He changed how
the game of football was played, coached, watched and promoted.
He inspired a nation with an unyielding dedication to achieving excellence with honor.
He showed countless coaches how to positively influence young lives.
Now, we bring the life and legacy of the great Knute Rockne to a 21st century audience.
Rockne guided Notre Dame to its first consensus national championship in 1924, with a team featuring The Four Horsemen and The Seven Mules. His tam went 9-0 during the regular season, then defeated Stanford, 27-10, in the Jan. 1, 1925 Rose Bowl.
He guided the Fighting Irish to two more national titles, with undefeated teams in 1929 and 1930, before his shocking death in an airplane crash on March 31, 1931.
Owing to their fame and success on the field, and Rockne's extensive contacts and personal magnetism, dozens of his Notre Dame players became football coaches at schools and colleges nationwide.
In addition, Rockne mentored hundreds more young coaches through his summer coaching schools held on college campuses from coast to coast. In every corner of the nation, the Rockne influence guided the game.
Rockne became head coach at Notre Dame in 1918, after four years as assistant. In the next 13 seasons, he compiled a record of 105-12-5, for a winning percentage of .881, the highest in major college football history.
Rockne's 1924 team became the first to play games in New York City, Chicago and southern California in the same season. Rock's teams played in major stadiums across the U.S., gaining a huge national following for the school.
Rockne became one of the most oft-quoted Americans of his time. He connected with the masses through his speeches, newspaper and magazine articles, and later radio and newsreels. People would always want to know "What does Rock have to say?'