Irish past Alabama, 24-23, for the 1973 national championship, then nailed 151 NFL field goals for the Chicago Bears. He gained a law degree along the way and served on the Illinois Supreme Court for 20 years.

A consensus All-American in 1992-93, Taylor won the Lombardi Award in 1993 as the nation’s outstanding lineman. His six-year NFL career included a Super Bowl championship with the 1996 Green Bay Packers.

Now a college football analyst for the CBS Sports Network, Taylor is heavily involved in a wide variety of charity work.

Green came out of the Chicago Public League as a sharp-shooting guard and earned a basketball scholarship at Notre Dame. While serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq, she lost her lower left arm and hand, and received a Purple Heart. She now assists veterans transitioning to civilian life.

A standout linebacker at St. Rita High School and Notre Dame, Fleming was part of a New England Patriots Super Bowl champion team. During his time with the Patriots, he suffered injuries while saving the life of a woman trapped in a burning car.

Seidel overcame a number of challenges to become a multiple NCAA cross-country and track champion for Notre Dame, excelling in the 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000-meter events.

Running in just her third marathon ever, she shocked the running world by capturing the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games in August.

A Notre Dame parent, Sullivan was thrust into the spotlight in 2010 when his son Declan died in an accident while serving as a student videographer for the football team. The family turned its grief into positive action, creating the Declan Drumm Sullivan Fund and working with Horizon for Youth to help underprivileged Chicago children attain educational success.

Alvarez was an assistant coach under Hayden Fry at Iowa when Lou Holtz added him to his Notre Dame staff in 1987. The next season, he was elevated to defensive coordinator and led a superlative effort for the 1988 national champion Fighting Irish.

After the 1989 season, Alvarez left to become the head coach at Wisconsin, where he transformed the program, winning three Big Ten championships and three Rose Bowls. He served as Wisconsin’s athletic director from 2004 until his recent retirement in June 2021, guiding an unprecedented stretch of success across all Wisconsin sports. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jlefebvre@blueandgold.com.

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