[jacketree]

Wow!  Navy is an easy win for Northern Indiana Parochial College every year, and they almost always play in South Bend.  So that annual contest's value is obvious even discounting the tradition. 

Navy is almost always an easy win for the Irish, but they play Navy every year for reasons that go beyond a W, or just 'tradition.'

The series is one of the oldest inter-sectional rivalries and  has endured for decades largely because of a promise made during World War II. ND’s enrollment was severely impacted by the war, to the point of threatening its continued viability. The Navy stepped in and made their campus a major training site, poured considerable resources into the school, and, some might argue, essentially saved it.  As a result, the Irish promised Navy there would always be a spot on their football schedule as long as Navy wanted it.

Navy in turn likes that spot on the Irish schedule despite winning only three times in the past 45 years. (Or something like that.)  It is able to tell recruits they will play ND all four years they are at the Academy – with two trips to N.otre Dame Stadium, and two other games played in a big stadium somewhere like Baltimore, New York, Washington, Florida, or Dublin.  I also read somewhere that the ND/Navy game funds the Academy's entire athletic budget for a year, but I'm not sure I really believe that.

Now if the Irish would just start up a Sprint team there could be serious payback ;D

[jacketree]

Wow!  Navy is an easy win for Northern Indiana Parochial College every year, and they almost always play in South Bend.  So that annual contest's value is obvious even discounting the tradition. 

Navy is almost always an easy win for the Irish, but they play Navy every year for reasons that go beyond a W, or just 'tradition.'

The series is one of the oldest inter-sectional rivalries and  has endured for decades largely because of a promise made during World War II. ND’s enrollment was severely impacted by the war, to the point of threatening its continued viability. The Navy stepped in and made their campus a major training site, poured considerable resources into the school, and, some might argue, essentially saved it.  As a result, the Irish promised Navy there would always be a spot on their football schedule as long as Navy wanted it.

Navy in turn likes that spot on the Irish schedule despite winning only three times in the past 45 years. (Or something like that.)  It is able to tell recruits they will play ND all four years they are at the Academy – with two trips to N.otre Dame Stadium, and two other games played in a big stadium somewhere like Baltimore, New York, Washington, Florida, or Dublin.  I also read somewhere that the ND/Navy game funds the Academy's entire athletic budget for a year, but I'm not sure I really believe that.

Now if the Irish would just start up a Sprint team there could be serious payback ;D