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The Big East Conference was a collegiate athletics conference that consisted of as many as 16 universities in the eastern half of the United States from 1979 to 2013. The conference's members participated in 24 NCAA sports. The conference had a history of success at the national level in basketball throughout its history, while its shorter football program, created by inviting one college and four other "associate members" into the conference, resulted in two national championships.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. The team is coached by Brian Kelly and plays its home games at the campus's Notre Dame Stadium, which has a capacity of 77,622. Notre Dame is one of six 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. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Notre Dame football competed as an ACC member for the 2020 FBS season. During the 2020 season, they went on to appear in the ACC Championship Game.
The Bowl Coalition was formed through an agreement among Division I-A college football bowl games and conferences for the purpose of forcing a national championship game between the top two teams and to provide quality bowl game matchups for the champions of its member conferences. It was established for the 1992 season after there were co-national champions for both 1990 and 1991. The agreement was in place for the 1992, 1993, and 1994 college football seasons. It was the predecessor of the Bowl Alliance (1995–1997), and later the Bowl Championship Series (1998–2013) and the College Football Playoff.
Donald Eugene Nehlen is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University (1968–1976) and at West Virginia University (1980–2000). Nehlen retired from coaching college football in 2001 with a career record of 202–128–8 and as the 17th winningest coach in college football history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and has served as a president of the American Football Coaches Association.
The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, in both the AP and Coaches poll.
Wayne Vernal Millner was an American college and professional football player who was known for his clutch play as an offensive and defensive end for both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and for the National Football League's Washington Redskins.
Francis Joseph Tripucka was an American collegiate and professional football quarterback, at Notre Dame, in the National Football League, in the Canadian Football League, and in the early American Football League.
Todd William Lyght is a former professional American football player and former defensive backs coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Brian Keith Kelly is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, a position he has held since December 2009. Kelly previously served as the head football coach at Grand Valley State University (1991–2003), Central Michigan University (2004–2006), and the University of Cincinnati (2006–2009). He led the Grand Valley State Lakers to consecutive NCAA Division II Football Championships in 2002 and 2003. Kelly's 2012 Notre Dame team reached the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, while his 2018 and 2020 teams made appearances in the College Football Playoff (CFP).
The 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game is considered one of the greatest and most controversial games in college football history played between Michigan State and Notre Dame. The game was played in Michigan State's Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. Michigan State entered the contest 9–0 and ranked No. 2, while Notre Dame entered 8–0 and ranked No. 1. Notre Dame elected not to try for a score on the final series; thus, the game ended in a 10–10 tie. Notre Dame went on to win or share the national title in fourteen polls ; Michigan State won or shared in three minor polls, and Alabama, who finished with the only undefeated and untied record, won two minor polls. Notre Dame was coached by Ara Parseghian and Michigan State was coached by Duffy Daugherty, both school legends.
Renaldo Antonio Turnbull is a former professional American football player who played for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League Was the Saints 1st round in the 1990 NFL Draft. Turnbull, a 6'5", 252 lb (114 kg). linebacker-defensive end from West Virginia University, played 8 seasons in the NFL from 1990-1997 for the Saints and Carolina Panthers. In his NFL career, Turnbull played in 120 games with 45.5 sacks and one interception.
Darrell Lamont Whitmore is an American former professional baseball player for the Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins of the Major League Baseball (MLB) and was a college football and baseball player for the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Corwin Brown is an American football coach who was most recently the defensive backs coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Following an eight-year career in the NFL as a safety from 1993–2000, Brown worked as an assistant coach for Virginia, the New York Jets, and Notre Dame before joining the Patriots.
The 1993 West Virginia Mountaineers football team completed the regular season with an 11–0 and won the school's first Big East Conference championship in what was the first year of round robin play for the conference. The team traveled to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to the Florida Gators, 41–7. WVU finished the season 11–1.
Kevin T. McDougal is best known as the starting quarterback for the University of Notre Dame football team who narrowly missed winning the national championship in 1993. He is currently a real estate investor in South Florida.
Blair Armstrong Kiel was a four-year starting quarterback and punter/holder for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, from 1980 to 1983. He played professionally for several teams in the National Football League, the Canadian Football League, and the Arena Football League, and was inducted into the Indiana State Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Kiel worked as an advisor to corporate real estate clients in the Indianapolis area. Blair retired to start a non-profit organization to help young athletes understand their need to have a “Plan B” after their athletic careers are over. He happily lived his final years with his fiancé Lisa Olson and her son in Fishers until his death.
Wallace Leo Fromhart was an American football player and coach. Born in the tiny mountain town of Newburg, West Virginia, he lived and attended school there until his freshman year of high school, after which his family moved to the significantly larger town of Moundsville, West Virginia. A gifted athlete, Fromhart played varsity baseball and football for Moundsville High School from 1929 to 1931. Following high school graduation, he worked at the local US Stamping plant until 1932 when he was offered, and accepted, an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame and play for the university's baseball team. His athletic prowess also landed him the starting quarterback position on the Fighting Irish football team during his junior academic year (1935–36).
The Notre Dame–USC football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and USC Trojans football team of the University of Southern California, customarily on the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day when the game is played in Los Angeles or on the second or third Saturday of October when the game is played in South Bend.
Darren Henry Studstill is an American former professional football player who was a strong safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. He also was a member of the London Monarchs in the World League of American Football. In 1994, he was drafted in the sixth round by the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at West Virginia University.
James Anthony Mello was an American football player. He won two national championships at the University of Notre Dame and went on to play professionally between 1947 and 1950 as a member of the Boston Yanks, Chicago Rockets, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, and Paterson Panthers.