Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2018 61 WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? 1973-74, highlighted by snapping UCLA's NCAA-record 88-game win- ning streak. Branning's father, Richard, helped outline the most important elements for his son to assess on his visits. "It started with great academic tra- dition, playing in front of sell-out crowds, school spirit, a team that had a chance of winning a national title … are they on TV?" Branning said. "The No. 1 thing he emphasized to me was you need to have a great ed- ucation as a fallback plan. "On my visit to Notre Dame, it was like, check, check, check." The California-like weather and distance boxes were not checked, but Branning said he doesn't recall either even being a factor — even though it snowed in April during his visit. In his first college game ever, Bran- ning went against his idol — Mary- land's Brad Davis — and helped the Irish to an 80-79 overtime victory versus the No. 8 Terrapins in Cole Field House. Two weeks later, Branning returned to UCLA's Pau- ley Pavilion. In the closing seconds, he drove by the Bruins defense and, while getting fouled in traffic (no call), scored the game-win- ning bucket over Marques Johnson and Brad Holland (whom he grew up with in Huntington Beach), and clinched the 66-63 win with two free throws. It was UCLA's first non-conference loss at home in 115 games. Amazingly, Branning was 4-0 in Pauley during his Irish career. Notre Dame el- evated all the way to No. 2 that season, and in the home finale that season he tallied 14 points in a 93-82 win ver- sus No. 1 and 29-0 San Fran- cisco. During Branning's final three years, the Irish never fell below No. 14 in the As- sociated Press poll. BEYOND BASKETBALL Then suddenly, a Camelot- like college basketball career as a student-athlete was over while enduring personal set- backs. After a Final Four loss to Duke in 1978 and an Elite Eight defeat to Magic Johnson's 1979 Michigan State national champs, Branning saw his last hurrah close with a stunning first-round loss to No. 16 Missouri (87-84) in March 1980. It was after that game he learned in the parking lot that his father had cancer. Six weeks later, Branning's 52-year- old father died from melanoma, right before his son's graduation. A few months later, Branning in- curred mononucleosis in training camp for the Indiana Pacers and was cut. He played a year for Athletes In Action while sharing his Christian faith across college campuses, and also was ready for the "fallback" that his father had preached. He joined a top real estate develop- ment firm in California and in 1993 was recruited by 1963 Heisman Tro- phy winner Roger Staubach's highly successful real estate corporation. He's been with the operation — now known as JLL (Jones Lang La- Salle) — since then and is residing in Menlo Park, Calif., working as a managing director in the Silicon Val- ley office. "[Roger's] a good example of a guy who had just a marvelous athletic career, but it never defined who he was as a person," Branning said of the two-time Super Bowl champion Staubach. "He is very much about doing the right thing. We are in an industry that has a lot of financial motivation, and if it's not kept in check, even the most ethical, high- integrity person could get swayed if they don't have others around them that hold them to a higher standard. "Roger would repeatedly empha- size, 'Do the right thing for the cli- ent.' That will play out to your ben- efit in the long run, and it's the right thing to do. "When you join like-minded peo- ple, good things can happen. In any walk of life, you're going to need support from other people to stay true to who you are and what you want to get done." Branning has been mar- ried to his wife, Dianna (a former college volleyball player in California), for 31 years. They are the parents of four children: son Richard (28), daughter Kelli (26), who played basketball and vol- leyball, respectively, at Pep- perdine University, daughter Hannah (24) and son Royce (21), who will graduate from Notre Dame this May. Last Nov. 23, the Bran- nings welcomed their first grandchild when little girl Montana — "Not named af- ter Joe," Branning said with a laugh — was born to Kelli and son-in-law Connor. The same principles will guide her as have Branning. "It's not always did you get it done, but how did you get it done?" Branning said. "That's a deeper question where you want to say you did it the right way." At Notre Dame and be- yond, he can be secure in the knowledge that he has. ✦ Branning works in real estate and lives in Menlo Park, Calif., with his wife, Dianna. The couple has four children and a first grandchild, Montana. PHOTO COURTESY RICH BRANNING