immigrants, and the press often referred to Notre Dame teams as "Catholics", "Papists", or "Dirty Irish". University leadership wished to distance itself from such names, and school publications referred to the team "the Gold and Blue" or the "Notre Damers".

There are several accounts on the origins of "Fighting Irish". One story suggests the moniker was born in 1899 during a game between Notre Dame and Northwestern. The Notre Dame squad was leading 5-0 at halftime when the Wildcat fans