The Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship already impacting lives
With the Easter Weekend behind us, today is a perfect day during this spiritual and reflective time to recognize how our late senior editor and champion for others, Lou Somogyi, still gives back to the Notre Dame and South Bend community, even two years after his passing.
Ben Capdevielle had never even heard of Lou Somogyi, let alone carried any awareness of how ingrained the late Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor was with Fighting Irish football and the entire South Bend community.
In fact, when Capdevielle was asked about the financial assistance he received during the last two academic years from the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship fund, the Notre Dame junior struggled to pronounce the scholarship’s namesake. “So-moe-gee?” he inquired.
The fact that these two will never meet or become familiar is irrelevant.
Because the stories of gratitude Capdevielle humbly shared for the opportunities a few thousand dollars are providing him as a Notre Dame student, shows that he’ll never forget the financial aid he’s receiving on Somogyi’s behalf.
“Coming to Notre Dame, the opportunities are limitless,” Capdevielle celebrated. “You can do whatever you want and chase whatever dreams you desire. And this scholarship definitely made that possible for me. I’m forever grateful.”
Since the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship was established shortly after Somogyi suddenly died of a heart attack on April 17, 2021, the fund’s endowment has already swelled to $151,218, an increase of about $25,000 from this time last year.
To illustrate how many lives Somogyi touched during his 58 years with us, the scholarship fund was built from almost 200 individual contributions, ranging from $5 to $100 to $1,000 to $25,000 to $100,000, with varying amounts in between.
One donor cleverly made a donation of $88.88, an obvious reference to the 1988 Notre Dame national championship team that Somogyi was so entrenched with.
The generous $100,000 gift came from Coman Publishing Company. Somogyi and Stu Coman, the company’s owner, began working together in 2009 when the latter bought Blue & Gold Illustrated and BlueandGold.com.
Coman and Somogyi collaboratively improved the presentation and content of their magazine and website and built a strong working and personal relationship along the way that stretched well beyond any news office or football field.
Coman Publishing’s significant gift lifted the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship fund above the threshold necessary for aid to be assigned and appropriated to qualifying students.
“We planted the first seed, and the Blue & Gold community and other Lou fans then stepped up big time,” said Coman, adding that when the sports media conglomerate named On3 bought Coman Publishing Company in 2021, the new owners agreed to donate 10 percent of its subscription sales from BlueandGold.com to the scholarship fund.
Who gets it?
A 1984 graduate of Notre Dame, Somogyi began his college journey across the street at nearby Holy Cross College before transferring to the only school he ever wanted to attend.
And like Somogyi, Capdevielle was also a “gateway” student who began his studies as a freshman at Holy Cross in 2020-21 before transferring to Notre Dame as a sophomore in 2021-22, with the help of the Somogyi scholarship.
“Transferring and now being at Notre Dame has been such an incredible experience,” shared Capdevielle, 21, who grew up in South Bend where he attended Trinity School at Greenlawn. “I felt so well-prepared because of my time at Holy Cross, and so welcomed by Notre Dame coming over.”
And that’s the primary mission of the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship, to help Holy Cross students from the South Bend area make the transfer and transition to Notre Dame, in the same way Somogyi did 42 years ago and Capdevielle did two years ago.
The criteria hierarchy for the Somogyi scholarship looks like this:
• South Bend-area students who transfer to Notre Dame from Holy Cross College.
• Any student who transfers to Notre Dame from Holy Cross College.
• Any Notre Dame student who has a financial need.
Capdevielle, a political science major, along with Notre Dame junior, South Bend native and Holy Cross transfer Eric Zheng, an electrical engineering major, were the first two beneficiaries of the Somogyi scholarship, which will aid these two young men each year for as long as they’re enrolled at the university.
Capdevielle — whose parents and five siblings still reside in South Bend — said he’s set to graduate next spring, and when he does, his scholarship aid will be transferred to another qualifying student.
Notre Dame builds its scholarship funds from the interest and investment income earned off of the endowment amount, never touching its principal holdings.
“That way we can ensure and be certain that these funds will be supporting students in perpetuity,” said Rosie McDowell, the program director for Notre Dame stewardship initiatives with the university’s Department of Development.
McDowell, who serves as a liaison between the scholarship benefactors and a university financial aid department that assesses student needs and awards the funds, reported that in the two school years since the Somogyi scholarship was established (2021-22 and 2022-23), it has earned an estimated $6,200.
That aid was split between Capdevielle and Zheng, the initial two scholarship beneficiaries.
“Lou would be embarrassed by the creation of a scholarship in his name,” Coman said of his humble former colleague, “but very appreciative of its purpose and the support it has received.”
McDowell explained that the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship is one of about 2,500 scholarship opportunities offered through Notre Dame’s financial aid department (financialaid.nd.edu).
“We have one of the most stellar financial aid teams in the country helping students fill their demonstrated needs in full, and on a personal basis,” McDowell said. “And the Lou Somogyi Scholarship is another good example of that.”
What’s next?
Capdevielle explained how his transfer from Holy Cross was seamless and his two years at Notre Dame since have been more rewarding than he would’ve ever imagined.
Notre Dame provided Capdevielle the chance to study in Ireland at University College Dublin during the 2022 fall semester and to become involved in important community service projects the last two summers, the South Bend Center for the Homeless and the Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County.
Sound familiar?
When Somogyi wasn’t sharing his brilliance about Notre Dame football through words and prose, he was tirelessly giving back to a community he became rooted in and never left.
“We love Lou, and his sudden death was heartbreaking,” Coman added. “He was Blue & Gold, he loved Notre Dame and he knew more about the history of its football program than anyone in the world. He was also a very generous, kind and giving man.”
And Capdevielle plans to follow Somogyi’s same community-first course.
“South Bend has been so important to me,” Capdevielle said. “And it’s important to me to be part of a community, contribute to that community and let that be a part of my identity. Notre Dame has reinforced that as well.”
Coman spent decades leading his companies and troops with the belief that everyone is replaceable, but their goal should be making themselves hard to replace.
“I changed that statement after working with Lou for several years,” Coman shared. “Now I say, ‘Almost everyone is replaceable.’ Lou was the rare talent that cannot be replaced.”
Anyone who knew Lou would agree.
And the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship is a perfect way to celebrate his legacy and keep his memory alive for generations to come.
How To Give
Anyone willing can donate in a variety of ways to the Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship endowment.
Visit http://giving.nd.edu/Somogyi
Call (574) 631-5150
Mail donations to:
Notre Dame
Department of Development
1100 Grace Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
