Matt Balis resigns as Notre Dame director of football performance
Matt Balis, who was hired by Notre Dame in 2017, has resigned from his role as director of football performance. The university announced the news Tuesday citing personal reasons for Balis' decision.
“I want to thank Coach Balis for all of the work he put into elevating our program,” head coach Marcus Freeman said in a release. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for who he is as a coach and a man.
"While there is never a perfect time to lose a valuable teammate, we are thankful that Coach Balis was able to see us through our summer program and have our players physically prepared to head into the upcoming season.”
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The news of Balis' departure came one day prior to the team starting preseason camp Wednesday at Notre Dame. Fred Hale, who was ND's associate director of football strength and conditioning, will be elevated into Balis' role on an interim basis. Hale joined Notre Dame's staff in 2021 after working at Eastern Michigan for seven years, the last four as the co-director of sports performance.
“We have an innovative sports performance team who collaborated with Coach Balis and me in designing our program and Fred will continue to implement that plan," Freeman also said in the release.
Hale, a two-time national qualifier in wrestling and two-time all-conference selection in football at Division II Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa., earned a master's degree in exercise science from Mercyhurst in 2012 while working with the school's rowing team. His early work included an internship with the NFL's Buffalo Bills, a job in Tennessee's athletic department working with the football, baseball and track and field teams and a role as a sports performance coach at Power Train Sports Institute.
Balis, 51, leaves behind quite the track record at Notre Dame. Brian Kelly hired Balis as part of a football staff overhaul following the dreadful 4-8 season in 2016. The Chicago product and Northern Illinois graduate came to Notre Dame with collegiate strength and conditioning experience at Houston, Utah, Florida, Virginia, Mississippi State and UConn.
Since then, the Irish have produced 29 NFL Draft picks following the past six seasons with four first-round picks and seven second-round selections.
Retaining Balis on staff upon Kelly's departure for LSU was considered a significant victory for Notre Dame. Balis was often lauded by players for physical transformations and mental fortitude building. Notre Dame shared a video of Balis telling players why he didn't why to leave the program in November 2021.
“This is where I want to be," Balis said in part of the video. "I want to die here. If I can die coaching you guys in here for the rest of my life, this is where I want to be.”
Balis and his wife, Lanette, have two children together: Jacob and Ricky.
Jacob, a rising senior running back at nearby Mishakawa (Ind.) Penn, reported a scholarship offer from NAIA Marian University in Indianapolis on Tuesday following a campus visis
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