Notre Dame Fighting Irish

"Fighting Irish" redirects here. For the "30 Rock" episode, see The Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
University	University of Notre Dame
Conference(s)	Big East / Independent
NCAA	Division 1
Athletics director	Jack Swarbrick
Location	Notre Dame, IN
Varsity teams	23
Football stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
Basketball arena	Edmund P. Joyce Center
Baseball stadium	Frank Eck Stadium
Other arenas	Compton Family Center
Mascot	Leprechaun
Nickname	Fighting Irish
Fight song	Notre Dame Victory March
Colors	Gold and Navy Blue
Homepage	Notre Dame Athletics

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the varsity sports teams of the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports.

Cheer cheer for old Notre Dame, Wake up the echoes cheering her name,
Send a volley cheer on high, Shake down the thunder from the sky,
What though the odds be great or small, Old Notre Dame will win over all,
While her loyal sons are marching, Onward to victory.

—"Notre Dame Victory March", Rev. Michael J. Shea and John F. Shea

Moniker

"They'll see the Fighting Irish are the Fighting Irish yet."

Joyce Kilmer, "When the Sixty-ninth Comes Back", 1917.

Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, (consisting of the 69th NY, 63rd NY, 88th NY, 116th Pennsylvania, and 28th Mass. Infantry Regiments), 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. This chaplain's name was Fr. William Corby. There are two identical monuments dedicated to him, one is on the battlefield at the Gettysburg National Military Park, and the other is on the campus of Notre Dame.

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, Donnelly, 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 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 1920s as a result of preexisting Irish stereotypes, the widely reported events of 1924 (although after their 10–7 loss to Iowa, Notre Dame was referred to as the "Irish" in a newspaper article about the game), 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]}

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 handful of Division I-A Independents.
• 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.

The Big East has added men's lacrosse, starting in the 2010 season. Previously, Notre Dame men's lacrosse competed in the Great Western Lacrosse League.

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]

According to Coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame seriously considered joining the Big Ten Conference in 2003, with the decision to not proceed occurring at the "11th hour."^[2] Since 2008, the Big East's football coaches have pushed the conference to deliver an ultimatum to Notre Dame to either affiliate its football team with the Big East or leave the conference entirely, according to then-Connecticut head football coach Randy Edsall.^[3] Such an ultimatum is speculated by some to have the potential to "save" the Big East, as Notre Dame would likely join the Big Ten and perhaps satisfy that conference's desire for expansion;^[4] the Big East would likely be "all done" if the Big Ten were to pull two or more teams from it.^[3] Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has stated, however, that the university will only join the Big Ten if the conference severely damages the Big East by pulling teams from it; "[i]n other words, if the Big Ten adds just a single member, it won't be Notre Dame."^[5]

National championships

Through the summer of 2010, Notre Dame has won 56 national championships since it started competing in athletics. Since the NCAA has formed, Notre Dame has recorded 26 national championships, 18 were won by men's teams, 5 by women's teams, and 4 by combined teams.

Notre Dame's championships occurred in the following sports:^[6]

• Football: 1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988
• Fencing: (men's) 1977, 1978, 1986, (women's) 1987, (Combined) 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011
• Women's soccer: 1995, 2004, 2010
• Men's tennis: 1944, 1959
• Women's basketball: 2001
• Men's cross country: 1957
• Men's golf: 1944

Football

Main article: Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

• Head Coach: Brian Kelly
• Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium
• National Championships: 11 (1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988)

Notre Dame Stadium

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 1887. With eleven NCAA football championships, over 800 all time wins, seven Heisman Trophy winners, famous head coaches, a 73.6% winning percentage and the most consensus All-Americans of any school, Notre Dame football is one of the most storied programs both on the gridiron and college athletics in general. Recently, Notre Dame has struggled, going through several head coaches and setting the all-time bowl losing streak of nine straight with the loss to LSU in the 2007 Sugar Bowl before beating Hawaii in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl. Notre Dame is also the only team, including professional ones, in the nation with every home game being on national broadcast televison.

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, Army, Purdue, and Michigan. Notre Dame played in arguably the greatest, although certainly not the most-watched (due to Notre Dame games' already having been broadcast nationally that season as many times as allowed, ABC had to relegate its broadcast to a regional one), college football game in history: the famous (or infamous) 10-10 tie against Michigan State at Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Other Notre Dame rivalries include those with Stanford, Boston College and Pittsburgh. Former rivalries include a very intense rivalry in the 1980s with Miami (Catholics vs. Convicts), 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 a 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.

Basketball

Men's

Main article: Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball

• Head Coach: Mike Brey
• Arena: Joyce Center
• Big East Titles: 1 (2000 West)
• National Championships: 2 (1927*, 1936*)
• Final Fours: 1 (1978)

* Pre-tournament era Helms Trophy

The men's basketball team, coached by Mike Brey since 2000, has made 28 NCAA Tournament appearances and made it to the Final Four in 1978 under its legendary coach Digger Phelps. 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.

Women's

Main article: Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball

• Head Coach: Muffet McGraw
• Arena: Joyce Center
• Big East Titles: 1 (2001 Regular Season)
• National Championships: 1 (2001)
• Final Fours: 3 (1997, 2001, 2011)

Notre Dame's women's basketball team, coached by Muffet McGraw, won the National Championship in 2001 by beating Purdue 68-66. The 2001 team was led by 6-foot-5 center Ruth Riley, who is still active in the WNBA. Notre Dame has made it to the Sweet Sixteen in 6 out of the last 11 seasons, and has had 20 win seasons in 13 out of the past 14 seasons. McGraw has led the Irish to 14 NCAA tournament appearances including a current streak of 12 straight. McGraw would take the Irish back to the Final Four in 2011, beating Pat Summitt's Tennessee Lady Volunteers; the program's first win against the Lady Vols in 21 tries. That win was followed by an upset of the number one-ranked UConn Huskies (making Notre Dame the first team ever to beat both Tennessee and UConn in the same tournement) to advance the Irish to the 2011 championship game.

Fencing

The Notre Dame men's and women's fencing teams have won 8 national titles — 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, 2005 and 2011.

Ice hockey

Main article: Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey

• Head Coach: Jeff Jackson
• Arena: Compton Family Ice Arena^[7] (Formerly at Joyce Center, 1968-2011)
• Conference Titles (CCHA): 2 (2007, 2009)
• Frozen Four Appearances: 2 (2008, 2011)

Notre Dame's men's ice hockey team, coached by Jeff Jackson and captained by T.J. Jindra, won both the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) season and tournament championships in 2007 with a record of 28-6-3. They were the #2 overall seed in the 2007 NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament, behind Minnesota, and were the #1 seed in the Midwest bracket. They lost to Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Notre Dame was a #4 seed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and faced #1 seed New Hampshire. They beat New Hampshire 7-3 and then faced Michigan State, the same team that knocked them out of the tournament last year. The Irish though defeated the Spartans this time 3-1 and earned their first trip in school history to the Frozen Four. In the semifinal they defeated the overall #1 seeded Michigan 5–4 in overtime earning them their first ever national championship berth against Boston College, in which they were defeated 4–1.

Lacrosse

Men's

Main article: Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's lacrosse

• Head Coach: Kevin Corrigan
• Field: Arlotta Stadium, Loftus Sports Center
• Conference Titles (MLA): 8 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993)
• Conference Titles (GWLL): 12 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009)
• NCAA Tournament Appearances: 16 (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
• Final Four Appearances: 2 (2001, 2010)

The Notre Dame men's lacrosse team — which began competing in the Big East men's lacrosse conference in 2010 — has made the NCAA lacrosse tournament 16 times in the history of the program, reaching the national semifinals (Final Four) in 2001 and 2010 and the national championship game in 2010, in which it lost to Duke by one goal in overtime, 6-5. In 2009, the Irish went undefeated in the regular season, reached #2 in national polls, and finished with an overall record of 15-1.

Women's

The Notre Dame women's lacrosse team reached the NCAA semifinal round (Final Four) in 2006.

Soccer

Women's

Main article: Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's soccer

• Head Coach: Randy Waldrum
• Field: Alumni Field
• Conference Titles (MCC)*: 4 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)
• Conference Titles (Big East): 10 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008)
• National Championships: 3 (1995, 2004, 2010)
• College Cup Appearances: 17 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)

*Notre Dame was a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in soccer prior to joining the Big East in most sports.

Notre Dame's women's soccer team won the National Championship in 1995, 2004 and 2010 and were the runner-up in 1994, 1996, 1999, 2006, and 2008. Notre Dame is one of only three schools with multiple national titles, the others being North Carolina (20) and Portland (2). Notre Dame also ranks second in all-time title game appearances (8) behind North Carolina (22). ND's women's soccer program started in 1988 under coach Chris Petrucelli. Their 1995 Big East title was the university's first in any sport. That same year, Petrucelli's squad, under the leadership of Cindy Daws, won the program's first national title, defeating Portland 1–0. Notre Dame's current coach, Randy Waldrum, took over the program in 1999 and has maintained the Irish's success, winning the national title in 2004 by beating UCLA 4–3 as well as capturing six Big East titles. Waldrum's 2010 squad won the school's third national title, and became the lowest ranked team to do so, beating undefeated Stanford in a 1–0 decision. Three Notre Dame players have won the Hermann Trophy, given to the United States' best male and female collegiate soccer players. They are Cindy Daws (1996), Anne Makinen (2000) and Kerri Hanks (2006, 2008). Hanks is one of only four players to win the award twice. Notre Dame is also one of only two schools with three or more different Hermann Trophy recipients.^[8]

Other sports

John A. Kromkowski, (BA '60)(MA '61)(Phd '72), won the National Intercollegiate Men's Singles Table Tennis championship in 1959 defeating Paul S. Kochanowski (BA `61) 3–0. Playing together Kromkowski and Kochanowski won the Men's Doubles championship that year and they won the "Teams".^[9]

Athletic directors

Athletic director	Years
Jesse Harper	1913–1917, 1931–1933
Knute Rockne	1920–1930
Elmer Layden	1934–1940
Hugh Devore	1945
Frank Leahy	1947–1949
Moose Krause	1949–1981
Gene Corrigan	1981–1987
Dick Rosenthal	1987–1995
Mike Wadsworth	1995–2000
Kevin White	2000–2008
Jack Swarbrick	2008–present

References

1. ^ Notre Dame Finishes Third Among Division I institutions in National Collegiate Scouting Association Power Rankings. :: Irish athletics places seventh overall among Division I, II and III levels
2. ^ "Mike Brey was preparing to join Big Ten in 2003 / But Notre Dame basketball coach says Irish decided against move at last minute" Chicago Tribune, 8 January 2010.
3. ^ ^{a b} Allard, Marc. "UConn Football: Edsall discusses draft picks, Big East's status" Norwich Bulletin, 28 April 2010.
4. ^ Bennett, Brian. "Coaches want Notre Dame ultimatum?" ESPN, 29 April 2010.
5. ^ Murphy, Austin. "The Colossal Conference Grind-up" Sports Illustrated, 3 May 2010.
6. ^ "Notre Dame 2007-2008 Fencing Guide". Notre Dame athletics website. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nd/sports/c-fenc/auto_pdf/0708fenguideuniv.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-03. 
7. ^ [1]
8. ^ "2008 Women's Soccer Media Guide". http://www.und.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/nd/sports/w-soccer/auto_pdf/08wsocmghistory. Retrieved 2009-04-08. 
9. ^ Boggan, T. History of U.S. Table Tennis, Vol III, Chapter XXXII (2003)

External links

• Notre Dame Fighting Irish Official Athletic Website
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish Video on FoxSports.com
• College Football IA Independents Standings on ESPN.com