The University of Notre Dame is in Notre Dame, Indiana, and is a Roman Catholic research university. It was founded in 1842 as an all-male institution. It was not until 1972 that the university became co-educational. Notre Dame’s football team is in the NCAA Division I League. The Fighting Irish are well known in sports programs for winning eleven national championships, having seven Heisman Trophy winners, and sixty-two members in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Reverend Edward Sorin, a 28 year-old priest, along with seven other members of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, established the University of Notre Dame on November 26, 1842. He named the university after Our Lady, in his native tongue of French “L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac” (The University of Our Lady of the Lake), and it was officially chartered on January 15, 1844 by the Indiana legislature. The three original buildings have since grown to four undergraduate colleges with 137 buildings on over 500 acres.

The term “Fighting Irish” has no real roots. Some think it was given to the team by the press because of their never-say-die spirit and the qualities of determination and tenacity. It has also been said that in a game in 1909 between Notre Dame and Michigan a player yelled to his teammates, whose names were Dolan, Kelly, Duffy and Ryan, “What’s the matter with you guys? You’re all Irish and you’re not fighting worth a lick.” Notre Dame won the game, and the press reported the victory of the “Fighting Irish.” It became the official nickname in 1927 by then university president Rev. Matthew Walsh.