on the SIDELINES

Report: Notre Dame to meet with Utah's Urban Meyer\nNEW YORK -- Notre Dame has contacted University of Utah coach Urban Meyer about its coaching vacancy, and was to meet with him Thursday, The New York Times reported.\nThe school contacted Meyer, a former Notre Dame assistant, Wednesday, the newspaper reported, citing an unnamed source. The story did not say where the meeting would take place.\nJohn Heisler, Notre Dame's associate athletics director, would not comment to The Associated Press or say if athletics director Kevin White was in South Bend.\nUtah athletics director Chris Hill told the AP he wouldn't comment on the report, but that his school would attempt to keep Meyer, who helped make the Utes a high-profile team in just two seasons. This year, Utah is poised to become the first team from a mid-major conference to crack the Bowl Championship Series.\n"There's a lot of things we can do, and we'll do everything we can to make this right for Urban, Shelley and their family," he said.\nA message left with Meyer's assistant Thursday was not immediately returned.\nMeyer was the receivers coach at Notre Dame during 1996-00, leaving the school for his first head coaching job at Bowling Green State University.\nHe quickly turned around the Falcons, going 8-3 and 9-3 before moving to Utah in 2003. The Utes were 10-2 last season and are 11-0 this season and rank fifth in the nation.\nNotre Dame fired Tyrone Willingham as football coach Tuesday after he posted a 21-15 record in three seasons.\nMeyer received a contract extension last summer that included a clause allowing him to leave Utah without penalty if he is hired as head coach at Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame.