ALUMNI
Generations Pulling Together
Notre Dame Men’s Rowing has one of the most loyal and connected alumni communities at Notre Dame.
The reason is simple: you do not spend years waking before sunrise, carrying boats through the cold, racing in the rain, pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do, and learning to move as one without forming bonds that last.
The friendships forged on the St. Joseph River do not end when a rower takes his final stroke for Notre Dame.
They become something bigger.
Across generations and across the country, Notre Dame Rowing alumni remain connected to one another and to the team they helped build. They are leaders in business, medicine, law, engineering, finance, the military, education, public service and countless other fields. They mentor younger alumni. They open doors for graduating rowers. They offer advice, introductions and opportunities.
And they come back.
Joe Schwartz ’02
Joe Schwartz ’02 has served as a Navy Flight Surgeon since 2005. Rowing for Notre Dame from 1998 to 2001, he credits the sport with preparing him for the high standards and teamwork demanded by his time with the Navy’s elite Blue Angels.
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“Nothing prepared me better or is more relatable to my time on another high-accountability team, the Blue Angels, than ND Crew. Two centers of excellence,” he reflects.
The lessons of rowing—discipline, teamwork, resilience, and striving for excellence—have guided Joe throughout his career. “Rowing trains you in self-sacrifice, personal accountability, and striving for personal excellence in pursuit of unit perfection, knowing you may never get there,” he says.
He recalls fondly “walking a Texas V8 in Tennessee one fine fall day” and the camaraderie of road trips, long drives, and competition on a shoestring budget. “Hands down hardest sport out there,” he says. “It taught me how to push through limits, how to lead, how to follow, and the joy of the swing. Pure team mentality.”
Inspired by his father’s Navy service, friends in the Marine Corps, and a love of aviation, Joe continues to embody the values forged in the boathouse. His advice to current rowers: “Study what makes you happy. Enjoy your short time at Notre Dame and on your team. From those bridges you’ll maintain for the rest of your life.”
John Younger ’85
If you want proof that the discipline forged on the St. Joseph River translates to the cutting edge of global innovation, look no further than John Younger ’85.
As a former Notre Dame Rowing captain, John pushed his limits far beyond collegiate competition, ultimately reaching
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the absolute pinnacle of the sport as a member of the U.S. National Rowing Team. His competitive drive remains just as fierce today. He is an active member of the Marin Rowing Association and regularly races at the Head of the Charles Regatta, most recently helping the Men's Veteran Eights [60+] crew capture second place in 2025.
That same drive for elite performance defines his professional life. A lifelong innovator who studied Math and Computer Science at Notre Dame before attending MIT Sloan, John is a serial tech entrepreneur with six successful ventures and multiple patents to his name. Today, he leads AI-driven recruiting companies HireMojo and RecruiterShare, while actively mentoring startups and championing diversity in tech.
For current rowers, John’s legacy is a powerful reminder: the same relentless pursuit of excellence that propels a shell on the water can build the technologies of the future—and keep you competitive on the racecourse for a lifetime.
ONCE A ROWER. ALWAYS A ROWER.
Every fall, generations of Notre Dame rowers return to campus for Alumni Row Weekend.
They climb back into shells and race each other on the St. Joseph River. They reconnect with teammates they once trained beside every morning. They meet the young men now wearing Notre Dame across their chests. They gather for Mass, celebrate the program’s annual awards and traditions, and head to Notre Dame Stadium together.
For a weekend, decades disappear.
The stories get better. The crews get older. The rivalries somehow survive.
And another generation learns that Notre Dame Rowing is much bigger than the four years they will spend in the boat.
BUILDING THE FUTURE
In 2024, alumni and friends came together to establish Friends of Notre Dame Rowing (FONDR) and undertook one of the most ambitious efforts in the program’s history: creating a $2.5 million coaching endowment to help secure the future of Notre Dame Men’s Rowing.
The response was extraordinary.
Alumni, families and friends across generations rallied behind the program and have since exceeded that initial goal — ensuring that the opportunities they once received will be there for the rowers who follow them.
It was more than a fundraising campaign.
It was a statement about what this team means to the people who have been part of it.
YOU INHERIT THIS.
When you join Notre Dame Men’s Rowing, you inherit nearly seven decades of teammates.
Some raced before you were born. Some trained in borrowed equipment and beat-up shells. Some built the traditions you now take part in. Some wore the same monogram decades apart and may never have met — yet immediately understand something about one another.
They know what it took.
And someday, you will too.
The rower beside you today may become the person standing beside you at your wedding, helping you find your first job, taking your call twenty years from now — or climbing into an alumni eight next to you and arguing about who still has another 2,000 meters left in him.
That is the gift of this program.
You come to Notre Dame Rowing to race.
You leave with a crew for life.
Pride. Precision. Tradition.
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Visit the FONDR Website: www.fondr.org