This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2012) |
The Leprechaun | |
---|---|
Team | Fighting Irish |
University | University of Notre Dame |
Conference | Independent ACC |
Description | Irish leprechaun with his fists up |
Origin of name | Irish heritage |
First seen | 1960 |
Website | Official website |
The Notre Dame Leprechaun is the mascot of the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame) Fighting Irish athletics department. He appears at athletic events, most notably at football games. He was designed by sports artist Theodore W. Drake in 1964 for US$50. [1]
The Leprechaun was featured in the cover of TIME magazine in November 1964. [2]
The Fighting Irish logo features a side view of The Leprechaun with his fists up, ready to battle anyone that comes his way. The live version is a student, chosen annually at tryouts, dressed in a cutaway green suit and Irish country hat. The Leprechaun brandishes a shillelagh and aggressively leads cheers and interacts with the crowd, supposedly bringing magical powers and good luck to the Notre Dame team.
The Leprechaun was not always the official mascot of Notre Dame. For years, the team was represented by a series of Irish terrier dogs. The first, named Brick Top Shuan-Rhu, was donated by Charles Otis of Cleveland and presented to football head coach Knute Rockne the weekend of the Notre Dame-Pennsylvania game November 8, 1930. A number of terriers later took the role of the school mascot, which usually took the name Clashmore Mike. The Clashmore Mike mascot last made an appearance on the cover of the 1963 Notre Dame Football Dope Book with coach Hugh Devore and captain Bob Lehmann. In 1960, the Irish cheerleaders added the leprechaun to their cheering lineup. Terry Crawford, dressed in green, would walk back and forth in front of the cheerleading group with the Irish terrier, Mike.
The Leprechaun was named the official mascot in 1965, [3] when the Leprechaun was registered as an official university mark. However, earlier, in 1961, John Brandt from Elyria, Ohio became the first man to don the uniform and appear with Clashmore Mike at a home game against Oklahoma. Brandt served as the Leprechaun until 1963.
The Leprechaun can be seen around campus on football game weekends as he or she acts as the MC of Friday night pep rallies and makes several appearances at tailgates before games. During games, he or she leads the traditional cheers of the student section, who are named "The Leprechaun Legion."
Along with the cheerleaders, The Leprechaun also travels with the team as the Fighting Irish travel across the nation. He or she engages in several community service initiatives and makes public appearances.
Tryouts to become The Leprechaun take place over a monthlong process each spring. Prospect leprechauns are presented with several mental and physical challenges until the field is narrowed down to under ten finalists. During the final round of tryouts, each contestant must lead a 5-minute mock pep rally, answer questions during an interview with a local media personality, respond to a game situation, answer Notre Dame trivia, dance Notre Dame's version of the Irish Jig, and complete 50 pushups. A panel of judges then interviews each candidate in private before making the final decision.
Despite popular belief, there are no strict requirements for becoming the leprechaun. Notre Dame students of any height are eligible to try out regardless of their ability to grow a beard. The overall "look" of candidates does weigh into the decision, however, and more often than not a young man with a chinstrap beard will be chosen.
Rudy is a 1993 American biographical sports film directed by David Anspaugh. It is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles. It was the first film that the Notre Dame administration allowed to be shot on campus since Knute Rockne, All American in 1940.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division I in all sports, with many teams competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Notre Dame is one of only 16 universities in the United States that play Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. The school colors are gold and blue and the mascot is the Leprechaun. It was founded on November 23, 1887, with football in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Daniel Eugene Ruettiger is an American motivational speaker and author who played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. His early life and career at Notre Dame were the inspiration for the 1993 film Rudy.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the college 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's Notre Dame Stadium, which has a capacity of 77,622. Notre Dame is one of three 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.
Gerard Anthony Faust is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1981 to 1985 and at the University of Akron from 1986 to 1994, compiling a career college football record of 73–79–4. From 1962 to 1980, Faust was the head football coach at Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he tallied a mark of 178–23–2 and won four High School Football National Championships. Before coaching, Faust enjoyed a successful stint as a quarterback at the University of Dayton, where he played under former Notre Dame coach Hugh Devore. Faust was offered a partial scholarship to Notre Dame, but enrolled at Dayton, where he graduated in 1958.
Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.
Buckingham Ulysses "Bucky" Badger is the official mascot of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The mascot attends major sporting events for the Wisconsin Badgers and other events in Wisconsin.
Buzz is the current official mascot of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Buzz is usually represented as a stylized yellowjacket with yellow-and-black fur, white wings, a yellow head, and antennae. Buzz is almost never drawn with six legs, but rather with arms, legs, hands and feet, like a human. Invented in 1972 and restyled in 1979, Buzz reflects the tradition of referring to Georgia Tech students as "Yellow Jackets." Buzz is also one of Georgia Tech's emblems and trademarks, one that they defended in a 1998 legal conflict with the Salt Lake Buzz.
Alumni Hall is one of the 32 Residence Halls on the campus of the University of Notre Dame and one of the 16 male dorms. It is located on South Quad adjacent to "Main Circle", across from the law school building, and it hosts 234 undergraduates.
The 2005 USC vs. Notre Dame football game was a regular season game that took place on October 15, 2005 at Notre Dame Stadium. The game between perennial rivals USC and Notre Dame was played for the Jeweled Shillelagh. The game was preceded by much pre-game hype, including a visit by College GameDay. In what became known as the "Bush Push", the game ended with quarterback Matt Leinart being pushed by running back Reggie Bush into the end zone for the winning touchdown. His push was illegal assistance under the laws of the game but it was not called a foul by the officials.
"Notre Dame, Our Mother" is the alma mater of the University of Notre Dame, a private, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana. The song is addressed to "Notre Dame", a reference to both the university and its patroness and namesake, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Joseph Casasanta, a 1923 Notre Dame graduate, composed the song and it was first performed at coach Knute Rockne's funeral in 1931.
The Irish Guard is a group of uniformed students that leads the University of Notre Dame's Band of the Fighting Irish onto the field at home games. They are considered by some to be one of the integral parts in the pageantry, lore, and legend of Notre Dame football.
Chapman High School is a public secondary school in Chapman, Kansas, United States. It is the sole high school operated by Chapman USD 473 school district. The mascot for CHS athletic teams is the Fighting Irish. Students come to CHS from Chapman Middle School which is fed by elementary schools throughout Dickinson County, Kansas. There are four other districts in Dickinson County
Hairy Dawg is the costumed mascot of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Hairy Dawg made his first appearance at the 1981 Sugar Bowl and has been an official mascot of UGA since. Hairy Dawg attends all Georgia Bulldogs football games and most home athletic events. Forbes ranks Hairy Dawg No. 3 in their list of "America's Top 10 Sports Mascots".
Knightro is the official mascot of the University of Central Florida, and its sports teams, the Knights. Knightro debuted in 1994, and appears at UCF sporting events and also appears at UCF-related functions. He occasionally uses a custom go-kart designed and built by UCF Engineering students and other members of UCF Athletics, dubbed "Pegasus 1." He has previously used a custom car designed and built by UCF Engineering students dubbed "Chariot II."
The Band of the Fighting Irish is the marching band of the University of Notre Dame. Over 300 members of the band represent nearly every field of study, and include students from across the United States as well as from overseas. The Band of the Fighting Irish is composed of students from the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest university marching band.
Theodore W. Drake was an American cartoonist, graphic artist, and sports artist known for creating the college-sports mascot the Notre Dame Leprechaun.
There are a multitude of rituals associated with collegiate sporting events across the United States. Varying by sport, demographics, and location, sporting rituals often become essential to the preparation, organization, and game-day experience. In fact, many would argue that rituals are the experience.
Louisiana State University is the flagship university of the state of Louisiana, United States. This article describes the traditions of the university.
The Subway Alumni are a group of Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans who are known for their strict allegiance to the school although never attending or graduating from the school. The group's nickname originated when New York City area residents began traveling to early Notre Dame football games around the New York area by train. The largely Irish and Catholic population began to rally around the emerging Midwestern school.