Gerry Faust, who was famously plucked from an Ohio high school to lead Notre Dame’s storied football program in 1981, died Monday, his family confirmed in a statement. He was 89.

Faust, who had no college coaching experience prior to replacing Dan Devine in what was dubbed the “Bold Experiment,” had a 30-26-1 record from 1981 to 1985. He guided the Fighting Irish to just one bowl victory, 19-18 over Boston College in the 1983 Liberty Bowl, and his teams lost at least four games in each of his five seasons on the sideline.

Despite Notre Dame’s mediocre stretch during his tenure, Faust was grateful for the unlikely opportunity to live out his dream by coaching the Fighting Irish.

“I only had 26 miserable days at Notre Dame, and that’s when we lost,” Faust told the Los Angeles Times in 2008. “Other than that, I was the happiest guy in the world. If I had the opportunity to do it again and knew the results would be the same, I’d do it again in a minute.”

The son of a successful high school coach in Ohio, Faust had grown up dreaming about playing at Notre Dame. At an early age, Faust told anyone who would listen that he was going to play football for the Irish.

“I’d loved Notre Dame as long as I can remember,” Faust wrote in his book, “The Golden Dream.” “When I was in the fifth or sixth grade, I’d ride my bike to practice with my cleats slung over my handlebars, my helmet on my head, whistling the ‘Notre Dame Victory March.’ Even in the fourth grade, I knew what I wanted and I wasn’t bashful about telling others.”

As a high school senior, Faust visited Notre Dame the day before the season finale against USC. Back then, recruiting rules allowed college teams to work out recruits. Faust was one of 18 quarterbacks on campus that day, according to his book.

“I was about eighth in line,” Faust said. “After I saw the first seven throw the football, I knew I couldn’t play football at Notre Dame. They were too good. My next dream was to be the coach at Notre Dame.”

Notre Dame offered Faust a partial scholarship, but he didn’t accept it because he didn’t want to burden his parents with the cost of tuition. He played quarterback at the University of Dayton from 1955 to ’57.

In 1960, Faust started building a new football program with borrowed equipment at Archbishop Moeller High School, an all-boys Catholic School in the Cincinnati suburbs. From 1962 to 1980, Faust’s teams had a 174-17-2 record (.906 winning percentage), and went unbeaten in seven seasons. They captured nine state championships and four national titles.

In 1977, Faust wrote a letter to Edmund P. Joyce, Notre Dame’s executive vice president, and expressed his interest in coaching the Fighting Irish if the job opened one day. Cleveland Browns co-founder Paul Brown later wrote Faust a recommendation, and Faust’s lawyer, Ken Schneider, sent Joyce newspaper clippings about Moeller High’s accomplishments.

Three years later, Joyce called Faust and asked to meet him at a Cincinnati hotel. It was in the middle of May, and Joyce confided in Faust that Devine was thinking about stepping down because of his wife’s ailing health.

In the initial meeting, Joyce told Faust that he had one concern about hiring him: He had never recruited high school players, which was the lifeblood of every college football program. Faust told him that he’d watched Joe Paterno, Bear Bryant, John Robinson and other college coaches recruit his Moeller High players for 18 years.

Devine announced on Aug. 15, 1980, that he would retire at the end of the season.

The day after Faust guided Moeller High to a 30-7 victory over Massillon Washington High in the state championship game, he was hired as Notre Dame’s new head coach.

“He was totally dedicated to Notre Dame, almost with a passion, and he was terribly enthusiastic, totally optimistic,” then-Notre Dame president Theodore Hesburgh wrote in his book, “God, Country, Notre Dame.” “He was the high school football coach with the best record in the country, and [Joyce] and I thought it was worth taking a chance on him.”

When Faust saw Notre Dame’s schedule for 1981, he said, “I hope my lifelong dream doesn’t end in a nightmare.”

Unfortunately for Faust and the Fighting Irish, his tenure was more of a nightmare. Notre Dame defeated LSU 27-9 in Faust’s first game and ascended to No. 1 in the AP poll. It was the peak of his five-year tenure. The Fighting Irish dropped four of their next five games and finished 5-6.

Notre Dame went 6-4-1 in 1982 and 7-5 in 1983 and 1984.

Joyce and Hesburgh had promised Faust they’d give him five years to build a program and stood by him, despite mounting pressure from alumni and fans to dump him.

The Irish lost three of their first four games in 1985. In a 10-7 loss to LSU on Nov. 23, 1985, Irish receiver Tim Brown dropped a pass across the middle that might have put his team in position to win the game. Brown was inconsolable in the locker room, and Faust knew it was time for his tenure to end.

“Tim, you didn’t cost us the game,” Faust told him. “You wouldn’t have had to catch the ball if I’d made the right decisions. Don’t put that burden on you. That burden should be on me.”

With a 5-5 record, Faust announced his resignation on Nov. 26, 1985. The Irish lost to Miami 58-7 in his final game.

“If you’re ever going to put the blame somewhere, put it on the coach,” Faust said at the news conference announcing his resignation. “That’s where it ought to be. We got started on the wrong foot five years ago and never did bail out of the thing.”

Faust coached at the University of Akron for nine seasons (1986 to ’94), posting a record of 43-53-3. He worked as a fundraiser at the school before retiring in 2001.

Faust returned to Notre Dame often in his later years and was a mainstay in the press box on game days.

“Certainly, it was a highlight of his life to get the Notre Dame job,” Joyce once told ESPN. “It was the answer of his dreams from the time he was a toddler. The low part of his life is possibly not succeeding there, but he doesn’t let it get him down. When he’s going to be judged up above for his whole life, he might get more credit for the way he’s reacted to adversity than all the good fortune he had.”

Boston College will start Grayson James over Thomas Castellanos at quarterback against SMU this weekend, coach Bill O’Brien announced during his press conference Tuesday.

O’Brien said the decision is “what’s best for the team right now” and said Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled with that. He’s taken a couple days.”

James entered the game last week against Syracuse in the third quarter and helped lead a 37-31 victory.

Boston College hosts ACC leader SMU on Saturday, needing one more win to reach bowl eligibility.

Castellanos was just 2-of-7 for 14 yards with a touchdown an interception at that point in the game. James went 5-of-6 for 51 yards with a touchdown pass.

Castellanos has struggled at times this season, particularly in the passing game. James started one game earlier in the year in place of the injured Castellanos, going 19-of-32 for 168 yards with a touchdown and interception in a 21-20 win over Western Kentucky.

NEW YORK — Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for his first National League MVP award — after twice winning the American League honor — and is joined among the top three in NL voting by New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is a finalist for his second AL MVP in three seasons, joined by Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto.

Ohtani was unanimously voted the AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels and finished second to Judge in 2022. Ohtani signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December, but he didn’t pitch in 2024 following elbow surgery.

Ohtani would join Frank Robinson for the Cincinnati Reds in 1961 and the Baltimore Orioles in 1966 as the only players to win the MVP award in both leagues.

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes is a finalist in balloting for the NL Cy Young Award and NL Rookie of the Year. The 22-year-old right-hander becomes the fifth rookie to finish among the top three in Cy Young Award voting, after Mark Fidrych (1976), Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Dwight Gooden (1984) and José Fernández (2013). The only one to win both awards in the same year was Valenzuela in the NL.

Ohtani hit .310, stole 59 bases and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs exclusively as a designated hitter, becoming the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. He helped the Dodgers to the World Series title, playing the final three games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Ohtani would become the first primary DH to win an MVP award.

The top three finishers in voting for each of the major individual awards presented annually by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America were announced Monday night on MLB Network. Winners will be revealed next week.

Balloting was conducted before the postseason.

Ohtani would become the 12th player with three or more MVPs, joining Barry Bonds (seven) and Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout (three each).

Lindor batted .273 with 33 homers, 91 RBIs and 29 steals, while Marte hit .292 with 36 homers and 95 RBIs.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and 133 walks while hitting .322. Witt topped the big leagues with a .332 average while hitting 32 homers with 109 RBIs. Soto batted .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBIs.

Atlanta‘s Chris Sale and Philadelphia‘s Zack Wheeler are NL Cy Young Award finalists along with Skenes, who made his big league debut May 11 and went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts, striking out 170 in 133 innings.

Detroit‘s Tarik Skubal, Kansas City’s Seth Lugo and Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase are the finalists for the AL honor. Clase becomes the first reliever to finish among the top three in voting since San Diego‘s Trevor Hoffman came in second in 2006 NL balloting.

Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio joined Skenes as finalists for NL Rookie of the Year. Yankees right-hander Luis Gil and catcher Austin Wells are AL finalists along with Baltimore outfielder Colton Cowser.

Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt, Kansas City’s Matt Quatraro and Detroit’s AJ Hinch are finalists for AL Manager of the Year. The three NL finalists were all first-year managers with their teams: the Mets’ Carlos Mendoza, Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy and San Diego’s Mike Shildt.