Alright lady and gentlemen, the big leagues. Our first real opponent to put in the old red painted pot and poke with really long forks as they melt over a potable flame.
- Founded in 1842; current enrollment approaches around 12,000 students with a 12:1 student to teacher ratio
- Originally was founded as an all male school - Yes the University of 'Our Lady' was an all male school
- All residence halls are single gender; there are 29 residence halls
- Originally began as a Elementary and High School
- 62 former players are in the College Football Hall of Fame; 7 Heisman Trophies - one to an offensive lineman
- South Bend is only 6 Miles away from the Michigan state line - We almost didn't have to deal with them..
- Alumni Facts
- Notre Dame has 3 astronaut alumni - just sayin'
- The FORMER (Thanks to Ben C) Purdue Dean of Science Jeffery Vitter graduated from ND
- Jennifer Robbins, one of the pioneers in web design, graduated in 87
- Dick Vitale's two daughters went to ND and played Volleyball for them
- Steve Bartman - the fan that interfered with a catch in the 2003 NLCS (and the topic of ESPN's 30 for 30 - Catching Hell) graduated in 99 - Side note, he was wearing a bright green shirt under his cubs jersey. I would be willing to wager that it was a Notre Dame shirt; Upon further research - 'The Shirt' for 03 was bright green.
- From the comments: A few minor corrections about Steve Bartman. ESPN's documentary started out as a 30 for 30, but was not released as such as they realized it was good enough to be a stand alone ESPN documentary.
Also, he was wearing a dark blue renegades sweatshirt over his green turtleneck, not a Cubs jersey. - Notre Dame has a Rose Bowl Win - 1925, against Stanford
- The legendary Four Horsemen (the 1924 Irish's legendary backfield) and their O-Line both have beers named after them
- Each season the official football shirt gets a ceremony like it was the pope visiting campus - here is the archive of past shirts and more information.
- The most points scored against ND in South Bend was by Purdue (1960); the most points scored against Purdue in Ross Ade was by ND (1983)
- In 1902 is the last time the series was tied.
- Purdue won the first game in 1896 in South Bend; Purdue victories (26) - 13 at Home, 12 on the Road, 1 at a neutral site (Hoosier Dome, 1984)
- Until 2004, Purdue had a 30 year losing streak in South Bend (15 games)
- Notre Dame versus the B1G
- 2006 - The only time the B1G has faced Notre Dame outside the regular season ( Fiesta Bowl - O$U won)
- Played all teams
- Winning record against: Indiana (23-5-1), Illinois (11-0), Iowa (13-8), Michigan State (45-28), Minnesota (4-0), Northwestern (37-8), Purdue (54-26-2), Wisconsin (8-6-2)
- Losing record against:: Michigan (15-22), Ohio State (2-3), Nebraska (7-8-1)
- Penn State series is tied (9-9-1)
- Purdue hasn't held the Shillelagh Trophy since 2007
- Fondue - Aged Cheddar and Guinness