Buckeye Youth Football Association (Medina, OH)

According to Hlavacek, Notre Dame will begin recruiting now, with a 2009 leadership class forming the backbone of the startup program. The College will look to hire a head coach over the winter of 2008-09.  Based on further study and the success of initial recruitment, the Falcons could play a club schedule in 2009.  Play in an intercollegiate schedule would begin in the fall of 2010.

Hlavacek indicated the announcement was made after months of due diligence in investigating the matter with various elements of the College.

Notre Dame President Dr. Andrew P. Roth indicated that football would be leveraged as part of the long-term success of the College:  “The time is right for football at Notre Dame College.  It helps foster a full college experience and further develops the campus atmosphere we’ve striving to create.  Falcon football will also be a vehicle to build even closer relationships with our alumni and with the Greater Cleveland community.

With their development of a team, Notre Dame becomes the first scholarship football team in the metropolitan Cleveland area. Further details will be announced by the Notre Dame Department of Athletics at a later date. For more information, contact sports information director Skip Snow at 216.373.5319 or ssnow@ndc.ed. 

Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Department of Athletics sponsors the Falcons' participation in 18 men's and women's intercollegiate sports. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC). In 2007-08, Notre Dame athletic programs ranked in the nation’s Top-50, based on the NAIA Director’s Cup all-sports ranking as published by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Their website is www.notredamefalcons.com