Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

[edit] Distinctions

• The football program is tied with USC for most Heisman trophy winners at 7 (Ohio State has 7 Heisman trophies that were won by 6 players).

• It has also produced the most All-Americans, including consensus All-Americans(79 with 96 selections), and the largest number of players to go on to play in the National Football League of any program in the country, including 453 players drafted.

• Helped by its status as a highly regarded academic institution (ranked 20th by U.S. News & World Report) ^[3], Notre Dame is second only to Nebraska in Academic All-Americans (43).

• Notre Dame is represented by 46 players and coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, the most of any university.

• Nine former players are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, second only to USC(10).

• Since 1962, Notre Dame has graduated 98.74% of its football players in four years. As of 2006, only 13 football players in this time have left Notre Dame without finishing their degree requirements. Also of note is the 90% graduation rate of ND's African-American players (only Navy and Boston College have higher African American graduation rates)^[4]

• Notre Dame has had 12 undefeated seasons and 10 others with at most 1 loss or tie. Notre Dame has only had 12 losing seasons in 118 seasons of playing football.

• The football program is also known for ending the Oklahoma NCAA record winning streak of 47 games in 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.

[edit] History

[edit] The beginning (1887–1917)

American football did not have an auspicious beginning at the University of Notre Dame. In their inaugural game on November 23, 1887 the Irish lost to Michigan by a score of 8–0. Their first win came in the final game of the 1888 season when the Irish defeated Harvard Prep by a score of 20–0. At the end of the 1888 season they had a record of 1–3 with all three losses being at the hands of Michigan by a combined score of 43–9. Between 1887 and 1899 Notre Dame compiled a record of 31 wins, 15 losses, and 4 ties against a diverse variety of opponents ranging from local high school teams to other universities.

At the beginning of the 20th century college football began to increase in popularity and became more standardized with the introduction of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS) in 1906. That organization would become the NCAA in 1910. Notre Dame continued its success during this time and achieved their first victory over Michigan in 1909 by the score of 11–3 after which Michigan refused to play Notre Dame again for 33 years. By the end of the 1912 season they had amassed a record of 108 wins, 31 losses, and 13 ties.

Jesse Harper became head coach in 1913 and remained so until he retired in 1917. During his tenure the Irish began playing only intercollegiate games and posted a record of 34 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie. This period would also mark the beginning of the rivalry with Army and the continuation of rivalries with Michigan State.

In 1913, Notre Dame burst into the national consciousness and helped to transform the collegiate game in a single contest. In an effort to gain respect for a regionally successful but small-time Midwestern football program, Harper scheduled games in his first season with national powerhouses Texas, Penn State, and Army. On November 1, 1913, the Notre Dame squad stunned the Black Knights of the Hudson 35-13 in a game played at West Point. Led by quarterback Charlie "Gus" Dorais and end (soon to be legendary coach) Knute Rockne, the Notre Dame team attacked the Cadets with an offense that featured both the expected powerful running game but also long and accurate downfield forward passes from Dorais to Rockne. Though this game has been miscredited as the "invention" of the forward pass, it was in fact the first major contest in which a team used the forward pass regularly throughout the game. (Previously the forward pass was only used in comeback situations late in the game)

[edit] Rockne era (1918–1930)

Knute Rockne stamp

Knute Rockne became head coach in 1918 and ushered in one of the most famous and successful chapters in Notre Dame football history. Under Rockne the Irish would post a record of 105 wins, 12 losses, and 5 ties. During his 13 years the Irish won 6 national championships, had 5 undefeated seasons, won the Rose Bowl in 1925, and produced many legendary players such as the "Four Horsemen," and Terrance McFarland. Knute Rockne has the highest win percentage (.881) in college football history.

Among the events that occurred during Rockne’s tenure none is more famous than the Rockne’s Win one for the Gipper speech. George "the Gipper" Gipp was a very successful player on Rockne’s earlier teams who died of strep throat in 1920. Army came into the 1928 matchup undefeated and was the clear favorite. Notre Dame, on the other hand, was having their worst season under Rockne’s leadership and entered the game with a 4–2 record. At the end of the half Army was leading and looked to be in command of the game. Rockne entered the locker room and gave his account of Gipp’s final words: "I've got to go, Rock. It's all right. I'm not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are going wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock. But I'll know about it, and I'll be happy." The speech, although possibly fictional, inspired the team and they went on to upset Army and win the game 12–6.

The last game Rockne coached was on December 14, 1930 when he led a group of Notre Dame All Stars against the New York Giants in New York City. The game raised funds for the Mayor's Relief Committe for the Unemployed and Needy of the city. 50,000 fans turned out to see the reunited "Four Horsemen" along with players from Rockne's other championship teams take the field against the pros.^[5]

Rockne died in a plane crash in Kansas on March 31, 1931, while on his way to help in the production of the film The Spirit of Notre Dame. The crash site, located in a remote expanse of Kansas known as the Flint Hills, now features a Rockne Memorial.

Rockne was the subject of the 1940 film Knute Rockne, All American.

[edit] After Rockne (1931–1940)

Upon Rockne’s death Heartley "Hunk" Anderson took the helm of the Irish leading them to a record of 16 wins, 9 losses, and two ties. Anderson was a former Irish player under Rockne and was serving as an assistant coach at the time of Rockne's death. Anderson resigned as Irish head coach in 1934 and was replaced by Elmer Layden, who was one of Rockne’s "Four Horsemen" in the 1920’s. After graduating, Layden played professional American football for one year and then began a coaching career. The Irish posted a record of 47 wins, 13 losses, and 3 tie in 7 years under Layden, the most successful record of an ND coach not to win a national championship. He left Notre Dame after the 1940 season to become Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL).

[edit] Leahy era (1941–1953)

Frank Leahy

Frank Leahy was hired by Notre Dame to take over for Layden in 1941, and was another former Irish player who played during the Rockne Era. After graduating from Notre Dame, Leahy had a variety of coach positions including line coach of the infamous "Seven Blocks of Granite" of Fordham University that helped that team to win all but two games between 1935 and 1937. He then coached the Boston College Eagles to a win in the 1941 Sugar Bowl. His move to Notre Dame would inaugurate a new period of spectacular gridiron success for the Irish and would insure Leahy's place among the very greatest coaches in the history of college football.

Leahy would be the Irish’s head coach for 11 seasons from 1941 to 1943 and 1946 to 1953. He has the second highest winning percentage (.864) of any college coach in history. He led the Irish to a record of 87 wins, 11 losses, and 9 ties including 39 games without a loss (37–0–2), four national championships, and six undefeated seasons. A fifth national championship was lost because of a tie in 1953 against Iowa, in a game that caused a minor scandal at the time, when it appeared that some Irish players had faked injuries to stop the clock. Leahy retired in 1954 due to health reasons.

From 1944 to 1945, Leahy served in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant. Ed McKeever, Leahy’s assistant coach, became interim head coach while Leahy was in the Navy. During his one year at the helm the Irish managed 8 wins and 2 losses. McKeever left Notre Dame in 1945 to take over as head coach of Cornell University. McKeever was replaced by Hugh Devore for the 1945 season and led the Irish to 7 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie.

[edit] After Leahy (1954–1963)

The departure of Leahy ushered in a downward slope in Notre Dame’s performance, referred to in various circles as a period of deemphasis. Terry Brennan was hired as the Notre Dame head coach in 1954 and would stay until 1958. He departed with a respectable total of 32 wins and 18 losses. But note: the 32 wins included 17 in 1954 and 1955. Thereafter his record would be a mediocre 15–15. Brennan was a former player under Leahy and before joining the Irish had coached the Mount Carmel High School team in Chicago, Illinois and later the freshman squad at Notre Dame. His first two seasons were successful and the Irish were ranked 4th and 9th respectively. However, in the light of what would follow those first seasons, some observers began to wonder if Brennan's early success owed more to the residual effects of Leahy's coaching on Brennan's first two cadres than it did to any notable brilliance of his own. It was the 1956 season that began to darken his reputation, for it became one of the most dismal in the team’s history and saw them finish the season with a mere 2 wins, including crushing losses to Michigan State, Oklahoma, and Iowa. The Irish would recover the following season, posting not only a respectable record of 7-3 but including in their wins a stunning upset of Oklahoma, in Norman, that ended the Sooners' still-standing record of 47 consecutive wins. In Brennan’s final season, though, the Irish finished 6-4, acceptable at many places but a severe disappointment at Notre Dame. Brennan was fired in Mid-December and served as the conditioning coach for the Cincinnati Reds during spring training in 1959.

Fifty years after Brennan's appointment, one could look back at Notre Dame's hiring policies and notice a curious pattern: the recurrent hiring of inexperienced coaches in the wake of legends. Brennan following Leahy; Gerry Faust following the hall-of-fame tandem of Parseghian and Devine; and, finally, Davie following Lou Holtz. In each case the Irish had hired a youthful coach with no experience as a head coach, and in each case the choices led to bitter disappointment on the field

Joe Kuharich took over for Brennan in 1959 and to date remains the only Irish head coach to leave the team with a losing record. During his 4 year tenure as coach, the Irish finished 17-23 and they never finished better than .500 in a season. Hugh Devore once again filled in the gap between coaches and led the Irish to yet another lackluster season in 1963, finishing 2-7.

[edit] Parseghian era (Era of Ara)(1964–1974)

Ara Parseghian was a former college football player for the Miami University Redskins until 1947 and became their assistant coach in 1950 and head coach in 1951, after a two year stint playing for the Cleveland Browns. In 1956 he moved to Northwestern University, where he stayed for eight years. In 1964 he was hired to replace Devore as head football coach and immediately brought the team back to their former levels of success. In his first year the Irish improved their record to 9-1, earning Parseghian coach of the year honors.

It was under Parseghian, that Notre Dame had lifted its 40-plus year-old "no bowl games" policy, beginning with the season of 1969.

During his eleven year career, the Irish amassed a record of 95-17-4 and captured two uncontested national championships as well as the MacArthur Bowl in 1964. The Irish also had two undefeated seasons in 1966 and 1973, had three major bowl wins in five appearances, and produced one Heisman Trophy winner. Parseghian was forced to retire after the 1974 season for medical reasons.

[edit] Devine era (1975–1980)

Dan Devine was hired to take over as head coach upon Parseghian's retirement in 1975. Devine was already a highly successful coach and had led Arizona State, Missouri, and the Green Bay Packers. When he arrived at Notre Dame he already had a college coaching record of 120 wins, 40 losses, and 8 ties and had led his teams to victory in 4 bowl games. At Notre Dame he would lead the Irish to 53 wins, 16 losses, and 1 tie. The Irish were winners of 3 major bowl games and captured one national championship in 1977. Devine resigned as head football coach in 1980.

[edit] Faust era (1981-1985)

Gerry Faust was hired to replace Devine for the 1981 season. Prior to Notre Dame, Faust had been one of the more successful high school football coaches in the country. As coach of Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio he amassed a 174-17-2 record. Despite his success in the high school ranks, his success at Notre Dame was mixed and his record mediocre at best. In his first season the Irish finished 5-6. The most successful years under Faust were the 1983 and 1984 campaigns where the Irish finished 7-5 and made trips to the Liberty Bowl and Aloha Bowl respectively. Faust resigned at the end of the 1985 season to take over as head coach for the University of Akron. Faust was recently invited by head coach Charlie Weis to speak to the 2006 team at annual football awards banquet.

[edit] Holtz era (1986–1996)

Lou Holtz had 17 years of coaching experience by the time he was hired to lead the Irish. He had previously been head coach of William and Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, and Minnesota. Holtz began in 1986 where his predecessor left off in 1985, finishing with an identical record of 5 wins and 6 losses. However, unlike the 1985 squad, which was generally outcoached and outplayed, Holtz's 1986 edition was competitive in nearly every game, losing five out of those six games by a combined total of 14 points. That would be his only losing season as he posted a record of 95-24-2 over the next ten seasons adding up to a 100-30-2 docket overall.

In contrast to Faust, Holtz was well-known as a master motivator and a strict disciplinarian. He displayed the latter trait in spades when two of his top players showed up late for dinner right before the then top-ranked Irish played second-ranked Southern California in the final regular season game of 1988. It was not the first time that had happened, and the players had been warned there would be serious consequences if it happened again. Holtz stuck to his guns, sending the two players home despite the fact that they had been contributors to the team's success. His move was vindicated when the Irish defeated USC anyway.

Holtz was named national coach of the year (Paul "Bear" Bryant Award) in 1988, the same season he took Notre Dame to an upset of #1 Miami in the Catholics vs. Convicts series and a win over West Virginia University in the Fiesta Bowl, thus capturing the National Championship. His 1989 and 1993 squads narrowly missed repeating the feat. Overall, he took Notre Dame to one undefeated season, 9 consecutive New Year’s Day bowl games, and top 10 finishes in the AP poll in five seasons. Holtz resigned from Notre Dame in 1996.

[edit] Davie/Willingham era (1997–2004)

Bob Davie, who had been Holtz's defensive coordinator from 1994 to 1996, was promoted to head coach when Holtz departed Under his watch, the team suffered three Bowl losses (1997 Independence Bowl, 1998 Gator Bowl, 2000 Fiesta Bowl) and failed to qualify during two seasons, 1999 and 2001. The highlight of Davie's tenure was an 36-20 upset win in 1998 over Michigan, the defending "national champion." Davie also helmed the thrilling 25–24 victory over USC at Notre Dame Stadium in 1999. The aforementioned 2000 Fiesta Bowl was Notre Dame's first invitation to the Bowl Championship Series. The 2001 squad was awarded the American Football Coaches Association Achievement Award for its 100% graduation rate.

Following the 1998 season, the team seemed to go into an up-and-down pattern, alternating between successful and mediocre seasons. Davie was given a contract extension following the 2000 season capped by a Fiesta Bowl appearance, then saw his team start out 0-3 in 2001, the first such start in school history. Realizing the team was not progressing, coupled with the Joe Moore and Kim Dunbar scandals, the administration decided it was time to make a change. On December 9, 2001, Notre Dame hired George O'Leary to replace Davie. However, New Hampshire Union Leader reporter Jim Fennell—while researching a "local boy done good" story—uncovered discrepancies in his résumé. O'Leary resigned five days later before coaching a single practice.

In need of a coach, the school turned to Tyrone Willingham, who had been coaching at Stanford. Bringing a new feeling of change and excitement to campus, Willingham led the 2002 squad to an 8–0 start, with wins over #7 Michigan and #11 Florida State. Those eight games, however, would be the highlight of Willingham's tenure, as Notre Dame finished the year with a heart-breaking loss to Boston College, followed by lopsided losses to Southern California and, in the Gator Bowl, to North Carolina State. The program faltered over the next two seasons, compiling an 11–11 record. During this time, Notre Dame under Willingham lost by at least 30 points 5 times. For perspective, in the previous 40 seasons (1961-2000), Notre Dame lost by at least 30 points a total of 4 times. Bob Davie only lost by 30 points 1 time. Following Notre Dame's third consecutive 4 touchdown loss to arch rival USC, a new school administration fired Willingham at the conclusion of the 2004 season.

After a twelve day search, Notre Dame hired alumnus Charlie Weis, who had served as an assistant coach on four Super Bowl-winning NFL teams.

[edit] Weis era (2005–)

The Leprechaun

Charlie Weis became head football coach for the Irish beginning with the 2005 season. In his inaugural season he led Notre Dame to a record of 9-3, including an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl where they were defeated by the Ohio State Buckeyes 34-20. Weis's impact was apparent when, in the first half of the first game against Pittsburgh, Notre Dame had more offensive yards than in any of five entire games of the previous season. Quarterback Brady Quinn would go on to break numerous team passing records that season and put himself in the national spotlight, by holding 35 Notre Dame records as well as becoming a top Heisman contender. Wide receiver Jeff Samardzija also put himself on the national scene by catching a touchdown pass in the Irish's first eight games, a team record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass. Samardzija eventually became a 2006 finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award given to the nation's top wide receiver. Samardzija now holds the Notre Dame touchdown reception record. Weis signed a ten-year contract extension midway through the 2005 season.

Weis and the Irish came into the 2006 season with a #2 preseason ranking in the ESPN/Coaches Poll. They finished with a 10-2 record, losing only to Michigan and USC in the regular season. Notre Dame accepted a bid to the 2006 Sugar Bowl, losing to LSU 41-14 in their ninth consecutive post-season loss, the longest drought in NCAA history. Weis's 19-6 start as head coach is the best since Lou Holtz.

[edit] Uniforms

Quarterback Brady Quinn in the current Irish Adidas away uniform.

Notre Dame's home jersey is dark blue with white numerals, gold outlining, and a small interlocking "ND" logo at the base of the collar. The away jersey is white with blue numerals, gold outlining, and the interlocking "ND" at the collar. Neither jersey includes the player's name on the back at the present time, but names were included during the Dan Devine and Gerry Faust eras. Gold pants, with a small ND logo just below the left waist, are worn with both home and away jerseys.

Notre Dame's helmets are solid gold with gray facemasks, the gold being emblematic of the University's famed "Golden Dome." It is a Notre Dame tradition for the team's student managers to spray-paint the team's helmets prior to each game, ensuring that they keep their gold shine each week. The paint contains actual gold.

Home

Away

Alternate

Over the years, Notre Dame has occasionally worn green instead of blue as its home jersey, sometimes adopting the jersey for an entire season--or more--at a time. Currently, Notre Dame reserves its green jerseys for "special" occasions. Often on such occasions, the Irish will take the field for warmups dressed in blue, only to switch to green when they go back to the locker room before kickoff. Notre Dame has also been known to switch jerseys at halftime, as during the 1985 USC game. The current design of the jersey is a shade of forest green with gold numbers and white outlining. For the 2006 Army game, Coach Charlie Weis broke out the Green jerseys as a reward to his senior players, as well finally ending the string of losses by the Irish when wearing green. On at least one occasion (1992 Sugar Bowl) Notre Dame has worn an away variant of the jersey: a white jersey with green numbers. Adidas is the current outfitter of Notre Dame football and all Notre Dame athletics.

[edit] Facilities

[edit] Notre Dame Stadium

Notre Dame Stadium on game day, with student section and band

Notre Dame Stadium is the home football stadium for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. With a seating capacity of 80,795, Notre Dame Stadium is one of the most renowned football stadiums in college football. The Sporting News ranks Notre Dame Stadium as # 2 among College Football cathedrals.^[6] With no JumboTron and just two modest scoreboards, the stadium experience evokes a more traditional feel. Notre Dame Stadium is used exclusively for football related activities.

Find out more about Notre Dame Stadium:

Main article: Notre Dame Stadium

[edit] Cartier Field

Cartier Field was the original playing field of the Fighting Irish. In 1930, it was replaced by Notre Dame Stadium, due to the growing popularity of ND football. Notre Dame's practice facility still bears the Cartier Field name. Most ND practices take place on Cartier Field.

[edit] Guglielmino Athletics Complex

Known by fans as "the Gug" (pronounced "goog"), the Guglielmino Athletics Complex is Notre Dame's brand new athletics complex. The Gug houses the new football offices, a brand new state-of-the-art weight room, and practice week locker rooms for the football team. The Gug is utilized by all Notre Dame athletes. The complex was underwritten by the late Don F. Guglielmino and his family.

[edit] Rivalries

• USC, Michigan, Michigan St., Purdue, Pittsburgh, Penn St., and Navy are among Notre Dame's oldest and most historic rivals. Most fans consider USC to be its main rival. The ND vs. USC rivalry has produced more national titles, Heisman trophies and All-Americans than any other collegiate rivalry. It is also the only true intersectional rivalry in college football, in which neither geography nor conference titles play a role in the rivalry and is often called the greatest intersectional rivalry.^[7] Also, USC has the most wins against Notre Dame (31), but also, Notre Dame has beaten USC more times than any other team (42).

• Michigan is considered Notre Dame's other (as well as their first and oldest) major rival, although the teams did not play each other for many years.

• Navy and Notre Dame currently have the longest continuous series in college football, having played 80 games without interruption since 1927. Notre Dame currently has a 43 game win streak against them, the longest such streak in Division 1-A football. Notre Dame plays this game to repay Navy for helping to keep Notre Dame financially afloat during World War II. Navy also benefits from TV and ticket revenue from the game. This series is scheduled to continue indefinitely.

[edit] All-time records

Notre Dame's all time record stands at 821 wins, 269 losses, and 42 ties. Its 821 wins are second only to Michigan, who has been playing football for 9 more years.

Notre Dame's 269 losses are the lowest of any college programs that have been playing football for 100 years or more.

[edit] All-time coaching records