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What is the longest intersectional college football rivalry? Notre Dame and Navy history

Submitted by Scholar Muchu on Sat, 2005-11-12 20:44.

College football has been played for close to 150 years, and for 78 of those years Notre Dame has played Navy. It's the longest intersectional rivalry in college football, which means out of conference. It started in 1927 and has been extended another 10 years due to a new contract between Notre Dame and Navy.

The contract is exciting for a number of reasons, the largest of which includes a 2012 meeting in Dublin, Ireland. The last time the temas played in Ireland, Notre Dame beat Navy. 54-27.

Beating Navy is a common occurence for Notre Dame as they have won the last 42 times. That's another NCAA record. The Navy Midshipmen haven't won since 1963. If the streak is that bad for so long, why continue?

Heather VanHoegarden of the Irish Insider explains it best:

But in 2003, even as Irish fans were jumping up and down with excitement as Fitzpatrick's kick fluttered through the uprights, they soon calmed down as Navy left Notre Dame Stadium through the tunnel on their end of the stadium.

"U-S-A, U-S-A," the student section chanted as the Midshipmen ran through the tunnel.

And why?

Because Notre Dame-Navy is about so much more than just football.

It's a rivalry that transcends materialism or commercialism, and rises to that of moralistic legend.

As Gerry Motl tells us in his excellent history:

The 1927 game signaled the start of what is now one of the longest-lived intercollegiate football rivalry in the country…a rich football history tradition that hopefully never will be broken.