Changes

==Athletics==

==Athletics==

Football began in 1887 and by 1927 the team had the nickname "Fighting Irish".  From 1918 to 1930 head football coach Knute Rockne (1888-1931) took ND football to the top, winning six national championships and setting a standard that subsequent coaches had to meet or be fired. Rockne's success was both a blessing and a curse. It made the small school nationally famous as the most visible institution of Catholicism in America, and a demonstration of physical prowess every Saturday in the fall season. Academic critics on and off campus complained about the promotion of brawn over brains, and the hyper-aggressive tactics used to recruit athletes and keep them eligible to play. But intellectuals made the same complaint about every top-ranked school, and downplayed the need of ND for money and the Catholic community for recognition. Rockne himself, until his death in a plane crash at the height of his career, never backed down from his advocacy of the positive value of both football and a winning tradition.<ref>Ray Robinson, ''Rockne of Notre Dame: The Making of a Football Legend'' (1999); Murray Sperber, ''Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football'' (1993)</ref>

Football began in 1887 and by 1927 the team had the nickname "Fighting Irish".  From 1918 to 1930 head football coach Knute Rockne (1888-1931) took ND football to the top, winning six national championships and setting a standard that subsequent coaches had to meet or be fired. Rockne's success was both a blessing and a curse. It made the small school nationally famous as the most visible institution of Catholicism in America, and a demonstration of physical prowess every Saturday in the fall season. Academic critics on and off campus complained about the promotion of brawn over brains, and the hyper-aggressive tactics used to recruit athletes and keep them eligible to play. But intellectuals made (and continue to make) the same complaint about every top-ranked school, and downplayed the program's need for money and the Catholic community for recognition. Rockne himself, until his death in a plane crash at the height of his career, never backed down from his advocacy of the positive value of both football and a winning tradition.<ref>Ray Robinson, ''Rockne of Notre Dame: The Making of a Football Legend'' (1999); Murray Sperber, ''Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football'' (1993)</ref>

Notre Dame has 12 men's and 12 women's sports teams.<ref name="sports"/> The football program has won 13 bowl games (while losing 15) and 13 national championships.<ref>http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/database/notredame_database.htm</ref>

Notre Dame has 12 men's and 12 women's sports teams.<ref name="sports"/> The football program has won 13 bowl games (while losing 15) and 13 national championships.<ref>http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/database/notredame_database.htm</ref>