About Fighting Irish Preview

Phil Houk, Founder and Executive Editor of Fighting Irish Preview heading to work, September 2023. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire)

America’s Foremost Authority Since 1997

Fighting Irish Preview was born in 1997 as the dream of Phil Houk.  Phil has covered sports in Fort Wayne, Indiana since 1993 and is a native of South Bend.  He grew up three doors down from Knute Rockne’s house in South Bend, and three blocks from Ara Parseghian’s home.   Phil came up with an idea for a weekly radio program and suggested it to long time acquaintance Tim Prister, and Fighting Irish Preview was born. Since its humble beginning as a 15 minute local radio show in Fort Wayne Indiana, Fighting Irish Preview has grown into a multimedia organization. The FIP Podcast, FightingIrishPreview.com, X, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube; Fighting Irish Preview is wherever you want to find outstanding, FREE coverage of Notre Dame football.

Tim Prister is a lifelong resident of South Bend and graduate of Notre Dame. He was a varsity baseball player at ND and started covering Notre Dame football on a daily basis upon graduation in 1982. Today he serves as the Senior Editor of Irishillustrated.com on the 24/7 Sports network.   On the Fighting Irish Preview podcast, Tim is billed as “America’s Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football”, quite simply, because he is. 

Phil Houk and Tim Prister: October, 2023. (Photo by Chad Ryan)

Len Clark – Contributor

​In 2019,  Phil Houk of Fighting Irish Preview greatly increased his output of written stories with a focus on the current seasons and the history of ND football. Phil also teamed up with veteran journalist and noted expert on cutting edge media technologies, Len Clark of Irish 101.  Among other projects Phil and Len collaborated on were live game day video analysis  via Facebook Live and the IRISH 101 GAMEDAY video preview program which was posted on IrishIllustrated.com and other online outlets each Friday afternoon during the season.  Len continues to serve as a consultant and occasional contributor to FIP.

Chad Ryan – Photo Journalist/Executive Editor of Multimedia

Providing photos and other multimedia content for Fighting Irish Preview is noted photojournalist, Chad Ryan. Chad is an award winning photographer who has shot everything from youth football to the Super Bowl and many events in between including Notre Dame football . Based in Fort Wayne, his work is known far and wide. His photos have appeared in many national publications including Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, ESPN the Magazine, USA Today and the New York Times. Some of Chad’s work can be seen here.

Chad Ryan

AJ Houk-Photo Journalist/Director of Brand Strategy

Based in New York City, AJ Houk, is a former college football player with a lifelong love of Notre Dame football. AJ has been a Fighting Irish consultant for many years. He brings to Fighting Irish Preview years of experience in social media and has won several national awards in the industry. AJ also is a talented photographer with great instincts for what makes for a good football picture.

AJ Houk

Site Design and Meta

In 2021 Fighting Irish Preview greatly expanded its web presence by partnering with 1st and Goal Web Solutions, a Fort Wayne based web development Company.

Frank Pomarico – Contributor

In 2022 Frank Pomarico, Captain of the 1973 National Champion Irish and author of Ara’s Knight’s: Ara Parseghian and the Golden Era of Notre Dame Football, joined Fighting Irish Preview as an correspondent to write about the lessons learned during his life as a Notre Dame Football player. Frank’s series is known as the “Captain’s Corner”.

Frank Pomarico
And here is a photo of Frank in action, #56. QB Tommy Clements over the top.