Golic Family Foundation keeps coming back to Notre Dame and giving back to South Bend

If timing is indeed everything, then the fifth-annual version of the Golic Family Foundation’s SubPar Classic charity golf outing and accompanying events made a shrewd move in moving up in the calendar to Notre Dame football’s Legacy Weekend.

Typically a summer event, the two-day fundraiser found a new landing spot in late April. And with hundreds of Irish football alumni and their families in town for the Blue-Gold Game and other Legacy Weekend events, the foursomes filled up fast for Friday’s golf outing at Notre Dame’s Warren Golf Course.

Ways to give back

But there are other ways to participate and to help the five local charities for which the Golic Family Foundation raises money.

“Even if they’re not out here on campus, we’ve got the silent auction that’s live all week and goes through Saturday night,” said former Notre Dame offensive lineman and current college football analyst Mike Golic Jr. “There’s a bunch of different memorabilia items in there.

“We’ve got signed balls and jerseys from Joe Montana. We’ve got ticket packages for the Miami game, for the SMU game. I think we’re going to have field passes for the Rice game, pregame for people, in addition to tickets for that one — a bunch of different other things. Concert experiences, stuff for people locally, with the dining scene and some opportunities with that. So, a lot of different things there.”

The auction items can be found at the foundation’s website: golicfamilyfoundation.com. Proceeds from the auction and other foundation events benefit five local charities — Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana, Logan Center, Cultivate Food Rescue, the Humane Society of Saint Joseph County and the South Bend Center for the Homeless. 

“There is a link on the website to donate just any dollar amount if there’s nothing that appeals to people in the auction or if the price point’s too high,” Golic said. “Any dollar amount helps.”

The ‘why’ behind the foundation

The Golic Family Foundation is 5 years old, but the family’s association with Notre Dame and the South Bend community goes back decades.

“I played at Notre Dame,” Golic said. “My brother [Jake] played at Notre Dame. My sister [Sydney] was a swimmer there. My mom [Christine] went to Saint Mary’s. My dad [Mike Sr.] and  his brothers [Bob and Greg] played at Notre Dame, including him and my uncle Bob both as captains and both as two-sport All-Americans, in wrestling as well.

“We’ve had roots in South Bend since the late 1970s on through the eras. And we spent so much time there. My parents now have a house and spend a large portion of the year living out there, and the one thing that we always reflected on was people who have been around the team, who have been to school there, understand the South Bend community is just as much a part of this situation and the support you get from around there.

“There are so many causes worth championing, but we understand at the local level, your dollar can go a little bit further. And so our goal with this was twofold. One, to try and raise money and extend the olive branch across campus to the community and try and help give back. And two, to bring back former teammates, fans, people that cared about this university, cared about the South Bend community, for a great time and some fellowship and some golf and a chance to get back to a place that we all really love.”