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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the
athletic Athletic may refer to: * An athlete, a sportsperson * Athletic director, a position at many American universities and schools * Athletic type, a physical/psychological type in the classification of Ernst Kretschmer * Athletic of Philadelphia, a ba ...
teams that represent the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...
. The Fighting Irish participate in 23
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division I in all sports, with many teams competing in the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...
(ACC). Notre Dame is one of only 16 universities in the United States that play Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. The school colors are gold and blue and the mascot is the Leprechaun. It was founded on November 23, 1887, with football in
Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's C ...
.


History of the Fighting Irish


Moniker

The exact origin of the moniker "Fighting Irish" is unknown and has been the subject of debates and research. It is first attested as early as 1909, and subsequently became more popular in the 1910s, until it became the official nickname in 1927. The athletes and teams at Notre Dame were known by many different unofficial names throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During the Knute Rockne football era, Notre Dame had several unofficial nicknames, among them the "Rovers", "Domers", and the "Ramblers". These names reflected the teams' propensity to travel the nation to play its football contests, long before such national travel became the collegiate norm. Later, Notre Dame was known unofficially as the "Terriers," after the Irish breed of the dog, and for some years, an
Irish Terrier The Irish Terrier ( gle, Brocaire Rua) is a dog breed from Ireland, one of many breeds of terrier. The Irish Terrier is considered one of the oldest terrier breeds. The Dublin dog show in 1873 was the first to provide a separate class for I ...
would be found on the ND football sidelines. Other popular names were “the Gold and Blue”,“Domers”, “Nomads,” “the Blue Comets”, “the Horrible Hibernians”. According to historian Murray Sperber, during the 1910s and 1920s, anti-Catholic and anti-Irish stereotypes and ethnic slurs were openly expressed against immigrants, and the press often referred to Notre Dame teams as "Catholics", "Papists", or "Dirty Irish". University leadership wished to distance itself from such names and school publications referred to the team "the Gold and Blue" or the "Notre Damers". There are several accounts on the origins of "Fighting Irish." One story suggests the moniker was born in 1899 during a game between Notre Dame and Northwestern. The Fighting Irish were leading 5–0 at halftime when the Wildcat fans began to chant, "Kill the Fighting Irish, kill the Fighting Irish," as the second half opened. In the November 9th, 1912 edition of Scholastic, it is claimed that the monicker "Fighting Irishmen" was given by the president of
Illinois University The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...
. Another legend in Notre Dame folklore is that the nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade. Notre Dame's claim to the nickname would seem to come from the presence of Fr.
William Corby The Rev. William Corby, CSC (October 2, 1833 – December 28, 1897) was an American priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and a Union Army chaplain in the American Civil War attached to the Irish Brigade. He served twice as president o ...
, CSC, the third president of Notre Dame, who was at the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...
. Fr. Corby served as chaplain of the Irish Brigade and granted general absolution to the troops in the midst of the battle. This is commemorated in the painting "Absolution Under Fire," part of Notre Dame's permanent art collection. A print of the painting "The Original Fighting Irish" by former Fighting Irish lacrosse player Revere La Noue is on permanent display at Notre Dame's Arlotta Stadium. The print also hangs in the office of former head Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly, who said that he had to have the work which captures the "swagger" and "toughness" of the football program after seeing it online. One of the first documented uses of the nickname comes from the Notre Dame-
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
game in 1909 (incidentally, that game was Notre Dame's first victory in the rivalry). Reporting on that game, Edward A. Batchelor wrote on the
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primar ...
: "Eleven fighting Irishmen wrecked the Yost machine this afternoon. These sons of Erin, individually and collectively representing the University of Notre Dame, not only beat the Michigan team, but they dashed some of Michigan's fondest hopes." Notre Dame football historian, John Kryk, later wrote: "With that flowery lead, E.A. Batchelor of the ''Detroit Free Press'' popularized a moniker Notre Dame teams would later come to embrace - and aptly summed up the greatest athletic achievement to that point in Notre Dame history." Kryk noted that, according to Notre Dame folklore, Batchelor had overheard a Notre Dame player trying to motivate his teammates at halftime by pleading, "What's the matter with you guys? You're all Irish and you're not fighting worth a lick." The term Fighting Irish was used in an official capacity by the Notre Dame Football Review as early as 1917 and by ''Scholastic'' as early as 1912. While commonly used throughout student and university media at the time, it was still not universally accepted, as evidenced by an alumni letter in ''Scholastic'' opposing its use in virtue of the fact that most students did not have an Irish background. One theory associates the popularity of the nickname to the visit from future president of the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
, Éamon de Valera, who had been part of the 1916
Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with t ...
and was imprisoned and sentenced to death. He was given amnesty, elected to Parliament and arrested by the authorities again. He escaped and slipped off to America to avoid recapture. Barnstorming the country, the future president of Ireland was welcomed as a hero at Notre Dame on October 15, 1919. Accounts in ''Scholastic'', a student publication, indicate that his visit tilted campus opinion in favor of the "Fighting Irish" moniker — though not completely. De Valera planted a "tree of liberty" as a memorial of his visit — only to have it uprooted a week later and thrown in one of the campus lakes by a student "of Unionist persuasion." It has been asserted by Notre Dame alumnus historian Todd Tucker (Class of 1990) that the moniker became official in large part as a way of honoring and appeasing the student body, after a confrontation with the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...
. The Klan had planned a three-day rally to begin on May 17, 1924. In response to racist and anti-immigration sentiments espoused by the Klan, a large number, between 50 and 500, of Notre Dame students arrived in downtown South Bend to interrupt the Klan's parade with violent harassment. A secondary brawl ensued following the weekend's incident. Rev. Matthew Walsh, C.S.C., then the university president, having addressed the immediate threats of continued violence between the Klan and members of the university, was able to calm the students’ ire and restore relative peace. Francis Wallace, a student press agent for Knute Rockne and sportswriter, tried to popularize the name “Blue Comets” starting in 1923, but soon gave up and admitted his artificial attempt at a lasting name failed. Instead, he contributed to popularize the use of “Fighting Irish” in the pages of the
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
and the
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
. In 1927, university president Rev. Matthew J. Walsh, authorized the moniker "The Fighting Irish" as the official nickname. He stated that "The university authorities are in no way averse to the name ‘Fighting Irish’ as applied to our athletic teams. It seems to embody the spirit that we like to see carried into effect by the various organizations that represent us on the athletic field. I sincerely hope that we may always be worthy of the ideal embodied in the term ‘Fighting Irish."


Conference affiliations

Notre Dame joined the Midwestern City Conference (now known as the Horizon League) for all sports except football, basketball and hockey in 1982. They remained in the conference, with the exception of the 1986–87 season, until 1995. They were then members of the "old" Big East Conference, basketball included, from 1995 until 2013. The Irish are currently a member of the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...
(ACC) in all sports except for the following: *Football, in which the university maintains its status as an
independent university Independent University, Bangladesh ( bn, ইন্ডিপেন্ডেন্ট বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) or IUB is a one of the well renowned, prestigious and popular private university in Bangladesh. It is located in Bas ...
. It is a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision, and for postseason purposes Notre Dame is the only independent with the privileges granted to teams in the Power Five conferences. :Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 football team played a full ACC schedule with eligibility for the
ACC Championship Game The ACC Championship Game is an annual American college football game held in early December by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) each year to determine its football champion. From its inception in 2005 to 2022, the game pit the champion of t ...
for which they qualified. *Men's
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
competes in the
Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
. Their former hockey conference, the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...
, disbanded after the 2012–13 season due to a major realignment of hockey conferences. The Irish then spent three seasons as a member of
Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 fo ...
before joining the Big Ten. According to men's basketball coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame strongly considered joining the Big Ten in 2003, with the decision not to proceed occurring at the "11th hour".


Sports sponsored


Football

* Head Coach:
Marcus Freeman Marcus Freeman (born January 10, 1986) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is currently the head coach at the University of Notre Dame. He previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Notre Dame in ...
* Stadium:
Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. It was built in 1930 under the guidance of Knute Rockne, regarded as one of the greatest c ...
* National Championships: 11 claimed (1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988). There are other years (1919, 1920, 1927, 1938, 1953, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1989, 1993, 2012) where various mathematical systems and polls selected Notre Dame as a national champion (some retrospectively), but those years are not claimed by the university. 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 football championships acknowledged by the NCAA, over 900 all-time wins, seven Heisman Trophy winners, famous head coaches, a 73% winning percentage and the most consensus
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
ns 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 Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl. Notre Dame is also the only football program in the nation, including both collegiate and professional ones, with every home game being on national broadcast television. 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 USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
,
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
,
Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
,
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, Purdue, and
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
. 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 10–10 tie against
Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
at Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Other Notre Dame rivalries include those with Stanford,
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...
, and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. Former rivalries include a very intense rivalry in the 1980s with
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
( 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 Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
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. In 2012, Oklahoma (at the time 6–1) was favored to defeat Notre Dame (at the time 9–0) by 18 points. Notre Dame ending up winning 30–13 thanks to LB Manti T'eo's game clinching interception late in the 4th quarter, Notre Dame's stellar defense, and a bad snap in the first quarter by Oklahoma's center that sent them back to the 14-yard line. Thanks to the win by Notre Dame, the rivalry has been renewed. The last time Notre Dame reached the National Championship was in 2012 where they suffered a 42–14 loss to Alabama.


Basketball


Men's

* Head Coach: Mike Brey * Arena: Purcell Pavilion at the
Joyce Center The Joyce Center, formerly the Athletic & Convocation Center, is a 9,149-seat multi-purpose arena in Notre Dame, Indiana just north of South Bend. The arena opened its doors in 1968. It is home to the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish basket ...
* ACC Titles: 2015 * 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 coach
Digger Phelps Richard Frederick "Digger" Phelps (born July 4, 1941) is an American former college basketball coach, most notably of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1971 to 1991. For 20 years, from 1993 to 2014, he served as an analyst on ESPN. He got the n ...
. They are also known for ending
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
'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 won the 2015 ACC Tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight only to fall to top-ranked Kentucky 68–66. The next year they would make another Elite Eight, yet lose to North Carolina.


Women's

* Head Coach: Niele Ivey * Arena: Purcell Pavilion at the
Joyce Center The Joyce Center, formerly the Athletic & Convocation Center, is a 9,149-seat multi-purpose arena in Notre Dame, Indiana just north of South Bend. The arena opened its doors in 1968. It is home to the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish basket ...
* ACC Titles: 4 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) * National Championships: 2 (2001, 2018) * Final Fours: 9 (1997, 2001, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019) Notre Dame's women's basketball team is a perennial championship level program which has been consistently ranked in the top 5 in the country for the past 8 years, notching 8 consecutive 30+ win seasons. Former coach
Muffet McGraw Ann "Muffet" McGraw (born December 5, 1955) is an American former college basketball coach, who served as the head women's basketball coach at Notre Dame from 1987 to 2020, compiling a 848–252 (.771) record over 33 seasons. She led her team to ...
led the Fighting Irish to 25 NCAA tournament appearances including a streak of 23 straight, winning two national championships and 8 Final Four appearances. The Irish won their first National Championship in 2001 by beating Purdue 68–66. The 2001 team was led by 6-foot-5 center Ruth Riley, a recent inductee into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. McGraw would take the Fighting Irish back to the Final Four in 2011, beating Pat Summitt's Tennessee Lady Volunteers; this was 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 tournament) to advance the Fighting Irish to the 2011 championship game, where it lost to Texas A&M. The Irish would return to the championship game in 2012, 2014, and 2015, losing to Baylor once and Connecticut twice. After an injury plagued start to the 2018 season, which saw four Irish players lost to injury, Notre Dame won its second National Championship in 2018 by beating Mississippi State 61–58. Guard Arike Ogunbowale scored the game winning three point shot with 0.1 seconds left, two days after scoring a similar buzzer-beater to knock out Connecticut in the semifinal game. The win was coach McGraw's second national championship and 800th career win.


Fencing

The Notre Dame men's and women's
fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
teams have won 12 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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
replaced the individual men's and women's national titles with a combined fencing championship, Notre Dame won national titles in 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011, and most recently, in 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022. During the 2010 regular season, Notre Dame went undefeated in both men's and women's fencing. Notre Dame alumna
Mariel Zagunis Mariel Leigh Zagunis (born March 3, 1985) is an American sabre fencer. She is a two-time Olympic champion in the individual sabre (2004 and 2008) and the first American to win a gold medal in Olympic fencing. She was Team USA flag bearer in the ...
became the first U.S. fencer to win an Olympic gold medal in 100 years in 2004 and the first U.S. women's fencer to win a gold medal, and
Nick Itkin Nick Itkin (born October 9, 1999) is an American right-handed foil fencer, two-time NCAA champion, 2022 team Pan American champion, and 2021 team Olympic bronze medalist. He won a bronze medal in individual men's foil at the 2022 senior World ...
became the first American to win a US championship, NCAA championship, and Junior World championship all in the same year.


Ice hockey

* Head Coach: Jeff Jackson * Arena: Compton Family Ice Arena (Formerly at Joyce Center, 1968–2011) * Conference Titles: (CCHA) 3 (2007, 2009, 2013) (Big Ten) 1 (2018) * Frozen Four Appearances: 4 (2008, 2011, 2017, 2018) Notre Dame's men's
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
team, coached by Jeff Jackson and captained by T.J. Jindra, won both the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...
(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 Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
, 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 New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. They beat New Hampshire 7–3 and then faced
Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
, the same team that knocked them out of the tournament the previous year. This time, the Fighting Irish defeated the Spartans 3–1 and earned their first trip in school history to the Frozen Four. In the semi-final they defeated the overall #1 seeded
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
5–4 in overtime, earning them their first ever national championship berth against
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...
, in which they were defeated 4–1. Notre Dame joined the Big Ten conference as sports affiliate member on July 1, 2017. They play along Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin in ice hockey.


Lacrosse


Men's

* 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) * Conference Titles (ACC): 2 (2014, 2018) * NCAA Tournament Appearances: 22 (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) * Final Four Appearances: 5 (2001, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015) The Notre Dame men's
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
team has made the NCAA lacrosse tournament every year since 2006, reaching the national semifinals (Final Four) in
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
and
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and the national championship game in 2010, in which it lost to
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
by one goal in overtime, 6–5. In 2009, the Fighting Irish went undefeated in the regular season, reached #2 in national polls, and finished with an overall record of 15–1. In 2014 #5 ranked Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA Championship match only to lose to #1 ranked Duke 11–9.


Women's

* Head Coach: Christine Halfpenny * Field: Arlotta Stadium, Loftus Sports Center * NCAA Tournament Appearances: 13 (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021) The Notre Dame women's
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
team reached the NCAA semifinal round (Final Four) in 2006. In 2010, they reached the NCAA tournament for the 3rd straight year, the longest streak in school history. The Fighting Irish advanced to the second round of the 2014 NCAA Lacrosse Championship before losing to Duke 10–8.


Soccer


Men's

* Head Coach: Chad Riley * Field: Alumni Stadium * National Championships: 1 (2013) * College Cup Appearances: 2 (2013, 2021)


Women's

* Head Coach: Nate Norman * Field: Alumni Stadium * 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 The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Mid ...
and Big East Conference in soccer prior to joining the ACC 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 (21) and Portland (2). Notre Dame also ranks second in all-time title game appearances (8) behind North Carolina (23). 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 Cynthia Erin Mosley (; born October 1, 1975) is an American former soccer player. A midfielder, she played for the Suzuyo Shimizu F.C. Lovely Ladies of Japan's L. League and won two caps for the senior United States women's national soccer team. ...
, 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 Fighting 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, going 21-2-2 and posting 15 shutouts and became the lowest ranked team to do so, beating undefeated Stanford in a 1–0 decision. In doing so, they outscored their postseason opponents 15–1. They also reached the College Cup for the 5th straight year, a school record. Their senior class won 87 matches in their 4 years, the most in that span. Three Notre Dame players have won the
Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...
, given to the United States' best male and female collegiate soccer players. They are Cindy Daws (1996), Anne Mäkinen (2000) and
Kerri Hanks Kerri Michel Hanks Petersen (; born September 2, 1985) is an American soccer forward who last played for Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer. She is currently the head coach for the Clay County United Soccer Alliance U18 girls' soccer te ...
(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.


Men's golf

The men's golf team has won 11 conference championships: *
Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Mi ...
(3): 1988–89, 1995 * Big East Conference (8): 1995–97, 2004–06, 2011–12 They won the NCAA Championship in 1944.


Club sports


Rugby

Founded in 1961, the Notre Dame rugby club was one of the oldest college rugby clubs in the Midwest, before the club was disbanded in 1995. Notre Dame reinstated rugby in 2007, however, due in part to the "explosive growth of rugby in the nation's Catholic high schools" and Notre Dame's desire to offer a program to attract rugby-playing students. Notre Dame began the 2007–08 season in Division 2, but their 8–1–1 record merited a promotion to Division 1 in the spring of 2008. Notre Dame finished the 2010–11 season ranked 19th in the nation. Notre Dame's rugby program has the support and commitment of the school and alumni, with an endowment fund rumored to be over $1 million. The team is coached by Justin Hickey. Notre Dame also plays every year in the
Collegiate Rugby Championship The Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) is an annual college rugby sevens tournament. The CRC is the highest profile college rugby sevens competition in the United States, with the tournament broadcast live on NBC from 2010–2017, on ESPN News an ...
(CRC). The CRC is the highest profile college rugby competition in the United States, broadcast live on NBC each year. Notre Dame finished 10th in the 2011 CRC, with wins over Boston College, Ohio State and Navy.


Other sports

John A. Kromkowski, (BA '60) (MA '61) (Phd '72), won the National Intercollegiate Men's Singles
Table Tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
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".


Athletic facilities

* Alumni Stadium — Men's and women's soccer *Arlotta Family Lacrosse Stadium — Men's and women's lacrosse * Castellan Family Fencing Center — Men's and women's fencing * Compton Family Ice Arena — Men's ice hockey *Courtney Tennis Center — Men's and women's tennis *Eck Tennis Pavilion — Men's and women's tennis *
Edmund P. Joyce Center The Joyce Center, formerly the Athletic & Convocation Center, is a 9,149-seat multi-purpose arena in Notre Dame, Indiana just north of South Bend. The arena opened its doors in 1968. It is home to the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish basket ...
— Men's and women's basketball, Women's volleyball *
Frank Eck Stadium Frank Eck Stadium is a baseball stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana. It hosts the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish college baseball team. The stadium holds 2,500 people and was built in 1994. The stadium was named after Frank Eck, an alumnus, ...
— Baseball *Loftus Sports Center — Men's and women's indoor track and field, Men's and women's lacrosse *McConnell Family Boathouse — Women's rowing *Melissa Cook Stadium — Softball *Notre Dame Golf Course — Men's and women's cross country *
Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. It was built in 1930 under the guidance of Knute Rockne, regarded as one of the greatest c ...
— Football *Notre Dame Track and Field Stadium — Men's and women's outdoor track and field * Rolfs Aquatic Center — Men's and women's swimming and diving *Warren Golf Course — Men's and women's golf


Pageantry

:Team colors: Gold and Blue :Outfitter: Under Armour :Fight Song: Notre Dame Victory March :Alma mater: Notre Dame, Our Mother :Nicknames: Fighting Irish :Rivalries:
USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...
,
Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...
, Michigan State Spartans, Purdue Boilermakers,
Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...
, &
Navy Midshipmen The Navy Midshipmen are the athletic teams that represent the United States Naval Academy. The academy sponsors 33 varsity sports teams and 12 club sport teams.Band of the Fighting Irish The Band of the Fighting Irish is the marching band of the University of Notre Dame. Over 300 members of the band represent nearly every field of study, and include students from across the United States as well as from overseas. The Band of the F ...


Athletic directors


References


External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, color=white , list = {{Atlantic Coast Conference navbox {{NCAA Division I FBS independents navbox {{Big Ten Conference navbox {{Indiana Sports 1887 establishments in Indiana Sports clubs established in 1887 Irish-American culture in sports