Changes

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>

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>  The football program is one of the few remaining that is not affiliated with a major sports conference (though it has a rough affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference, in which its remaining major sports programs are members).  Notable football rivalries include USC (one of the first transcontinental rivalries) and Navy (during World War II Navy leased the Notre Dame campus for V-12 training, saving the school from closure; Notre Dame has extended an offer in perpetuity to play them in football -- renewals are a mere formality though the games are usually one-sided in favor of the Fighting Irish).

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>  The football program is one of the few remaining that is not affiliated with a major sports conference (though it has a rough affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference, in which its remaining major sports programs are members).  Notable football rivalries include USC (one of the first transcontinental rivalries), Miami (known as "Catholics vs. Convicts" due to Miami's historically poor sportsmanship and frequent brushes with the law, the rivalry has waned in recent years but due to Miami's ACC affiliation and Notre Dame's working relationship with the conference, the rivalry may return in earnest) and Navy (during World War II Navy leased the Notre Dame campus for V-12 training, saving the school from closure; Notre Dame has extended an offer in perpetuity to play them in football -- renewals are a mere formality though the games are usually one-sided in favor of the Fighting Irish).

George Gipp was the school’s legendary football player during 1916-20. He played semiprofessional baseball and smoked, drank, and gambled when not playing sports. He was also humble, generous to the needy, and a man of integrity. It was in 1928 that famed coach [[Knute Rockne]] used his final conversation with the dying Gipp to inspire the Notre Dame team to beat the Army team and "win one for the Gipper." The  1940 film, "Knute Rockne - All American," starred Pat O'Brien as Knute Rockne and [[Ronald Reagan]] as Gipp.

George Gipp was the school’s legendary football player during 1916-20. He played semiprofessional baseball and smoked, drank, and gambled when not playing sports. He was also humble, generous to the needy, and a man of integrity. It was in 1928 that famed coach [[Knute Rockne]] used his final conversation with the dying Gipp to inspire the Notre Dame team to beat the Army team and "win one for the Gipper." The  1940 film, "Knute Rockne - All American," starred Pat O'Brien as Knute Rockne and [[Ronald Reagan]] as Gipp.