Notre Dame mourns the loss of two-time titlewinning football coach Ara Parseghian,
Two titles tell only small part of coach’s story
Legendary Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian, who led the Fighting Irish for 11 seasons and won national titles in 1966 and 1973, died Wednesday in South Bend, according to the school. He was 94.
“Notre Dame mourns the loss of a legendary football coach, a beloved member of the Notre Dame family and good man — Ara Parseghian,” the Rev. John Jenkins, university president, said in a statement. “Among his many accomplishments, we will remember him above all as a teacher, leader and mentor who brought out the very best in his players, on and off the field. He continued to demonstrate that leadership by raising millions of research dollars seeking a cure for the terrible disease (Niemann-Pick Type C) that took the lives of three of his grandchildren. Whenever we asked for Ara’s help at Notre Dame, he was there.
“My prayers are with Katie, his family and many friends as we mourn his passing and celebrate a life that was so well lived.”
Parseghian recently suffered an infection in a hip that previously had been operated on five times, the Chicago Tribune reported. Another surgery was not an option, and Parseghian received treatment with antibiotics.
Parseghian was 95-17-4 at Notre Dame and had successful coaching tenures at Northwestern and Miami (Ohio).
“It is impossible for me to reflect on my Notre Dame experience without thinking of Ara Parseghian,” Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement. “As a student, I enjoyed the thrill of being on campus for his last three years as head coach, including the 1973 national championship season. And during that time, I got to see firsthand the profound impact he had on my classmates who played for him.”
He later became a television analyst for ABC Sports and CBS Sports. He was voted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1984.
Parseghian also remained involved with Notre Dame. Irish coach Brian Kelly told reporters last fall ahead of the Michigan State game that he regularly received handwritten letters in the mail from Parseghian after most games. He kept them in a book.
“It’s pretty special,” Kelly said. “He’s not a man of many words, but for me, they’re inspirational in the sense that at 90-something years old, he takes the time to write me a note, and I can read them. Very legible.”
Before kickoff against Michigan State last season, Parseghian and his 1966 team were honored in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their national championship. That title was clinched against Michigan State in one of the most famous — and controversial — games of Parseghian’s coaching career and was billed as a “Game of the Century.”
With the score tied at 10 and neither No. 1 Notre Dame nor No. 2 Michigan State able to break it open, Parseghian controversially decided to run out the clock instead of trying to get the Irish in field goal range to win.
Both schools ended the year with 9-0-1 records, while No. 3 Alabama — coached by Paul “Bear” Bryant — went undefeated. Top-ranked Notre Dame was awarded the national title.
“We didn’t go for a tie,” Parseghian said five years ago. “The game ended in a tie.”
Combined, there were more than two dozen All-Americans in the game, including 10 NFL firstround draft picks.
Parseghian was born in Akron, Ohio, and served in the U.S. Navy for two years during World War II, playing football at Naval Station Great Lakes. After he was discharged, he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball at Miami (Ohio). He played for the Cleveland Browns for two seasons, but his NFL career was cut short because of a hip injury. He returned to Miami as an assistant under Woody Hayes in 1950 and was named head coach when Hayes left for Ohio State in 1951. Parseghian coached at Miami for five seasons before taking the head coaching job at Northwestern, where he coached for eight seasons.
He became Notre Dame’s 22nd head coach in 1964. He transformed a team that had gone 2-7 in 1963 into a 9-1 squad in his first year. Over 11 seasons, he led the Irish to victories in the Cotton, Sugar and Orange Bowls, as well as the two consensus national championships. He resigned in 1974 for health reasons.
For as much success as Parseghian achieved, he and his family endured much heartbreak. In 1994, he and son Michael and daughter-in-law Cindy founded the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation, raising millions of dollars to fight for a cure for Niemann-Pick Type C disease, the rare genetic pediatric neurodegenerative disorder that claimed the lives of three of his grandchildren.
Then five years ago, the Parseghians lost their daughter, Karan Burke, to multiple sclerosis. Parseghian served on the board for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society when Karan was diagnosed more than 40 years ago.
Parseghian is survived by his wife, Katie; two children, Kristan Parseghian Humbert and her husband, James Humbert, and Michael Parseghian and his wife, Cindy; son-in-law James Burke; and six grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
“We will remember him above all as a teacher, leader and mentor who brought out the very best in his players, on and off the field.” The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame president, on Ara Parseghian