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The Vitals
- November 26, 1842 (yes, that’s exact)
- Located in South Bend, Indiana
- 12,291 students
- $11.8 billion endowment (talk about a pot of gold!)
- #18 Nationally According to US News and World Report
- Motto: Vita Dulcedo Spes (Life. Sweetness, Hope)
Other Noteworthy Facts
- The university’s first degrees were given in 1849.
- The university’s residence halls have their own Wikipedia entry. That’s probably the most unusual sub-entry I’ve seen so far.
- Students of all faiths are welcomed, but it is officially affiliated with the Catholic church, and there are 47 chapels across campus, including one in every residence hall. Collectively, Catholic mass is performed over 100 times per week on campus.
- Notre Dame’s campus TV station, cleverly named NDtv, has been running 24 hour programming since 2006. No word on how much of that is just reruns of Rudy. I’m putting the over/under at 40%.
- Notre Dame has so-called Global Gateways, which, near as I can gather, are sort of like homes away from home for ND students studying abroad. These Global Gateways are located in London, Beijing, Dublin, Jerusalem, and Rome.
- Notre Dame’s marching band is the oldest continuously running outfit of its kind, beginning in 1846. I’m sure those early sets were full of bangers.
- Also in the music realm, Internationally recognized “Notre Dame Folk Choir” was founded by Steven “Cookie” Warner in 1980. Apparently, at least one grown man in history has decided to voluntarily go by the nickname “Cookie”.
Notable Alumni
- Daniel “Rudy “RUDY RUDY RUDY” Ruettiger, who is apparently...kinda a d-bag? Also he’s a Mormon now?
- Condoleezza Rice
- Phil “Jerry Springer Before Jerry Springer” Donahue
- Regis Philbin
- Jason Zimbler, a.k.a. Ferguson from Clarissa Explains It All
- He didn’t graduate, but George Wendt, actor best known as Norm from Cheers
Sports!
- Longest Tenured Coach: Knute Rockne, 13 seasons
- Wins Leader: Rockne, 105
- Overall Record: 910–324–42 (.730)
- Bowl Record: 18–18 (.500)
- Shocking Fact: Notre Dame has a head football coach who never ran a single practice or coached a single game. On December 9, 2001, Notre Dame hired George O’Leary, former coach of Georgia Tech. However, after research discovered discrepancies in his resume, he resigned 5 days later. The 5-day tenure is the shortest in FBS history.
Other Things I Learned Writing This Article
- Notre Dame’s alumni Wikipedia page has a “fictional alumni” section. All I can say to that is...c’mon guys. Really?
- Taylor Swift’s brother is an actor and also a Notre Dame alumnus, but apparently doesn’t warrant his own Wikipedia page, unlike the residence halls of Notre Dame. Okay then.
Well, that’s all for this week! Let’s make history on Saturday, shall we? Beat Notre Dame.
Go Deacs.
—SF
P.S. Rudy was offsides.