Now in its 95th official season of connecting Notre Dame men through service and sparring, Bengal Bouts and its four senior captains look to build on the club’s historic legacy.
Boxing at the University of Notre Dame can trace its roots all the way back to 1912 with legendary head football coach Knute Rockne. While still a student-athlete in South Bend, Rockne created the boxing program as an offseason training regimen for football. Over the next 15 years, the team would compete intercollegiately, before becoming an annual intramural event in 1927. The program and its mission were formalized in 1931 under Rockne’s successor Hunk Anderson and student boxer Dominic “Nappy” Napolitano, when tickets were sold with the proceeds being sent to Holy Cross missions in the impoverished South Asian nation of Bangladesh.
A 1955 Sports Illustrated column noted that Napolitano’s leadership “established the ideal atmosphere of sportsmanship, safety and lack of any commercial taint,” which has been carried on for nearly a century through the diligent work both in and out of the ring by club captains. This year’s four senior captains have teamed up to set historic fundraising goals for Bangladesh, organize and promote the tournament and a corresponding Alumni Weekend, as well as lay the groundwork for the future by teaching the culture and technique to the next generation of boxers.
No boxer has had a more unique journey to Notre Dame than Jack Lennon of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The 29-year-old russian major with a minor in history spent seven years following high school as a professional ballet dancer across the United States and in New Zealand before returning to complete his education.
Although he won’t be competing this year, Lennon serves as the technique captain, overseeing teaching the sport to the underclassmen. Lennon sees his experience with ballet as translating to the ring, saying in an interview, “I knew I needed some kind of sport to keep me active. As I’ve become a captain I’ve made an effort to work with the underclassmen, really emphasizing their footwork and head movement. In ballet you do everything to the left and the right, which helped me pick up the footwork and be able to teach the other guys.”
“Even though it’s an intense individual sport, we take a very team-oriented approach. Everyone is very welcoming and pushes each other to get better every day in practice,” concluded Lennon.
The fundraising captain is West Hartford, Connecticut, native Brooks McConnell, who has been involved with Bengal Bouts since his sophomore year. The finance and applied and computational mathematics and statistics (ACMS) double major who resided in Siegfried Hall on campus is also involved with the Student International Business Council (SIBC) and Venture Capital Club, utilizing his variety of economic experience to help coordinate all fundraising efforts of the group.
Speaking on his mental growth since joining Bengal Bouts, McConnell stated, “I enjoyed practices my sophomore year, but I was very hesitant to spar. My friends from back home didn’t expect me to be a boxer, but I fell in love with the grind after my first tournament.”
He continued to say, “It’s intimidating being on that island the first time you get in there. The biggest takeaway for me has been the mental preparation and fortitude you gain through responding from taking the punches.”
McConnell has also enjoyed seeing the spirit and energy amongst the group inside Dahnke Ballroom throughout past tournaments, adding, “I’ve been really inspired by the other past and current captains, and they have helped me become a better leader. I just try to be a friendly face, someone who is welcoming and a guy you can talk to in the pit and at Dahnke. I’m really going to miss the camaraderie we have.”
Will Robbins also took an unorthodox journey to boxing following his time as a drum major in his high school marching band. The computer science major from Fort Worth, Texas, lived in Knott Hall on campus, and is also involved with the Navy ROTC program. Robbins serves as the outreach captain, sending out monthly newsletters and organizing ‘Mission Mondays’ alongside Fr. Tom Eckert to inform the club and community of the service work executed by Bengal Bouts.
Robbins was granted a renewed sense of purpose within boxing following his visit to Bangladesh, saying, “It’s not the club that it is if you don’t understand the purpose. It would cease to exist if we were just punching each other. I was one of the boxers that saw firsthand what goes on in Bangladesh when we went two years ago, and to be able to establish relationships with the Holy Cross brothers there allowed me to communicate the mission with the rest of the guys.”
He also expressed his appreciation of the collective attitude of all in the group, stating, “When you’re doing something like this every day, there is no way to not get closer. I’ve gotten to know everybody very well, and the other captains have become some of my best friends.”
Convinced to give boxing a try by his freshman year Moreau instructor, Erick Valdez coordinates photography, videography and communications as the social media captain. Originally from El Paso, Texas, the aerospace engineering major who lived in Dillon Hall spent two summers in Ecuador with the Engineering Without Borders chapter, providing him insight into the importance of the group’s fundraising efforts abroad.
An athlete all throughout high school, Valdez felt a void of purpose and meaning in his weightlifting routine throughout freshman year.
“There was something missing that was an integral part of my life. Both giving meaning to those tough workouts I was doing, as well as having people alongside me were big reasons I stuck with Bengal Bouts,” Valdez said on the value of team sports, expressing regret that he hadn’t participated all four years.
He also highlighted the joy he takes in mentoring the underclassmen, explaining, “Being able to be in a guy’s corner during spars and give him advice is one of the most special things about being a captain. And then seeing guys improve with that advice, that’s where the magic happens.”
The 95th annual Bengal Bouts tournament begins Monday, Feb. 17, with quarterfinals at 7 p.m. in Dahnke Ballroom atop the Duncan Student Center. The showcase follows on Wednesday, Feb. 19, before semifinals on Monday, Feb. 24, all starting at 7 p.m. in Dahnke Ballroom. The tournament will conclude following spring break with the finals being held inside Purcell Pavilion on Saturday, March 29 at 7 p.m., following an alumni reunion event the previous night.
