Three years after the school made history in naming Tyrone Willingham its first African American head football coach, Notre Dame made unprecedented news again Tuesday when it fired Willingham with two years left on his contract.
The announcement sent shock waves through the college ranks and sent a signal that Notre Dame, which has won a record eight Associated Press national titles but none since 1988, is taking a new hard-line approach in the increasingly competitive, bottom-line world of college football.
"From Sunday through Friday, our football program has exceeded all expectations, in every way," Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White said at a news conference. "But on Saturday, we've struggled."
Notre Dame is 6-5 this year, and Willingham leaves with a three-season record of 21-15.
He started 8-0 his first season, prompting a "Return to Glory" T-shirt revival, but was 13-15 after that.
Historically, Notre Dame has allowed coaches to fulfill the terms of their contracts.
Gerry Faust, considered one of the least successful coaches in school history, completed all five years of his contract, as did Bob Davie, Willingham's predecessor. Faust was 18-15-1 after his first three seasons, Davie 21-16.
The rationale for firing Willingham?
"We just weren't manufacturing the momentum, the progress that we felt we needed to have, to move this program back to the elite," White said.
Behind the scenes, there had been a growing dissatisfaction among alumni over Willingham's performance.
Student groups had planned a campus rally Tuesday evening to call for Willingham's ouster.
White would not say whether the pending rally influenced his decision.
"I think what makes Notre Dame Notre Dame is the fact that people care about it and are so passionate about it and so emotional about it," White said. "At the same time, I'd like to think we tend to distance ourselves from making knee-jerk decisions and look at things over some reasonable time horizon."
The website ndnation.com, which is not affiliated with the school, hailed Tuesday's news with the posting, "Notre Dame renewed its commitment to excellence by firing head coach Ty Willingham and his staff."
Notre Dame's lopsided loss to archrival USC on Saturday night at the Coliseum marked the fifth time under Willingham that the Irish have been beaten by 31 or more points. Lou Holtz, who led the Irish to their last national title in 1988, never suffered a loss by that margin in 11 seasons.
