Sampson: For Notre Dame football, Shields Hall investment can be a game-changer (2024)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame didn’t name an MVP of the Blue-Gold Game on Saturday. Just as well. That usually goes to a player whose contribution is water under the offseason bridge anyway, not some foundational piece to the coming season. It’s not that the Irish didn’t have options at quarterback, defensive line or wide receiver, considering how the spring game finished. It’s just that none of them did as much for Notre Dame as a player who didn’t even suit up.

Roughly two hours before kickoff of the Blue-Gold Game, Benjamin Morrison stood under a tent outside the Guglielmino Athletics Complex, Notre Dame’s soon-to-be former football building. With his right arm in a sling following offseason shoulder surgery, this was how the All-American cornerback contributed.

During a ceremonial groundbreaking to announce Notre Dame’s new football operations center, Morrison spoke after two athletic directors (Pete Bevacqua and Jack Swarbrick) and one head coach (Marcus Freeman). Dozens of former players watched from outside the ropes. University dignitaries watched from inside them. And Morrison made the best case why the Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall mattered more than any intra-squad scrimmage could, even one that sets the table for Notre Dame’s expected run into the 12-team College Football Playoff.

“Facilities do matter,” Morrison said. “And as one of the premier academic athletic programs in the country, Notre Dame must be on the cutting edge in everything that we do.”

Building for the future ✨

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A group of former @NDFootball student-athletes led by linebacker Jack Shields will provide generous support for a new Fighting Irish football facility → https://t.co/6EUdsXiZ0A#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/67xehjvjQQ

— The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) April 20, 2024

Morrison recounted his own recruitment, how he almost headed home after a spring visit before asking Freeman to show him the Irish Athletic Center. The brand new indoor facility made an impression in style and substance. Both stuck. Morrison committed soon after. A year from now he’s almost certain to be hearing his name called in the opening rounds of the NFL Draft.

But that development process happened at Notre Dame — not Alabama or Washington — in part because of the brick and mortar Morrison saw back then.

“It was well lit, that huge Notre Dame logo was staring right at me,” Morrison said. “I was living the dream. As a recruit, going through the process of deciding on a school and where you spend most of your time, it does truly matter. It’s where we train and develop as a student athletes. It’s the place where we practice for competition and reflection on the type of athletic program we currently are in.”

Two years from now, Shields Hall is expected to open with 150,000 square feet of training space, nutrition services, offices, a team room and training facilities. Notre Dame offered little in its announcement on specifics, which is just fine. Shields Hall remains a blank slate, a potential game-changer for Notre Dame football that removes both a hurdle to excellence and an excuse for why the Irish can’t achieve more of it.

With an estimated price tag believed to push nine figures, it’s the biggest bet Notre Dame has made on football in a generation because it could let the program get ahead in the arms race around the sport. Notre Dame can stick its chest out about the Campus Crossroads project and the Irish Athletic Center. And it does. But the former was a university project, not a football focused one. The second was arguably a decade overdue. It leveled a playing field for Notre Dame football. It didn’t tilt anything in its favor.

That’s where Shields Hall can be different as a chance for Notre Dame to pull ahead of the sport’s heavyweights, not just catch up to them. In training and recovery, the Irish can now lead. The facility can lean into function while honoring form, the kind of touches that grabbed Morrison’s attention three years ago. It can also be a place that helps a player rehab from a shoulder surgery and potentially train to reduce the likelihood of that injury in the first place.

“To our recruits that are out there, this is a reflection of the commitment this university has to making sure that our football program and our student athletes have endless opportunities to have success,” Freeman said. “We tell these recruits in our meetings that we are going to give them every possibility to reach their full potential. And this building reflects that.”

The project is the latest commitment to Freeman, who’s been backed at every turn in the past year, from coaching contracts to facilities to recruiting investments. He’s earned that, maybe less for his win-loss record than his work around campus, graciously meeting with donors and flexing his emotional intelligence. He’s given Notre Dame a reason to back him.

As Notre Dame announced the new facility, dozens of formers players watched Freeman describe what’s to come. Three of Shields Hall biggest benefactors are former Notre Dame players. Shields played linebacker at Notre Dame. Donors Pat Eilers, a safety on Notre Dame’s last national championship team, and linebacker Dave Butler were also integral.

That kind of support doesn’t come naturally unless the head coach works for it, which Freeman has. The same may be true for Bevacqua, who’s already won over the donor class with his human touch and energy. These were not always default settings of the last administration.

Yes, winning costs a lot. But as Swarbrick has half-joked in the past, if you think winning is expensive, try losing.

While Notre Dame has always been committed to football, that pledge is peaking under Freeman and Bevacqua. The pendulum has swung back toward doing what it takes to win at the highest level. Maybe the grievances of Brian Kelly on his way out the door helped too, as few things can spur action more than a crisis, which is what Notre Dame’s all-time winningest coach bolting for another program represented.

Credit Notre Dame for taking advantage. Credit Freeman, too.

Freeman may still have plenty to learn as a head coach on game day. His first two seasons in charge have been littered with examples why. But in fortifying the architecture of Notre Dame football, Freeman is winning in a way Kelly either didn’t or couldn’t.

“If you’ve ever lost a recruit because of a facility, then that probably isn’t a loss,” Freeman said. “And so, I want to make sure that I answer that first, that our facility has never been a recruiting disadvantage for us.”

Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, that wasn’t good enough.

As Morrison said, facilities matter. Perhaps they didn’t matter enough at points during the past two decades. They will now. The next Morrison won’t get away without seeing what the Irish are building. Because it’s something everyone will want to show off for good reason and greater expense. It should be worth the investment.

(Photo: Joseph Weiser / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)