Notre Dame is one of the most prestigious Catholic universities in America with a rich and colorful history. Its name and colors are recognized across the nation, and many people hold the fighting Irish close to their hearts. Its football program is one of the most successful in college football history, with an astounding number of national championships. One of the necessities for a great football program is a great coach; for Kansas State, Snyder; for Alabama, Saban; and for Notre Dame, Rockne. Knute Rockne is one of the greatest coaches to ever live, and he led the Irish to multiple national championships and winning seasons. He not only helped the football program, he helped propel Notre Dame into the lofty heights it holds today among…show more content… During the late 1910’s Notre Dame has won impressive victories over schools such as Nebraska, Army, and Indiana (Brondfield 84). However, Rockne knew that if the football team wanted more respect they must face tougher opponents (Brondfield 84). In journalist Jerry Brondfield’s book Rockne: The Coach, the Man, the Legend, Rockne is quoted saying “My intention is to play at least six nationally known teams each year. We need that for the kind of recognition Notre Dame deserves” (Brondfield 84). Rockne managed to schedule powerful teams such as Purdue and Indiana; however, the real triumph was arranging a game with Northwestern, a prestigious Big Ten school (Sperber 98). The Irish would go on to be undefeated that year, and with such an impressive schedule, Notre Dame’s and Knute Rockne’s prestige soared to new…show more content… One of the reasons he captured the hearts of Americans so well was his success as a public speaker (Brondfield 202). It was not always this was however. He was a great speaker in the classroom and on the field, yet he stumbled in front of audiences to the point they felt sorry for him ; after some tips from Father Cavanaugh however, Rockne would become “one of the most exciting speakers in America” (Brondfield 202). He always prepared his speech in advance, critiquing it and fixing it up, and by the time the audience heard the performance it was a veritable symphony of words (Brondfield 202). As Rockne’s words rang out across the nation in radio and in print, he became a national icon, and with him, Notre Dame (Brondfield