Contrary to revisionist opinion, though, [Edward A. Malloy] did not shove [Lou Holtz] out the door to commence de-emphasis, either. Through 18 football seasons as Notre Dame president, Malloy employed Holtz for 10 of them.

ND was more than a football school during Malloy era A front-page photograph Saturday showed outgoing University of Notre Dame president Rev. Edward A. Malloy at the unveiling of his official portrait. In the sports section, Irish women's soccer player Mary Boland posed with President Bush at a White House ceremony honoring the national championship team. That picture illustrated Malloy's legacy too. Notre Dame's athletic department experienced a transformation in his 18 years at the helm, most of it not televised on NBC. National titles in women's soccer and basketball provide a testament to how far and how fast Irish sports have expanded. Requiem for the long lost wrestling program offers a reminder that the growth did not come without a price that exceeded even the ever-increasing cost of scholarships. But most of the last two decades have involved considerable investment in coaching salaries, grants-in-aid and facilities, not all of it with Frank Eck's money. Notre Dame is not just a football school anymore, at least not in the corridors of the athletic department. And somewhere an old-school fan groans. Maybe men's basketball matters between signing day and spring practice, but everything else is gym class. On the contrary, Malloy and the athletic directors under his supervision from Dick Rosenthal to Mike Wadsworth to Kevin White recognized the value in a broad-based, successful athletic department. So they built one. Not just on the women's side for the sake of Title IX compliance. Men's soccer has started rising in the national rankings and the baseball team returned to the College World Series in 2002. - Jason Kelly; Photo: transbar.gif