On eve of fall camp, Notre Dame football performance director Matt Balis resigns

South Bend Tribune
SOUTH BEND — Matt Balis, Notre Dame’s widely influential director of football performance, abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday, effectively immediately.
Citing “personal reasons,” Balis stepped down from a strength-and-conditioning role he overhauled since his arrival in 2017.
“I want to thank Coach Balis for all of the work he put into evaluating our program,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said in a statement. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for who he is as a coach and a man.”
The stunning news came in a university press release on the eve of fall training camp, which starts Wednesday morning.
When Freeman was promoted from defensive coordinator in early December 2021 after Brian Kelly’s departure for LSU, Balis was the one who announced the move to the team. An in-house video of the moment went viral.
With his gravelly voice and hard-driving style, Balis, a Chicago native and 1996 graduate of Northern Illinois, remained a focal point of in-house hype videos that showed the Irish players pushing their limits in the weight room and beyond.
Notre Dame wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey recently cited Balis’ inpact in general and on redshirt sophomore wideout Jayden Thomas in particular.
“Jayden Thomas has taken another step as well and taken ownership of his body, having to transform,” Stuckey said in a phone interview on July 20. “I think Coach Balis called him one of the strongest receivers that he’s ever been around. Coach Balis has coached numerous guys, Chase Claypool (of the Chicago Bears) and all kinds of guys that were big, strong guys.
“For him to say that about Jayden Thomas speaks volumes about his commitment to the weight room and how he has turned the corner as a leader as well.”
Balis, who also instituted daily mental health check-ins for Notre Dame football players, came to South Bend after three seasons at Connecticut (2014-16). He made prior stops at Mississippi State (2009-13), Virginia (2007-08), Florida (2005-06), Utah (2003-04) and Houston (2001-02).
Urban Meyer, the former Notre Dame assistant and three-time national champion at Ohio State and Florida, was a key figure in Balis’ rise after hiring him at Utah.
“While there is never a perfect time to lose a valuable teammate,” Freeman’s statement continued, “we are thankful that Coach Balis was able to see us through our summer program and have our players physically prepared to head into the upcoming season.”
Fred Hale, associate director of football strength and conditioning, will lead that department on an interim basis. Hale arrived in 2021 after prior stops at Eastern Michigan, where he was co-director of sports performance; the University of Tennessee and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
Fred Hale
“We have an innovative sports performance team who collaborated with Coach Balis and me in designing our program,” Freeman added, “and Fred will continue to implement that plan.”