Gerard Anthony Faust (May 21, 1935 – November 11, 2024) was an American high school and college football coach.
A self-proclaimed eternal optimist brimming with enthusiasm, Faust had visions of winning more games and national championships and coaching at Notre Dame longer than anyone else.
It proved to be a prophetic statement and his era at Notre Dame, initially referred to as "The Bold Experiment",[3] fell far short of expectations.
Faust's Notre Dame tenure started on a high note with a 27–9 victory over LSU in the 1981 season opener, one of the most widely anticipated games in school history.
Faust ended his stint at Notre Dame with a 30–26–1 record, never winning more than seven games in one season and never contending for a national title.
Despite his mediocre record and growing discontent among Irish fans, Faust was allowed to remain at Notre Dame for the entire duration of his five-year contract.
In 1983, the Irish opened the season with a 52–6 win over Purdue while his 1984 team defeated Colorado by a score of 55–14 and posted a 44–7 rout over Penn State.
In exactly half of Notre Dame's losses under Faust, the opposition scored the winning points late in the game.
With the team at 5–5 and the program rapidly unraveling after a 10–7 loss to LSU in the tenth game, Faust, who said he would never quit, announced his resignation effective at the end of the season and spared the university from having to fire him.
Dennison, who is the Akron career wins leader for football, was forced out by university president, William Muse and athletic director, Dave Adams.
Despite his unsuccessful coaching tenure at Notre Dame, Faust's love for the school never wavered and he regularly attended Irish home football games.