SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Notre Dame Football announced today that Rickey Stevens has signed an NAIA Letter of Intent to continue his football career with the Falcons.

Stevens comes to College Road from Rochester, N.Y., where he was a standout running back for Gates-Chili High School and Head Coach Jason Benham. Stevens was a three-year letterman for the Spartans in football; he was also a member of the basketball team.

“It's not often a first-year program has the opportunity to sign a player with Rickey's talent and success,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Adam Howard.

Stevens accrued several honors during his senior season. Stevens was named Monroe County Player of the Year, All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year, and Offensive Player of the Year in Section V for the second straight year on his way to becoming the all-time leading rusher in Gates-Chili history with 3,934 yards and 35 touchdowns. Stevens was also awarded the 2009 National Football Scholar-Athlete Award by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Inc.

The son of Rickey and Jackie Stevens plans on beginning classes at Notre Dame in the fall and majoring in communications.

The development of a Football program at Notre Dame College was announced on Nov. 25. With their development of a team, Notre Dame becomes the only scholarship football team in the metropolitan Cleveland area. For information about the program and Head Coach Adam Howard, log onto www.NotreDameFalcons.com.

For media inquiries, contact Sports Information Director Skip Snow at 216-373-5319 or ssnow@ndc.edu.

Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Department of Athletics sponsors the Falcons' participation in 21 men's and women's intercollegiate sports. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC). In 2008-09, Notre Dame athletic programs rank No. 21 in the nation, based on the NAIA Director's Cup all-sports ranking as published by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).