Few people in Notre Dame’s history bled the Gold & Blue like Brian Boulac, who passed away this week at age 79.
A fixture at the school since enrolling as a tight end/lineman in 1959 from his native Washington, the Double Domer was on the coaching staff of three football national champions at Notre Dame in 1966 (freshman coach), 1973 (tight ends/offensive line coach) and 1977 (added recruiting coordinator — the first at the school — to tight ends and line).
He then turned to an administrative role in the athletic department in 1983 — which included head softball coach from 1989-92 while winning two MCC crowns and shepherding it into varsity status — before retiring in 2009.
“I don’t think it’s possible to find anyone on campus who has made more contributions to athletics at Notre Dame than Brian Boulac has made over the past five decades,” said then second-year Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick of Boulac’s retirement.
Time magazine profiled Boulac’s recruiting acumen in a 1975 article “Brian’s Pitch,”
In 1999, the All-American Football Foundation honored him for his years of service as an assistant coach.
In his role in athletics administration, Boulac served as a liaison with the admissions and financial aid departments and also served as the general manager of the Joyce Center, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the building.
Other than spending two summers (1968 and 1969) in a Peace Corps-type program (CILA) in Lima, Peru, where he served in the Army Medical Service Corps, Boulac was ensconced at Notre Dame.
“From my perspective, being a Notre Dame employee is not a job — it is a vocation,” said Boulac upon his retirement. “To be a part of the Notre Dame family and tradition is a God-given opportunity that I have been blessed to share with so many tremendous athletes and co-workers over the years." -
In 2006, Boulac received the James E. Armstrong Award for distinguished service to the University — and on the same weekend he was honored by many of his players and friends when a plaque with his name was placed on a football locker in the new Guglielmino Athletics Complex.
Born May 8, 1941, in Walla Walla, Washington, Boulac is survived by his wife Micki (a 1983 graduate of the Notre Dame Law School) and four daughters, all of whom are Notre Dame graduates: Dawn, Denise, Debbie and Dyan.
Look for more on Boulac tomorrow.
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