The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame Stadium, which has a capacity of 77,622. Notre Dame is one of four schools that competes as an Independent at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level; however, they play five games a year against opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), of which Notre Dame is a member in all other sports except ice hockey.
Charles Joseph Weis Sr. is a former American football coach. He was the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and the Kansas Jayhawks from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an offensive coordinator in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs. Weis currently hosts "Airing It Out," along with Bob Papa, on Sirius XM NFL Radio.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football rivalries refers to rivalries of the University of Notre Dame in the sport of college football. Because the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are independent of a football conference, they play a national schedule, which annually includes historic rivals University of Southern California and Navy, more recent rival Stanford, and five games with ACC teams.
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The Naval Academy completed its final season as an FBS independent school in 2014, and became a single-sport member of the American Athletic Conference beginning in the 2015 season. The team is currently coached by Brian Newberry, who was promoted in 2022, following his stint as the Midshipmen defensive coordinator. Navy has 19 players and three coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame and won the college football national championship in 1926 according to the Boand and Houlgate poll systems. The 1910 team also was undefeated and unscored upon. The mascot is Bill the Goat.
The Army Black Knights football team, previously known as the Army Cadets, represents the United States Military Academy in college football. Army is a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the NCAA. The Black Knights play home games in Michie Stadium with a capacity of 38,000 at West Point, New York. The Black Knights are coached by Jeff Monken, who has held the position since 2014. Army claims three national championships from 1944 to 1946. In addition, major selectors have awarded Army championships in 1914 and 1916. Army has produced 24 players and four coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, 37 consensus All-Americans, and three Heisman Trophy winners.
The 2007 Navy vs. Notre Dame football game ended the longest all-time college football consecutive wins streak by one team over another. On November 3, 2007, the Navy Midshipmen defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 46–44 in triple-overtime at Notre Dame's home field, Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame came into this annual game with 43 straight wins against Navy since the last loss against Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach in 1963. With the win, Navy improved to 5–4 and Notre Dame fell to 1–8 on the season.
The 2007 Navy vs. North Texas football game was a regular-season college football game between the Navy Midshipmen and the North Texas Mean Green, played on November 10, 2007 at Fouts Field in Denton, Texas. The game held the record for the most combined points scored in a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) regulation game with 136 total points, until 137 combined points were scored by Syracuse and Pittsburgh during their November 26, 2016 matchup.
The 2007 Poinsettia Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Utah Utes played on December 20, 2007, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Utah defeated Navy 35–32 in a game that came down to the final seconds. The third edition of the Poinsettia Bowl was the first of 32 games in the 2007–2008 bowl season and the final game of the 2007 NCAA football season for both teams.
Kenneth Va'a Niumatalolo is an American football coach and former player. He is the former head coach of the Naval Academy from 2007 to 2022, accumulating the most wins in program history. Niumatalolo played college football at the University of Hawaii. As a quarterback he led Hawaii to their first postseason bowl game in 1989. Niumatalolo is the second person of Polynesian descent to be named head coach of an NCAA Division I FBS college football program and the first ethnic Samoan collegiate head coach on any level. Niumatalolo was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame on January 23, 2014.
The 2008 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo. He was promoted from the offensive line coach before the season, after his predecessor, Paul Johnson, accepted the head coaching position at Georgia Tech.
The 2009 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy as an independent in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen, led by second-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo, played their home games at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The 2010 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy as an independent during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen, led by third-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo, played their home games at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Navy Midshipmen football team of the United States Naval Academy and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame. It was played annually from 1927 to 2019, which made it the longest uninterrupted intersectional rivalry in college football, the third-longest uninterrupted college football rivalry overall, as well as the second-longest never-interrupted rivalry in Division I college football (FBS). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 game was canceled, ending these lengthy streaks, even though both schools still played a fall season schedule in 2020.
The 2014 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy as an independent in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by seventh year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. This was the final year as an Independent before the school joins the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 8–5. They were invited to the Poinsettia Bowl where they defeated San Diego State.
The 2016 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by ninth-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen competed as a member of the West Division of the American Athletic Conference, and were second year members of the conference. They finished the season 9–5 overall and 7–1 in American Athletic play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in The American Athletic Championship Game where they lost to Temple. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they lost to Louisiana Tech.
The 2017 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by tenth-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen competed as a member of the West Division of the American Athletic Conference and were third-year members of the conference. They finished the season 7–6 overall and 4–4 in AAC play to tie for third place in the West Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl, where they defeated Virginia, 49–7.
The 2019 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by 12th-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Navy competed as a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) in the West Division.
The 2019 Liberty Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2019, with kickoff at 3:45 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 61st edition of the Liberty Bowl, and one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. Sponsored by automotive retailer AutoZone, the game was officially known as the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
The 2020 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by thirteenth-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Navy competed as a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC).
