Notre Dame College (Notre Dame College of Ohio or NDC) was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

college in

South Euclid, Ohio South Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb of Cleveland located on the city's east side. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,883. History The land currently comprising South Euclid was p ...

. Established in 1922 by the Sisters of Notre Dame as a

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

, it was

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

from January 2001 until its closure. The Sisters of Notre Dame ended their sponsorship of the college in 2023. In February 2024, the college announced it would be closing at the end of the spring semester, with agreements in place for existing students to complete their degrees at partner colleges and universities. The college ultimately closed on May 2, 2024. While the majority of Notre Dame's students were from Ohio, the student body represented 35 states and 21 countries in 2022. The college offered a number of extracurricular activities to its students, including honor societies, clubs, student organizations, and athletics. The college was a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) at the Division II level and fielded athletic teams known as the Falcons. Notre Dame was a member of the

Mountain East Conference The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 11 schools, m ...

(MEC), a Division II conference that began playing in the 2013–14 school year. Prior to joining the NCAA, the college competed in the NAIA as a member of the

American Mideast Conference The American Mideast Conference (AMC) was an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics that included eight member institutions in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Founded in 1949, it was known as the Mid- ...

. The official school and athletic colors were royal blue and gold.

History

Notre Dame College was founded in the summer of 1922 on Ansel Road in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

as a women's college under the guidance of Mother M. Cecilia Romen, SND. Later that year, Mary Evarista Harks, SND, became NDC's first president (1922–1943). In its early years the college had a faculty population of 9 and a full-time student enrollment of 13 women and 11 novices; in addition 30 students were enrolled in extension courses. On June 15, 1925, NDC conferred its first graduating class in the form of two-year teaching certificates. In the following year, 14 students received their bachelor's degrees and state certificates to teach in Ohio high schools; becoming NDC's first graduating class of four-year college degrees. In June 1923, the Sisters of Notre Dame leased along Green Road in South Euclid to build a new campus and purchased in 1924. Construction of the campus began in the fall of 1926 and opened on Sept. 17, 1928. The college later bought the in 1933. The college was originally located in a single building and expanded over time, Harks Hall was built in 1955 to house resident students with two other residence halls built in the 1960s. NDC constructed the Clara Fritzsche Library in 1971 and the Keller Center in 1987. Traditionally, the college was primarily a residential campus, but in 1978, Notre Dame College began to offer a program known as Weekend College, or WECO. Local residents whose schedules prevented them from taking classes during the normal work week enrolled in weekend college classes to earn a degree. On December 8, 1983, based on its architectural importance, Notre Dame College's historic Administration Building, built in 1927 in the

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

and other styles, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The building, designed by architect Thomas D. McLaughlin and built by contractor John T. Gill, originally housed the entire college. In the fall of 1991, Notre Dame's Master of Education program started, with the first class graduating in 1994. Although men had been allowed to enroll in certain programs, such as NDC's Law Enforcement Education A.A. degree program in 1969 and later WECO and master's programs, in 2001 the college officially became coeducational with its first full-time male enrollment. The college graduated its first co-ed class on May 7, 2005. After co-education, enrollment doubled from under 1,000 in 2001 to over 2,000 in 2010. In 2008, NDC began construction on two additional residence halls, North and South halls. The structures opened in 2009 at a cost of $15 million. The college announced in early 2024 that it would be closing at the end of the spring semester. This followed a few years of significant financial challenges. Before deciding to close, college administrators and trustees explored merging with

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

. After closing,

Lake Erie College Lake Erie College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Painesville, Ohio. Founded in 1856 as a female seminary, the college converted to a coeducational institution in 1985. History Lake Erie Female Seminary The semi ...

in nearby

Painesville Painesville is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Grand River, it is a northeast suburb of Cleveland. Its population was 20,312 at the 2020 census. Painesville is included in the Greater Clevelan ...

agreed to become NDC's "institution of record", preserving documents and other historical items.

Academics

Notre Dame College offered 30 majors and individually designed majors and had a total enrollment of 1,106 undergraduate students in fall 2020. The main academic and residential campus was located east of

in South Euclid. Notre Dame College offered

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

s, and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

s and was divided into five Academic Divisions: * Arts & Humanities * Business Administration * Education * Nursing * Science & Mathematics The college also had three special programs and two interdisciplinary programs. NDC offered 30 majors in its bachelor's degree programs. It also offered an Associate in Arts degree in Pastoral Ministry. and a master's degree in National Security and Intelligence Studies. In 2018, the college introduced graduate programs in Business.

Athletics

Notre Dame College's athletic teams were known as the Falcons, whose colors are blue and gold. The school sponsored 22 intercollegiate teams. The college was a member of the

(NCAA) at the Division II level. In August 2012, Notre Dame became a charter member of the

(MEC), a new Division II league that began play in the 2013–14 school year. The MEC, made up mostly of schools leaving the

West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) was a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but briefly had one Kentucky member in its early y ...

, also included another Ohio school and former NAIA member in

Urbana University Urbana University was a private university specializing in liberal arts education and located in Urbana, Ohio. In its final few years, it was purchased by Franklin University and was a branch campus of that university. History Urbana Universi ...

. It sponsored 16 sports, eight each for men and women. Notre Dame College previously competed in the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA) as a member of the

(AMC) from 1998–99 to 2010–11. The college began the transition process during the 2009–10 academic year as an NCAA candidacy institution and was granted provisional status for the 2011–12 academic year. In July 2012, the college received notice it was accepted as a full member starting in the 2012–13 academic year; as a full member the college is eligible for postseason conference and NCAA competition. During its time in the NAIA, the college was known for its men's wrestling program. The team won back-to-back NAIA National Championships in 2010 and 2011. In 2014, the school's second year of NCAA eligibility, Notre Dame College won the Division II national wrestling championship led by four-time national champion and undefeated wrestler

Joey Davis Joel Malcolm Davis (born December 29, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist and graduated folkstyle wrestler who currently competes in the welterweight division. As a wrestler at Notre Dame College, he was the only four-time ...

. The men's rugby team won the 2017

USA Rugby USA Rugby (formally the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby ...

men's collegiate Division IAA national championship, defeating UC–Davis, 40–20. The team also won the 2023 NCR (National Collegiate Rugby) DI national championship, defeating St Bonaventure, 33-10.

Men's

Sports that were sponsored by the MEC are in ''italics''. * ''

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

'' * ''

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

'' *

Bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

* ''

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

'' * ''

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

'' *

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

* ''

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

'' *

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

*''

Track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

'' *'' Cross country''

Women's

Sports that were sponsored by the MEC are in ''italics''. * ''

'' * ''

'' *

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

* ''

'' * ''

Softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

'' *

and

Water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

* ''

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

'' *''

'' *'' Cross country''

Notable alumni

Jarred Brooks Jarred Brooks Ford (born May 2, 1993) known professionally as Jarred Brooks, is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in ONE Championship, where he is the former ONE Strawweight World Champion and former Interim ONE ...

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

fighter *

Marye Anne Fox Marye Anne Payne Fox (9 December 1947 – 9 May 2021) was an American physical organic chemist and university administrator. She was the first female chief executive of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In April 2004, Fo ...

- physical organic chemist, university administrator *

Cody Garbrandt Cody Ray Allen Garbrandt (born July 7, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. Backg ...

fighter * Dorothy Schmitt Gauchat -

Catholic Worker ''The Catholic Worker'' is a newspaper based in New York City. It is published seven times a year by the flagship ''Catholic Worker'' community in New York City. It focuses on themes such as social justice, Catholic social teaching, pacifism, and ...

; co-founder of Our Lady of the Wayside (Avon, Ohio), a home for children with severe disabilities; and foundress of the Colette Marie Infant Hospice for children with HIV/AIDS *

Mary Beth Ruskai Mary Beth Ruskai (February 26, 1944 – September 27, 2023) was an American mathematical physicist and professor of mathematics with interest in mathematical problems in quantum physics. She was a Fellow of the AAAS, AMS, APS, and AWM. Educatio ...

- Mathematical physicist *

Chris Via Chris Via (born March 9, 1992) is an American professional ten-pin bowler from Springfield, Ohio known for winning the 2021 U.S. Open. Chris uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. He competes in events on the PBA ...

- professional bowler on the

PBA Tour The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for tenpin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Headquartered in Mechanicsville, Virginia, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Reg ...

, winner of the 2021

U.S. Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

Mary Helen Washington Mary Helen Washington (born January 21, 1941) is an African-American literary scholar who is the author of numerous books on the African-American female experience. She is best known for her influence on increasing representation of Black authors ...

- English professor

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control * Catholic universities and colleges in Ohio Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges in Cuyahoga County, Ohio School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Universities and colleges established in 1922 Educational institutions disestablished in 2024 1922 establishments in Ohio 2024 disestablishments in Ohio Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Defunct private universities and colleges in Ohio Defunct Catholic universities and colleges in the United States

History

Academics

Athletics

Men's

Women's

See also

Notable alumni

References

External links