Black alumni upset by Irish firing of Willingham

[EnviedOne]

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Some black Notre Dame alumni say the recent firing of football coach Tyrone Willingham will hamper the school's efforts to recruit and retain black students and teachers.

Black Alumni of Notre Dame, a group representing about 2,000 Notre Dame graduates, has issued a statement of support for Willingham and is mailing letters to all of Notre Dame's trustees expressing their concern over his firing last week.

"The decision made by the Administration is both premature and unprecedented," the statement said. "It disregards [Willingham's] outstanding first season, off-field success and increased integrity and academic strides among our football players."

The statement represents a consensus of the group's 18-member national board, said Danielle Boucree, the group's chairwoman and a 1991 Notre Dame graduate. Boucree said Tuesday that she and other black alumni were shocked at Willingham's firing.

"They didn't think about the ramifications to the African-American community," Boucree said. "If they are truly dedicated to expanding ethnic diversity in the university, this action isn't in line with that."

When Willingham was hired, Boucree said, there was a slight increase in applications from black high school students, whom she said may have felt more welcome on campus by his hiring.

"This action does quite the opposite," she said.

Black Alumni of Notre Dame raises money for scholarships and helps the university recruit and mentor minority students. Boucree said some members of the group wanted to give up their positions in protest and no longer help recruit students, but they changed their minds.

Boucree said the group is willing to help the university repair the damage caused by the firing. And she said if a similar situation arises, she hopes the university consults people of color and thinks about the impact on the black community.

About 40 black students met with some Notre Dame administrators Sunday to discuss Willingham's firing and how they felt betrayed by the university's action, a student who attended told the South Bend Tribune.

Increasing diversity has been a major goal for the Notre Dame administration.

Black enrollment at the university has been gradually increasing in recent years. This semester, black students account for 3.7 percent of Notre Dame's undergraduate student body.

URL: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1940649

[timm3117]

I hate to tell people, but by making this a black white issue there hurting the cause. Ty was fired because he wasnt a very good coach, i hate to be blount but its the truth. It had nothing to do with him being black. Yes Davie got 5 years, but its called learning from mistakes. Davie was at ND too long. ND wants to win now and Ty wasn't winning. And now to tell you the truth of why this will hurt black coaches. From now on some schools will reconsider hiring a black coach. If you cant fire a guy, why would you hire him. I'm not saying its right or wrong but it is true. If Ty was white, nobody would have said a thing. Color played no roll in hiring Ty, or in firing him.

[irishtexan]

Originally Posted by timm3117

I hate to tell people, but by making this a black white issue there hurting the cause. Ty was fired because he wasnt a very good coach, i hate to be blount but its the truth. It had nothing to do with him being black. Yes Davie got 5 years, but its called learning from mistakes. Davie was at ND too long. ND wants to win now and Ty wasn't winning. And now to tell you the truth of why this will hurt black coaches. From now on some schools will reconsider hiring a black coach. If you cant fire a guy, why would you hire him. I'm not saying its right or wrong but it is true. If Ty was white, nobody would have said a thing. Color played no roll in hiring Ty, or in firing him.

nicely put. im sick of this thing getting a racist spin put on it. its ridiculous we are even talking about it that way. ty couldnt do the job, and he got fired-simple as that. ty looked like he was going the same way as davie did, and the university didnt want to go that way again and he got fired. thats all there is to it.

[tyordie7]

I can see how the racism thing is getting out of hand but Willingham was not a ad coach. He is better then anything they will get becuase no coaches trust Notre Dame anymore. We may have one of if not the most storied program, but they proved that they treat their coaches like dirt.

[NDLyght37]

Yeah, my thoughts are pretty well known on this issue, but here we go again...First off, I can't understand why anyone would say race was not a factor in this situation. Tyrone Willingham was not fired because he is Black...but he certainly wasn't granted the opportunities that many of his coaching colleagues are.

In America, race is always a factor. It might not be the deciding factor, but let's not act like it doesn't play a part in what happens.

Form all accounts, Ty was an excellent coach Sunday through Friday...and he was turning things around on Saturday. There is no reason Willingham should have been canned before getting a fourth year. We rolled the dice for Meyer, and it came up snake-eyes.

[QueensNY]

Originally Posted by tyordie7

I can see how the racism thing is getting out of hand but Willingham was not a ad coach. He is better then anything they will get becuase no coaches trust Notre Dame anymore. We may have one of if not the most storied program, but they proved that they treat their coaches like dirt.

Ty got 3 years. Thats very fair, considering the crappy job he did. We've been bad for 10 years now, we can't hang on to a crappy coach for two more years.

Zook got fired after two and a half years. And Florida has had plenty of recent success before Zook.

[lucky]

give me a break. Why is racism ALWAYS brought up. Nobody claimed racism when we hired him. He was fired because he didn't produce, not because he's black!!!!!!!!! If you win--you stay. If not----- you're gone.