I looked him up and he did a good job at VCU. I think the concern is that it's VCU and the Atlantic 10. Some comments I have seen complain that the search wasn't an exhausting National search but a search for someone who could be signed for a cheap salary.
From the official ND announcement. Here's hoping he's the guy to continue what Jarrett started. If he's successful I hope he stays a long time. Unlike Jarrett we won't have to worry he'll leave us to go back home to his Alma Mater! In Stiffler’s 10-seasons at the helm of the VCU program, the Rams won Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championships in 2017, 2019 and 2021, and he led VCU to the NCAA Championship Tournament in 2015, 2021 and 2022. The 2015 NCAA Tournament appearance included an NCAA Dallas Regional Championship, defeating the host Dallas Baptist and Oregon State, qualifying for the program’s first-ever NCAA Super Regional, at Miami (Fla.). The 2017 A-10 Regular Season Championship was the first in program history at VCU. Stiffler’s teams have shown a knack for getting hot late in the year, winning 17-straight contests from May 7 through June 4, and knocking off the host Tar Heels in the 2022 Chapel Hill Regional. In 2021 the Rams 22-consecutive game winning streak was snapped in the second game of the NCAA Starkville Regional to eventual National Champion, Mississippi State. During his time as the Rams’s skipper, he accrued a 340-198 overall record, and dominated the Atlantic 10 with a record of 146-71. The 2019 A-10 Coach of the Year, Stiffler guided four Rams to All-American honors, five Freshman All-Americans, 20 ABCA All-Region honorees and 48 All A-10 selections. Stiffler earned American Baseball Coaches’ Association (ABCA) East-Region Coach of the Year honors following the 2015 season in which he led VCU to the A-10 Championship and its first-ever Super Regional. The program finished the season ranked 17th in the country by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Stiffler took the reins of the Ram program in 2013 after serving as an assistant coach from 2007-2012. As an assistant, he helped the Rams earn a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship and 37 wins in his first season. Three seasons later, he helped the Rams earn their fifth CAA Championship. Shawn Stiffler Selected as Next Irish Baseball Head Coach
A verbal for an often overlooked but critical position that often doesn't even have a scholarship player at the position. Notre Dame added a new commitment to its 2023 class on Monday in the form of a preferred walk-on long snapper. St. Xavier’s Andrew Kros announced his pledge to the Fighting Irish. The 6-3, 230-pounder received his PWO offer in late June and didn’t waste much time making his decision to pick Notre Dame. “I would like to express my gratitude to Coach Marcus Freeman, Coach Brian Mason and Coach Jesse Scmitt for allowing me the opportunity of a lifetime to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Notre Dame,” Kros said as part of his commitment announcement. Kros ranks as a five-star specialist according to ProKicker.com. He’s also played defensive end during his prep career and is a two-time first-team all district performer. Kros reports a 4.6 grade point average.
New Baseball coach is off to a good start. He's said all the right things and it appears he understands the challenge he faces. He said he wants to recruit the 4 or 5 players who entered the Portal. Our freshman closer Findlay would be one I hope he can convince to stay.
LHP Jack Findlay withdrawing from the transfer portal and staying at ND. Hooray! LHP Jack Findlay Staying at Notre Dame
Lb named Jaiden Ausberry from Kelly's back yard in Baton Rouge is being Crystal Balled to the Irish. He's the #69 player in the 247 Composite and the #4 player at his position. No clue as to when he'll make it official.
New Irish baseball coach is moving fast, he got Findlay to come back and he's reportedly added 2 grad transfer pitchers according to a poster on NDNation. Carter Bosch from Georgetown and Blake Hely from Davidson. Bosch went 6-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 18 appearances as a senior in 2022. He was Georgetown’s Saturday starter. He had 64 strikeouts, including a season-high 11 against Xavier on April 23, and 25 walks in 64 innings. Hely has started 34 of his 41 collegiate appearances. He has a career 4.09 ERA. As a senior in 2022, Hely had a 3.80 ERA in 15 starts. He posted a record of 9-2 and struck out 97 batters in 85 1/3 innings.
Now here's an interesting article about ND's negotiations with NBC for renewal of their contract. Good luck Jack.Report: Notre Dame targeting massive TV deal from NBC to remain independent - Saturday Road
That's very interesting. I don't know where this is going, certainly status quo as an independent and a boost in media rights to 75M, while less than what we would get as a Big 10 member would satisfy a large section of the the fan base. Assuming of course that scheduling and access to the playoff remains the same.
While I can't read minds, I think I understand ND's position at this point. Keep in mind, 1) the $100mm per B10 school is a projection, not a current reality. Also, 2) should ND join the B10, it likely would not receive a full share for at least a couple of years and possibly longer. 3) To join the B10 would cost ND a significant amount (to exit the ACC), unknown at this time, but it would be a subtraction from whatever share ND receives from the B10. ND is putting the ball in NBC's court to make a decision: Is 6-7 telecasts a year, plus a virtual exclusive on the ND brand for college sports reporting purposes, worth $75 million/year? One more thing, ND would remain affiliated with the ACC, which would produce a stream of income on top of the $75mm, perhaps bringing ND's total annual haul to $100mm-plus. All in all, I believe it's an excellent and well-timed negotiating ploy. If NBC rejects the $75mm or suggests a smaller number, ND can re-evaluate at that time. The only question is, will the B10 put a time limit on their willingness to wait for ND's decision? Stay tuned.
Given that the SEC has said that they are standing pat, I imagine that the Big 10 will do as well. Not add Oregon and/or Washington at this point. The CFP Contract is up 2025, I imagine things will stay as they are for now. B12 has enough teams for now ACC teams are stuck with the 10 more years of their media deals. PAC12 is where the B12 was last year. I don't see them adding teams in this climate right now. I think we'll have lots of talk and speculation but no more movement. FWIW I am OK with the Irish moving to the BIG 10. Not just for the money but if we are eventually going to be 3 Power Leagues, the B1G makes the most sense.
Right now I wonder what options Clemson, Florida State ,Miami are considering? If those 3 plus Notre Dame joined either the Big10 or the SEC, then almost.every National Champion since 1960 would be in one of.those 2 conferences.
Clemson, FSU, Miami and probably the Irish have to figure out how to get out of the 10 remaining years of the Media contracts. I saw something that said that the B12 media rights say that the cost of leaving is the remaining payouts. The B12 reported to give out 40 M this year, next year and 2024. So if Texas wanted to play the SEC in 2022, then it would have cost 120M, 80M if they want to play in 2023. I assume that the ACC deal is also too strong to circumvent, given that the ACC was blind sided by Maryland and were determined to make it financially oderous for another team to leave. 350M or more to leave the ACC. With little incentive for them to compromise.
Imagine the financial leverage that the top 40 football teams playing each other would have on the tv networks.