He grew up in East Lansing. While attending Notre Dame in the mid 1970s, his next door neighbor, Jack Breslin, shared a story with him about the special relationship between Michigan State and the University of Notre Dame. The 1946 Spartan graduate and executive vice president of MSU noted that the Irish administration had played a prominent role in Michigan State College's evolution into a major land-grant research institution. It all had to do with aiding a Spartan application for membership in the "Western Conference" during the late 1940s. Mr. Breslin also offered comment on the University of Michigan's role in that transition. Unfortunately, while walking back to the Yardboy to finish mowing his lawn, those words were muffled by the idling engine. "And if Michigan had its way...."