Posted 11/29/2008 @ 11:13:34 am by notredametalk.com

The history of Notre Dame Football is almost as old as the University itself. The University was founded in 1842, and sits on 1250 beautiful acres with two lakes and 137 buildings, in Notre Dame, Indiana. Notre Dame, an independent Catholic University, is one of only two Catholic Universities in the football bowl subdivision.

Notre Dame University entered into the football arena in 1887 and has a long and storied tradition continuing to this day. In the 1800s, when playing football, they played just about any team from high school to pro ball players. It would not be until 1906 with the introduction of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States that standardized the game that the popularity of American Football began. In 1909, Notre Dame beat Michigan and Michigan was so mad that it would be thirty-three years before they played each other again. By 1912, Notre Dame was making a name for itself.

The term Fighting Irish is used primarily when referring to Notre Dame sports teams and most especially in reference to its football team. The nickname itself comes from immigrant Irish soldiers who fought during the American Civil War. The Fighting Irish have had over the years, seven Heisman Trophy winners, over 800 all time wins and an impressive 74.4% winning record.

The University itself is a world-renowned center for higher education and it has colleges in Engineering, Arts and Letters, Science, Business, the School of Architecture, the Law School, and a Graduate School. Since 1962, they have graduated 98.74 percent of its football players. Only thirteen of its football players as of 2006 have left school without receiving a degree, some of which went on to pro football.

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