Interhall Football at Notre Dame
History:
Interhall Football has been a part of the University of Notre Dame for over a century as it first appeared in a school-run newspaper called the Scholastic on October 24, 1885 which is a mere 43 years after the school was founded in 1842 by Father Sorin. The program reached a height of popularity during the coaching era of Knute Rockne from 1918-1930 as he believed the program had a lot to offer both the varsity sport at Notre Dame and the livelihood of the all-male student body who were not proficient enough at football to represent the school. His greatest contribution was the establishment of the hand-me-down program that outfitted intramural athletes with varsity gear that the team no longer used. This greatly reduced the cost to outfit players and opened the door for more students to participate. Varsity head coaches have continued to follow in Rockne's footsteps as several coaches have looked toward interhall football for talent as some Notre Dame varsity players got there start on the intramural fields including Notre Dame's current starting kicker David Ruffer. The program remains one of two full contact tackle intramural college football leagues in the United States. The other league is at West Point.
source:Kieran Darcy, espn.com page 2 reporter
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=darcy/081120&sportCat=ncf
Interhall Football has been a part of the University of Notre Dame for over a century as it first appeared in a school-run newspaper called the Scholastic on October 24, 1885 which is a mere 43 years after the school was founded in 1842 by Father Sorin. The program reached a height of popularity during the coaching era of Knute Rockne from 1918-1930 as he believed the program had a lot to offer both the varsity sport at Notre Dame and the livelihood of the all-male student body who were not proficient enough at football to represent the school. His greatest contribution was the establishment of the hand-me-down program that outfitted intramural athletes with varsity gear that the team no longer used. This greatly reduced the cost to outfit players and opened the door for more students to participate. Varsity head coaches have continued to follow in Rockne's footsteps as several coaches have looked toward interhall football for talent as some Notre Dame varsity players got there start on the intramural fields including Notre Dame's current starting kicker David Ruffer. The program remains one of two full contact tackle intramural college football leagues in the United States. The other league is at West Point.
source:Kieran Darcy, espn.com page 2 reporter
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=darcy/081120&sportCat=ncf
An Early Interhalll Football Team
Costs:
The University spends an average of $265 to outfit one player with equipment
The total cost to run the program ranges from $20,000-$25,000 a year
There are several non-monetary costs such as the program's bad reputation for serious injuries (In 2009 there was a broken femur and torn ACL among several other less serious injuries)
Participants are required to pay $20 and halls are required to pay $75 to enter a team to offset costs
Logistics:
All 15 male undergraduate residence halls have a team
Teams are limited to 24 participants
Most teams have tryouts to narrow down the men interested in playing interhall football to 24 players who are allowed to play on the team
Nearly 360 students participate in the league (the school has 8,371 undergraduates; 53% of which are male; therefore 8% of male undergraduate students participate in the league)
The season consists of 4 games with the top-ranked 8 teams advancing to the playoffs
The championship game is played in Notre Dame Stadium
Tryouts for most teams are in late August and the Championship games is played on the Sunday after the last home football game (typically the weekend before Thanksgiving meaning that the season lasts 3 full months for the two teams that comptete for the championship)
Rules:
The games are officiated according to Indiana high school football rules with some modifications
Players must wear all equipment that is issued to them and can not alter it in any way
The game begins with a coin toss
There are no kickoffs; the team that starts on offense begins their drive on the 35 yard line
There are four 12 minute quarters with a running clock (the clock stops according to Indiana high school rules in the last two minutes of the half and game)
source: Notre Dame RecSports
The University spends an average of $265 to outfit one player with equipment
The total cost to run the program ranges from $20,000-$25,000 a year
There are several non-monetary costs such as the program's bad reputation for serious injuries (In 2009 there was a broken femur and torn ACL among several other less serious injuries)
Participants are required to pay $20 and halls are required to pay $75 to enter a team to offset costs
Logistics:
All 15 male undergraduate residence halls have a team
Teams are limited to 24 participants
Most teams have tryouts to narrow down the men interested in playing interhall football to 24 players who are allowed to play on the team
Nearly 360 students participate in the league (the school has 8,371 undergraduates; 53% of which are male; therefore 8% of male undergraduate students participate in the league)
The season consists of 4 games with the top-ranked 8 teams advancing to the playoffs
The championship game is played in Notre Dame Stadium
Tryouts for most teams are in late August and the Championship games is played on the Sunday after the last home football game (typically the weekend before Thanksgiving meaning that the season lasts 3 full months for the two teams that comptete for the championship)
Rules:
The games are officiated according to Indiana high school football rules with some modifications
Players must wear all equipment that is issued to them and can not alter it in any way
The game begins with a coin toss
There are no kickoffs; the team that starts on offense begins their drive on the 35 yard line
There are four 12 minute quarters with a running clock (the clock stops according to Indiana high school rules in the last two minutes of the half and game)
source: Notre Dame RecSports
Source: The Observer
Past 10 Interhall Football Champions:
2009 - Siegfried
2008 - Siegfried
2007 - Stanford
2006 - Morrissey
2005 - Zahm
2004 - Keenan
2003 - Siegfried
2002 - Siegfried
2001 - Dillon
2000 - Keenan
2009 - Siegfried
2008 - Siegfried
2007 - Stanford
2006 - Morrissey
2005 - Zahm
2004 - Keenan
2003 - Siegfried
2002 - Siegfried
2001 - Dillon
2000 - Keenan
