The Fighting Irish is a nickname associated with The University of Notre Dame, an independent Catholic university, founded in 1842 by the Rev. Edward F. Sorin. It is located in Notre Dame, Indiana which is adjacent to South Bend, and ninety miles east of Chicago. The nickname itself comes from immigrant Irish soldiers who fought during the American Civil War for the north in the 88th New York, 116th Pennsylvania, and 28th Massachusetts Infantry Regiments. Other accounts of the nickname’s origin involve hecklers screaming out “kill the fighting Irish," another screaming, “You’re all Irish but you aren’t fighting worth a lick.” Another account relates it to a fight that broke out between students and the KKK.

The term “Fighting Irish” is used primarily when referring to its sports teams and most especially in reference to its football team. Football at Notre has a long and storied tradition beginning in 1887 and continuing to this day. The Fighting Irish have had over the years, seven Heisman Trophy winners, over 800 all time wins and an impressive 74.4 percent winning record.

The University itself is a world renowned center for higher education. It has colleges in Engineering, Arts and Letters, Science, Business, the School of Architecture, the Law School, and a Graduate School. Notre Dome has a student population of 11,733 and a full time faculty of 1,241.

The University sits on 1250 beautiful acres with two lakes and 137 buildings. The most renowned structure is the newly renovated Main Building, with its famous Golden Dome.