This weekend, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of what’s widely regarded as the greatest sports moment in American history, the U.S. Olympic hockey team’s titanic upset of the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Games of Lake Placid. The “Miracle on Ice.” It was truly a “remember where you were” moment, when hockey crossed all Read Full Post
‘Rock’ Will Always Be No. 1 on Our List of Greatest Coaches
August 31, 2019 by
Another college football season is upon us. Actually, it’s not just another season; it’s a special one that celebrates the 150thanniversary of that first clash between Rutgers and Princeton on Nov. 6, 1869. Throughout the season there will be various recognitions of the rich history of the sport, starting with several “all-time college football” lists Read Full Post
Explaining The Rockne Crash: Truth vs. Fiction
April 16, 2019 by
By Jim Lefebvre An author who undertakes the telling of a significant life takes on an awesome responsibility – assuming he or she is serious about truth-telling. For the biographer of integrity, there will be years of research, mountains of materials to sift through, speculation and supposition around certain aspects of the life being Read Full Post
Rockne’s Connections To SEC History
September 5, 2017 by
The Southeastern Conference was created in 1933, when 14 schools – including the 10 institutions that would become the historical core of the league – broke away from the huge, cumbersome Southern Conference. Everywhere you turned at the time, it seemed a former Notre Dame player under Coach Knute Rockne was leading the way. At Read Full Post
Legendary Figures, Classic Battles Connect Notre Dame, Green Bay, U. of Wisconsin
August 14, 2017 by
Today’s announcement of the Notre Dame-Wisconsin series resuming after a 56-year hiatus opens a floodgate of historical connections. The two-game series at iconic venues – Lambeau Field in 2020, Soldier Field in 2021 – promises to be one of the toughest tickets imaginable, given the geography and the enthusiasm of the two fan bases. When Read Full Post
“The Uber” Tailgater Grew From Gathering of ND Student Managers
October 23, 2016 by
It’s an annual tradition in the Joyce Center parking lot. It has its own website. It’s been featured on a CNN story about tailgating, as well as a CBS College Sports Network show. An annual invite goes out that “at least tries to be funny” and typically attracts close to 200 attendees. It’s The Admiral’s Read Full Post
ND Foe A Leader in Study of Concussions
September 11, 2016 by
It’s an image etched in the consciousness of Notre Dame fans watching the 2016 season opener at Texas. Senior co-captain Torii Hunter Jr. is prone in the end zone, his arms occasionally flailing, while a coterie of teammates and athletic trainers attend to him. Moments later, the camera picks up his dad, baseball great Torii Read Full Post
Rockne 85 Years On: In Life and Death, He Moved a Nation
March 31, 2016 by
After all these years, the life of the Notre Dame icon continues to inspire The shocking news dispatches started reaching the eastern United States around mid-day on Tuesday, March 31, 1931. Eight people – including Notre Dame football coach and athletic director Knute Rockne — had lost their lives in the crash of Transcontinental & Read Full Post
Notre Dame-Wisconsin Athletic Bond Has Roots Sunk A Century Ago
March 22, 2016 by
The two have met in basketball just once in last 47 years, but share earlier connections Along the shores of Lake Mendota in Madison, Wis., stands a towering pine tree nearly 100 years old. Its owner, Walter Meanwell, Jr., lives in the tasteful lakeside home his father had built in the 1920s. The tree Read Full Post
’57 Irish Used a Teammate’s Slight to Score Huge Upset
November 16, 2015 by
Ed Sullivan came to Notre Dame in 1953 from the football-rich area of western Pennsylvania, a solid lineman out of McKeesport and a late recruit by Coach Frank Leahy. Sullivan grew up idolizing Notre Dame, and headed west intent on getting an education and making his way into the Fighting Irish lineup. By his junior Read Full Post
