Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football

The University of Notre Dame football program is one of the most historic athletic programs in all of collegiate sports. The school competes as a member of the Big East Conference in every single sport 'except' for college football, where it competes as an independent. The Fighting Irish have 13 national championshipshttp://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/national_championships/nchamps_team.php, and are currently tied with USC and Ohio State for the most Heisman Trophy winners from one school.

On February 13, 2009, head coach Charlie Weis announced that he would take over the offensive coordinator duties for the team. He takes the place of Mike Haywood, who left to coach the Miami RedHawks.ESPN.com: Weis Names Self to Run Irish Offense

They play home games at Notre Dame Stadium, which is often referred to as "The House that Rockne built." The stadium features a large mural of a resurrected Jesus located on a nearby library, that fans refer to as Touchdown Jesus because his arms are extended as if signaling a touchdown.

Perhaps the most famous team of the program is the 1924 national championship team, coached by Knute Rockne. It featured a backfield of Harry Stuhldreher at quarterback, Jim Crowley and Don Miller as halfbacks and Elmer Layden at fullback. Legendary New York sportswriter Grantland Rice nicknamed the men the "Four Horsemen". Also during the Rockne era came the famous "Win One for the Gipper" pre-game speech following the death of former All-American George Gipp.

Ordinarily, the shadow cast by Rockne following his death in 1930 would signal a period of mediocrity for a program. For Notre Dame it lasted 9 years, until the hiring of Frank Leahy in 1941. Leahy would revive the storied tradition of winning football at Notre Dame. He would be followed in this success by Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz, all of whom would coach the Irish to national championships during their tenures. Today, head coach Charlie Weis is trying to end a 20-year drought since the school's last national championship, the longest in school history.

Many famous and infamous moments have occurred with the Irish on the field. The Chicken Soup Game was in 1979 when Joe Montana battled the flu and rallied the Irish to a come-from-behind win over Houston in the Cotton Bowl. The win over Oklahoma in 1957 ended the Sooners record-setting 47-game winning streak. In the 1966 'Game of the Century' when they tied Michigan State 10-10. The Catholics vs. Convicts battle in 1988 saw the Irish defeat the #1 ranked Miami Hurricanes. But the last time any player was carried off the field by the Irish for his heroics was walk-on Daniel Rudy Ruettiger, who recorded a sack on the final play of a 1975 regular season game against Georgia Tech. The moment became the inspiration behind the movie Rudy.

• Victor Abiamiri (defensive end)
• Arnaz Battle (wide receiver)
• Bertrand Berry (defensive end)
• Rocky Boiman (linebacker)
• John Carlson (tight end)
• John Carney (place kicker)
• Jeff Faine (center)
• Anthony Fasano (tight end)
• Mike Gandy (offensive lineman)
• Ryan Grant (running back)
• Ryan Harris (offensive tackle)
• Craig Hentrich (place kicker)
• J.J. Jansen (center)
• Julius Jones (running back)
• Derek Landri (defensive tackle)
• Trevor Laws (defensive tackle)
• Mark LeVoir (offensive tackle)
• Sean Mahan (guard)
• Corey Mays (linebacker)
• Chinedum Ndukwe (safety)
• John Owens (tight end)
• Brady Quinn (quarterback)
• Mike Richardson (defensive back)
• Allen Rossum (cornerback)
• Dan Santucci (center)
• Hunter Smith (punter)
• Dan Stevenson (guard)
• Maurice Stovall (wide receiver)
• John Sullivan (center)
• Justin Tuck (defensive end)
• Anthony Weaver (defensive end)
• Renaldo Wynn (defensive end)
• Tom Zbikowski (free safety)