Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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- The Fighting Irish redirects here, for the 30 Rock episode see "The Fighting Irish" (30 Rock episode).
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the varsity sports teams of the University of Notre Dame.
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[edit] Moniker
"They'll see the Fighting Irish are the Fighting Irish yet" -- Joyce Kilmer
Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with New York City's Irish Brigade, recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I. Though the Irish regiments and Kilmer were well-known, particularly in the urban ethnic community, during the era between the Civil War and World War II, Notre Dame's claim to the nickname is justified since its third president was a famous Irish Brigade chaplain whose ministrations at Gettysburg are commemorated in the "Absolution Under Fire," part of Notre Dame's permanent art collection.
Notre Dame athletic teams are known as the Fighting Irish (though students are called "Domers"). Previously, and especially during the Knute Rockne football era, Notre Dame had several unofficial nicknames—among them the "Rovers" and the "Ramblers," because of those teams' propensity to travel the nation to play its football contests, such as at the University of Southern California, long before such national travel became the collegiate norm. Later, Notre Dame was also, again unofficially, known as the "Terriers," after the Irish breed of the dog, and for some years, an Irish Terrier would be found on the ND football sidelines.
According to the University's website, there are several legends of how Notre Dame came to be the "Fighting Irish." One story suggests the moniker was born in 1899 (much earlier than the "modern era") with Notre Dame leading Northwestern 5-0 at halftime of a game in Evanston, Illinois. The Wildcat fans began to chant, "Kill the Fighting Irish, kill the Fighting Irish," as the second half opened. Another tale has the nickname originating at halftime of the Notre Dame-Michigan game in 1909. With his team trailing, one Notre Dame player yelled to his teammates—who had names like Dolan, Kelly, Glynn, Duffy and Ryan—"What's the matter with you guys? You're all Irish and you're not fighting worth a lick." Notre Dame came back to win the game and the press, after overhearing the remark, reported the game as a victory for the "Fighting Irish." Another possible origin is the violent 1924 confrontation between Notre Dame Students and faculty and the notoriously anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan in South Bend. This event is described in Todd Tucker's book Notre Dame Vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan.
The most generally accepted explanation is[citation needed] that the press coined the nickname as a characterization of Notre Dame teams in the 1920's as a result of preexisting Irish stereotypes, the widely reported events of 1924, and the grit, determination, and tenacity of Coach Knute Rockne's football teams of the era. Although Notre Dame alumnus Francis Wallace popularized it in his New York Daily News columns in the 1920s with respect to the university, as early as the Civil War Father Corby and the Irish Brigade of the Union Army had been dubbed "The Fighting Irish."[citation needed]
[edit] Football
The school has a comprehensive and nationally competitive Division I athletic program, but it is most famous for its football program. Notre Dame fielded its first football team in 1879. With eleven consensus NCAA football championships, over 800 all time wins, seven Heisman Trophy winners, famous head coaches, a 74.4% winning percentage and the most consensus All-Americans of any school, Notre Dame football is considered one of the most storied programs in the history of college football.
In addition to having the oldest university marching band in the country, the school has many rivalries in football, the most famous ones being with USC, Navy, Michigan State, Boston College, Army, Purdue, and Michigan. Notre Dame played in arguably the greatest and most watched college football game in history: the famous (or infamous) 10-10 tie against Michigan State at Spartan Stadium in 1966. Other Notre Dame rivalries include those with Stanford, and Pittsburgh. Former rivalries include a very intense rivalry in the 1980s with Miami, and a rivalry with Penn State, which was renewed and played on September 9, 2006, and again during the 2007 season. The football program is also known for ending the Oklahoma NCAA record winning streak of 47 games. The streak-ending game was 7-0 victory for the Fighting Irish on November 9, 1957. Incidentally, Oklahoma's 28-21 loss to Notre Dame to open the 1953 season was the last loss before the beginning of the streak.
Charlie Weis was appointed head football coach in December 2004, and since has lead the Irish's back to national prominence, taking them to a Fiesta Bowl appearance in his first season and a Sugar Bowl appearance in his second season as Notre Dame's head coach. On October 28, 2005, his contract was extended through 2015.
[edit] Basketball
Notre Dame has success in other sports also. The men's basketball team has made 28 NCAA Tournament appearances and made it to the Final Four in 1978. They are also known for ending UCLA's 88-game winning streak in 1974, a streak which had begun after Notre Dame had previously ended UCLA's 45-game winning streak in 1971.
Notre Dame's women's basketball team, coached by Muffet McGraw, also has made numerous tournament appearances, and won the National Championship in 2001 by beating Purdue 68-66.
[edit] Other sports
Notre Dame's women's soccer team won the National Championship in 1995 and 2004 and were the runner-up in 2006.
Notre Dame's men's and women's fencing teams have won multiple national titles as well - the men's team won titles in 1977, 1978 and 1986 while the women's team won the 1987 title. After the NCAA replaced the individual men's and women's national titles with a combined fencing championship, Notre Dame won national titles in 1994, 2003 and 2005.
Notre Dame's men's Hockey team won the CCHA Regular and tournament Championships in 2007 with a record of 28-6-3. They are the #2 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Men's Hockey Tournment, behind Minnesota, and are the #1 seed in the Midwest bracket.
[edit] Conference
Notre Dame is a member of the Big East Conference in all sports except for the following:
- Football, in which it maintains its status as one of a small handful of Division I-A Independents.
- Men's lacrosse, which is not sponsored by the Big East, and instead competes in the Great Western Lacrosse League.
- Men's hockey, also not sponsored by the Big East, competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
- Men's and women's fencing, also not sponsored by the Big East, competes in the Midwest Fencing Conference.
In 2006, Notre Dame finished third among Division I institutions in the fourth annual Collegiate Power Rankings released by the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA). The Irish were seventh on the overall list that included all the top academic and athletic colleges and universities in the country at the Division I, II and III levels.[1]
Duke finished first among all Division I schools, followed by Stanford, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Boston College, Michigan, Virginia, Army, Rice and Vanderbilt.
Notre Dame entertained the possibility of joining the Big Ten Conference in all sports in 1999, but the idea was met with fierce resistance from alumni and the student body even though the Notre Dame Faculty Senate voted nearly unanimously to seek admittance into the league. Ultimately, the school elected to maintain its football independence and Big East affiliation. Rumors of discussion amongst administration officials about changing Notre Dame's conference affiliation resurfaced in 2003, but no official action has been taken by Notre Dame or any conference.
Dr. Kevin White is the current Director of Athletics at Notre Dame.
