Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White and University President Father Edward Malloy stepped to the podium Tuesday to usher in the Tyrone Willingham era at Notre Dame. But when the off-camera interview session came around, both had questions to answer about the previous administration — George O'Leary's five-day reign.

This much is for sure: O'Leary resigned five days after accepting the Notre Dame coaching position after it was revealed that his biography contained inaccurate information regarding his athletic and academic achievements. Where the stories diverge is in how that resignation actually came about.

O'Leary has spoken publicly just once since his resignation — an ESPN Sunday Conversation with Mike Tirico that aired December 23. In that interview, O'Leary indicated that he was asked to resign. According to O'Leary, in the first conversation between the coach and White, the athletic director spoke of the damage done to O'Leary's credibility.

"At that time I said Kevin, 'Listen, the first thing I don't want to do is embarrass Notre Dame, the credibility of Notre Dame, and the job that he has done in trying to secure a coach and that if this is something that can't be controlled, I will tender my resignation,'" O'Leary said. "He said 'I'll get back to you in 10 minutes.' When he didn't call in 10 minutes, I had a pretty good idea there was a problem."

While White, Vice President for Public Affairs Lou Nanni and other Notre Dame officials contend that O'Leary offered his resignation without any prompting, the former coach sees the situation differently. "I was asked for my resignation, which, I wasn't going to fight," O'Leary said. "Kevin was very sick over it and we didn't spend much time on the phone discussing it. I don't hold any animosity toward Notre Dame at all."

O'Leary also said that he never actually wrote anywhere that he attained a master's degree, suggesting that information that has appeared in his biography since the 1980's began as someone else's misunderstanding. O'Leary also mentioned that on an application he filled out at Notre Dame the Wednesday after he was hired, he correctly described his graduate school study.

On Tuesday, White declined to comment specifically on the ESPN interview, but did give his version of the course of events.

"It was George's decision," White said. "George resigned four or five times to Lou Nanni before I ever got into the scene. I didn't even know he had a problem. George was really compelled emotionally just to step away. And that really didn't have anything to do with me. By the time I got to the issue, George wanted to resign."

White said that he would have preferred to have O'Leary fly back to Notre Dame and discuss the issue face-to-face, rather than accepting his resignation over the telephone.

"What I would have invited George to do is visit with Father Malloy and me and talk this thing out," White said. "But he wanted to resign. I'm heartsick. If you didn't feel bad for the O'Leary family, then there's something wrong with you."

Malloy's stressed that the University was as eager to accept the resignation as O'Leary was to tender it.

"We went forward and said 'we want to accept your resignation,'" Malloy said. "I think he was very straightforward when the issue was ferreted out that he was willing to resign if we wanted him to. So he did and we did."

Malloy pointed out that he was involved in the process from the point Nanni got a call from the New Hampshire newspaper revealing the inconsistencies in O'Leary's playing history to the point when the resignation was accepted. The inaccuracies about the master's degree were an obstacle Malloy could not ignore.

"You cannot operate in a university with claims about a false degree," Malloy said. "That's simply a boundry line that we cannot cross. We could have tried to finesse it but that simply would be not appropriate for the kind of school that we are."

After O'Leary's resignation, White received a great deal of criticism for hiring O'Leary without verifying his credentials. Some fans and talk show hosts have even called for White to be fired. Malloy said Tuesday that White still has his full support.

"Kevin and I are a team," Malloy said. "We've been a team from day one. I believe he's the No. 1 athletic director in the country. He's done great things here."

In fact, White has received supports from hundreds of people. He said he's been called by more than half of the Division I athletic director's since O'Leary's resignation and even got some words of support from comedian Bill Cosby.

"I couldn't get off the phone with him," White said. "That's how far-reaching the people were who called me. I got calls from athletic directors across the country and then Bill Cosby. I thought he was going to offer candidates and prospects, but he was just really disappointed about what transpired and how it transpired. And he has great, great love for Notre Dame. "

E-mail Noah Amstadter at namstadt@nd.edu

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