notre dame football conference affiliation history

NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL CONFERENCE AFFILIATION HISTORY FULL

Per Lefebrve’s research, Notre Dame was intent on applying for full membership in the Western Conference, spending a decade adhering to the Carnegie Foundation’s strict academic and athletic oversight. The Scholastic also reported Notre Dame had inquired as to whether the pair would be allowed to play as early as January 1910, when the game was arranged, and was assured by Michigan athletic director Philip Bartelme that “there would be no trouble on that score.” There were also assertions made that Michigan players Clarke and Cole, who had played three years of competition at Oberlin, would be allowed in the game, thus seemingly clearing the way for Notre Dame’s two Oregonians.įrom that point forward, it took years for Notre Dame to schedule any team from the Western Conference, until Wisconsin finally played Notre Dame in 1917, and eventually Purdue and Indiana began showing up on Notre Dame’s schedule. On these grounds we maintain that Philbrook and Dimmick are eligible and will continue to hold these grounds.” Because of that it is only reasonable to presume these men as participating in preparatory athletics prior to their coming to Notre Dame. Whitman College is not named in the list of conference colleges issued in September 1907. Dimmick remained at Whitman until February 1908, and Philbrook until June of the same year.

In September 1907, they registered at Whitman College, taking two freshman studies and three or four preparatory studies. The following year both men were students at Peason’s Academy, an institution apart from Whitman College. A review of the athletic careers of both of these men shows that in 1904-05 they were preparatory students at Tullatin Academy and competed on teams there. “The trouble centered on our intention to play (Ralph) Dimmick and (George) Philbrook, Michigan claiming that both these men were ineligible because of the fact that they had played out their time as collegiate football players. Michigan, based on accusations from football coach Fielding Yost, had just informed Notre Dame it was cancelling the game, questioning the eligibility of two Notre Dame stars from Oregon. But they made it only six miles, to Niles, Michigan, when they were called back to campus. On NovemNotre Dame’s gridders began their journey to Ann Arbor to defend their 1909 victory over the Wolverines in a game scheduled for Saturday, November 5. The game entered ND lore, which holds that on the winning touchdown, Pete Vaughan smashed through the Michigan line with such force that his headgear (or possibly his shoulder) knocked loose the goal post. On November 6, 1909, the Irish shocked the Wolverines, 11-3, in Notre Dame’s first truly big-time victory. The entire article is worth reading at Lefebvre’s, but here are some interesting excerpts: In a rivalry framed by gigantic personalities like Rockne and Michigan’s Fielding Yost, Lefebvre walks us through the complications that led to both the hostility in the rivalry, and the fairly large gaps in the Wolverines and Irish playing each other. Lefebvre’s most recent work is the new book Coach For A Nation: The Life and Times of Knute Rockne.

And nobody is better to give us that lesson than Jim Lefebvre, an award-winning author and Notre Dame historian. Reaction has been swift and definitive: this match-up matters to a lot of people and to college football in general.īut before we take our final digs into this match-up, I thought a history lesson was in order. By this point, we’ve talked the Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry to death.

Notre dame football conference affiliation history