Stoic, unflappable, determined. These words have all been used to describe Notre Dame Head Football Coach Tyrone Willingham, who became the first African-American head coach in the history of the university and whose entire life has demanded poise under pressure, according to Fred Mitchell ‘69.

Mitchell, an award-winning sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune, chronicles Willingham and Notre Dame’s unlikely 10-3 season in 2002 in his latest book Tyrone Willingham: The Meaning of Victory.

“This book goes behind the scenes and listens to the voices of the people who helped shape the athlete, the coach and the man,” Mitchell explained. “From his roots in Kinston, N.C., to his playing career at Michigan State and his 18-year coaching odyssey that included stops at his alma mater, Stanford and the NFL, we observe how every assignment was for a purpose.”

The book, the fifth in Mitchell’s extensive writing career, also addresses college football’s deplorable record of hiring minorities as head coaches. His last book, titled Playing Through: Straight Talk on Hard Work, Big Dreams and Adventures with Tiger and co-authored with Earl Woods, Tiger Woods’ father, was published in 1998.