First meeting | September 15, 1975 Notre Dame, 17–3 |
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Latest meeting | November 19, 2022 Notre Dame, 44–0 |
Next meeting | 2025 in Chestnut Hill |
Stadiums | Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, U.S. Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, Indiana, U.S. |
Trophy | Ireland Trophy Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 27 |
All-time series | Notre Dame leads, 17–9 (.654) [1] |
Largest victory | Notre Dame, 54–7 (1992) |
Longest win streak | Notre Dame, 9 (2009–present) |
Current win streak | Notre Dame, 9 (2009–present) |
The Holy War is an American rivalry between the Boston College Eagles and University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a technical nonconference rivalry in college football, but in most sports an Atlantic Coast Conference rivalry. The series derives its name from the fact that the Eagles and the Fighting Irish represent the only two Catholic universities in the United States which still compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the highest level of competition in American college football.
Although football at both universities dates to the 19th century, the series itself is relatively young. Boston College and Notre Dame first met on the gridiron on September 15, 1975, in a game held at Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts. Since then, the two schools have met a total of 25 times, including a match-up in the 1983 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee. An annual series was held from 1992 to 2004 and after a two-season hiatus the rivalry resumed for the 2007–12, 2015, 2017, and 2019 seasons as part of Notre Dame's scheduling agreement with the ACC. Notre Dame leads the series 18–9. The future of the series had been in question for several years after Boston College left the Big East for the ACC and the Big East asked Notre Dame to add at least three Big East schools each year to its football schedule, but on June 8, 2010, it was announced that the series would continue.
While the "Holy War" moniker dates to the first contest between the two schools in 1975 and has become popularized in the sports media, [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] the rivalry has also acquired a number of other nicknames over the years. These include the "Vatican Bowl", and the "Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl." Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a Notre Dame alumna, referenced the rivalry using the "Holy War" moniker during a 2006 commencement address at BC's Alumni Stadium. [11]
Boston College victories | Notre Dame victories | Vacated wins [n 1] |
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Since their first meeting in 1975, the Fighting Irish and Eagles have generated some memorable moments in the past forty plus years. The teams played each season from 1992 until 2004. Over the course of 24 games, here are some of the more memorable ones:
The Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl is a trophy, in the form of a large cut-crystal bowl, given to the winner of the Boston College-Notre Dame football game. It is named after the legendary Frank Leahy, who was the head coach at both schools. The award is presented to the winning team at the conclusion of the game by members of the Notre Dame Club of Boston.
The Ireland Trophy, created by the Notre Dame student government in 1994, is presented annually "as a token of goodwill, camaraderie and friendly rivalry" to the winner of the game.
After the 2012 season, the Irish became partial member of the ACC, in all sports except football, where they remained independent. Although, as part of the deal to become an associate member in the ACC, the Irish are contracted to five games against ACC opponents every season. With these new obligations, the scheduled 2015–2018 games needed to be amended. BC was originally supposed to host in 2015 at Alumni Stadium, but instead a game was scheduled at Fenway Park, with the Irish hosting the neutral site location in their ongoing Shamrock Series. [19] On October 21, 2014, Notre Dame's future games with ACC schools through 2025 were announced. The Fighting Irish visited Boston College on September 16, 2017; the Eagles returned to Notre Dame on November 23, 2019. The Eagles visited Notre Dame on November 19, 2022. The teams are scheduled to meet in 2025 at Boston College. [20]
The Notre Dame–Purdue football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and Purdue Boilermakers football of Purdue University.
The Michigan State–Notre Dame football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Michigan State Spartans and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The first game between the teams took place on November 25, 1897. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 48–28–1.
The Boston College Eagles football team represents Boston College in the sport of American football. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Eagles home games are played at Alumni Stadium on the university's campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
The 2007 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. For the first time in school history, Notre Dame opened the season with five losses. Their nine-loss season was also a school record.
The 2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tyrone Willingham and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
The 1998 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bob Davie and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
The 2008 ACC Championship Game was a college football game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Boston College Eagles. The game, sponsored by Dr Pepper, was the final regular-season contest of the 2008 college football season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia Tech defeated Boston College, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, 30–12. Until 2021, this was the last ACC Championship Game to not feature Clemson or Florida State from the Atlantic Division.
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 played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day when the game is in Los Angeles or on the second or third Saturday of October when the game is in South Bend, Indiana.
The Michigan–Notre Dame football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Michigan Wolverines and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The 2009 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Weis entered his fifth season as head coach with the expectation from the Notre Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for a BCS Bowl berth. Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4–2, with close losses to Michigan and USC but ended the season with four straight losses, including a second loss to Navy in three years. Weis was fired as head coach the Monday after the Stanford loss at the end of the season. Although Notre Dame was bowl eligible with 6 wins, the University announced on December 4 that the Irish had chosen not to play in a bowl game. Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick hired Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly after a 10-day coaching search.
The 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference football season was the 56th season that the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) participated in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football. As a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conference, the ACC's constituent members competed within the framework of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
The 2010 Hyundai Sun Bowl game was the 77th edition of the annual college football bowl game known as the Sun Bowl. It was played on December 31, 2010, between the Miami Hurricanes from the ACC and the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish, in a revival of a long-dormant rivalry. CBS television broadcast the 2 p.m. (ET) game. Hyundai took over as the title sponsor. Bernie Olivas is its executive director.
The Notre Dame–Stanford football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. As of 2023, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Stanford Cardinal have met 37 times, beginning in 1925. The Notre Dame–Stanford game has been played annually since 1997, with the teams meeting at Notre Dame Stadium earlier in the season in even-numbered years, and at Stanford Stadium on the weekend following Thanksgiving in odd-numbered years since 1999. The game typically alternates positions in Notre Dame's schedule with its other Pac-12 opponent, USC.
The 2003 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the NC State Wolfpack and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Alltel Stadium. The 58th edition of the Gator Bowl, it was played in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 1, 2003. The game was the final contest of the 2002 NCAA Division I–A football season for both teams and ended in a 28–6 victory for NC State.
The Boston College–Syracuse football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Boston College Eagles and Syracuse Orange.
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 2013 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Steve Addazio and played their home games at Alumni Stadium. They finished the season 7–6 overall and 4–4 in ACC play to tie for third place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the AdvoCare V100 Bowl, where they were defeated by Arizona, 42–19.
Ian Book is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft. He won Super Bowl LVIII with the Chiefs.
Philip Stephen Jurkovec is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He previously played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Boston College Eagles.
Sam Hartman is an American football quarterback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He previously played for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons where he became the all-time leader in touchdown passes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).