Ten Domers Who Most Influenced ND

As Notre Dame undergraduates begin the fall semester today, let's remember ten of our predecessors who contributed the most to Notre Dame:

10. Rev. William Corby, C.S.C.

Twice served as ND president; represented ND at Gettysburg, where he conferred General Abolution to Irish Brigade; led the building of today’s Grotto after Sorin passed

9. Arch Ward

Worked as an early ND SID; corresponded with Rockne and advocated for ND in the Chicago Tribune; gave ND a recruiting advantage with saturated coverage

8. John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C.

Started ND’s business school; tied religion with football; initiated tradition of Communion for football players before away games

7. Frank Leahy

Played under Rockne; revived ND football as a powerhouse; four-time national championship coach, counting the legitimate ND way

6. Rev. Matthew Walsh, C.S.C.

Started at ND in ninth grade; officially accepted the “Fighting Irish” name; expanded South Quad; maintained ND’s Catholicism during early questions about its identity

5. Jesse Harper

Although he is not a Notre Dame graduate, as athletic director during the formative years he combated regional unwillingness to play ND in football by expanding the schedule nationwide

4. Rev. John Zahm, C.S.C.

1871 grad; focused ND on university instead of prep school; made ND first college lighted by electricity; Rev. J.W. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., called him “greatest mind produced by the university”

3. Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.

Dramatically increased endowment, professors, student body, campus buildings; admitted women; brought ND honorably through Civil Rights Movement

2. Knute K. Rockne

Greatest football coach of all time; changed the game forever; turned ND football into a national institution; foresight to fund Notre Dame Stadium and build two residence halls (Alumni and Dillon), as well as South Dining Hall with surplus cash

1. Rev. Edward F. Sorin, C.S.C.

Founded and named ND; set a golden standard based on his vision; went against wishes of his superior to gild the Dome in real gold; lobbied successfully for campus post office and South Bend railroad station

A National School

In Murray Sperber’s definitive Shake Down The Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football, former AD and head coach Jesse Harper explained the program’s national schedule: “I had to go someplace where I could get some ball games.”

The cause was prejudice and blacklisting from regional teams. The result was the national identity that caused ND football to become America's team and the university to grow into America's Catholic school.

Almost a century after Harper first coached the Irish, Brian Kelly, fearful that potential conference alignment could regionalize ND recruiting, inherits a roster whose geographic diversity lives up to the University’s identity and strengthens the case for continued independence.