Ara Parseghian, Hall Of Fame Notre Dame Coach, Dies At 94; Tributes Pour In

Ara Parseghian, a legendary former Hall of Fame football coach at Notre Dame and Northwestern, died early Wednesday. He was 94.

Notre Dame Coach Ara Parseghian Dies

Parseghian had recently been treated at a nursing care facility in South Bend, Indiana, for an infection in his surgically repaired hip, and then received round-the-clock care at his home in Granger, Indiana.

University of Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins said in a statement that Parseghian died around 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

“Among his many accomplishments, we will remember him above all as a teacher, leader and mentor who brought out the very best in his players, on and off the field,” Jenkins said. “He continued to demonstrate that leadership by raising millions of research dollars seeking a cure for the terrible disease that took the lives of three of his grandchildren. Whenever we asked for Ara’s help at Notre Dame, he was there.”

Parseghian helped lead the Fighting Irish football team to two national championships (1966, 1973) in 11 seasons. He abruptly retired after the 1974 season at age 51 with a record of 95-17-4. He simply said he was tired and prepared for a change.

Among the games Parseghian coached at Notre Dame was the so-called “Game of the Century,” which saw his top-ranked Fighting Irish tie No. 2 Michigan State 10-10 in 1966.

“We didn’t go for a tie; the game ended in a tie,” Parseghian told the Chicago Tribune in 2016 when reminded he was often criticized for letting the clock run out. “Christ, somebody ought to wake up to that.”

Several notable individuals and teams in the sports world, particularly college football, paid tribute to Parseghian on social media on Wednesday. Among those who paid homage were both Notre Dame and Northwestern’s football programs, Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer. 

Prior to his time in South Bend, Parseghian served eight seasons as Northwestern’s coach. There, he posted a 36-35-1 record.

Jay Robertson, who played center on Northwestern’s 1962 team, called Parseghian “a beautiful football strategist … who didn’t resort to gimmicks.”

“On Monday we’d go over the scouting report and Ara had you sold,” Robertson said. “His facts were straight and he had a machine-gun delivery: ‘Boys, they can’t cover this! And if they do, this will be open.’ You’d leave the room and say, ‘I don’t care who we’re playing, we’re gonna kick their butt!’

“He was a great communicator without having to say a lot. His technical knowledge was really strong, but in the end his greatest desire was to be the team that hit the hardest.”

Parseghian — who was also an assistant at Miami University in Ohio from 1950 to 1955 — is one of three Notre Dame coaches to lead the team to more than one national title. The other two are Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy.

“He could have shot down all of my dreams,” Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger told USA TODAY Sports of Parseghian.

Ruettiger’s story about his time with the Notre Dame football team was the basis of the popular 1993 film simply titled “Rudy.”

The late Hall of Famer also played two seasons as a defensive back for Miami University (1946-47) and two seasons with the Cleveland Browns (1948-49). His pro career was cut short because of a hip injury.

Parseghian was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

Parseghian began his broadcasting career as a color analyst for ABC Sports’ regional and national college football broadcasts in 1975, a job he held until he started working for CBS in 1982.

In 1994, Parseghian, his son and his daughter-in-law founded the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation with the purpose of helping to find a cure for Niemann-Pick Disease, a rare disorder that caused the death of three of Parseghian’s grandchildren.

“The pain of losing our three youngest grandchildren is almost unbearable,” he once said. “I think of other grandparents whose grandchild has recently been diagnosed with NPC. We will keep up the fight for them and all families afflicted with this terrible disease.”

Parseghian also sought out a cure for multiple sclerosis, from which his daughter Karan died in 2013.

Parseghian is survived by his wife of 68 years, Katie; son Michael and daughter Kriss.

EVANSTON, IL – OCTOBER 23: Ara Parseghian watches from the sidelines as the Michigan State Spartans take on the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 23, 2010 in Evanston, Illinois. Michigan State defeated Northwestern 35-27. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)