October 20, 2025 // Diocese

Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Coach Stresses Education at Our Lady of Hungary School

Kasia Balsbaugh

Deafening chants of “Notre Dame! Notre Dame!” reverberated around the gym at Our Lady of Hungary Catholic School in South Bend. This doesn’t happen every Thursday morning. That day, October 9, the school had two special guests: Niele Ivey, head coach of the University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team, and the Notre Dame leprechaun mascot.

The event began with cheers and a pep rally led by Leprechaun McKenna and then featured a talk by Ivey, who shared her personal story and encouraged the students to take their education seriously.

Ivey grew up in St. Louis as the youngest of five children (and the only girl in the family) and the daughter of parents who instilled in her the importance of education. Ivey was the first in her family to go to college. She attended the University of Notre Dame, where she received a bachelor’s degree in history and played point guard for a basketball program that she would return to coach. During her playing career at Notre Dame (from 1996-2001), Ivey helped lead the Irish to a national championship in 2001 and was named a Third-Team All-American. She played for five seasons in the WNBA. Since taking over as the Fighting Irish head coach in 2021, Ivey has coached several All-Americans and brought Notre Dame to four consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.

“Basketball was my passion, so basketball opened up so many doors for me,” Ivey said while emphasizing how hard she worked in school to get the grades needed to attend a good college.

“I went to a grade school that looked just like this,” Ivey told the students at Our Lady of Hungary School. “It was a very small school. I had to wear a uniform, so I did exactly what you guys are doing right now. So, I’m here to encourage you with my story to tell you if you believe in yourself, if you work hard, you can go to college as well. You can achieve the same things that I’ve achieved.”

Father Ben Landrigan, pastor of Our Lady of Hungary Parish, noted how excited the students had been for the visit, with several of them preparing by watching clips of Ivey as a player and a coach.

“It was very special for them to hear her, and then the message she gave was really inspiring,” Father Landrigan told Today’s Catholic. “I think it probably spoke right to them and encouraged them to strive to work hard in school and make it to college.”

The students weren’t the only focus at the event – the teachers were also celebrated. First-grade teacher Yadira Martinez-Alonzo was awarded $1,000 for classroom supplies from the College Football Playoff Foundation’s Extra Yard for Teachers initiative.

“For our teachers, it’s really nice for them to be recognized and appreciated in the way they were in the ceremony today,” Father Landrigan said. “They do a lot of hard work that doesn’t get noticed very often in a public manner.”