"Interhall football" is the highest level of intramural football at the University of Notre Dame. Each intramural team represents their residence hall, hence the term interHALL. Seventeen halls, plus an "Off-Campus" team for those living off university grounds, form the men's interhall football league (MIFL). The women's interhall football league, established in 1972 with the onset of co-education at Notre Dame, is comprised of sixteen teams. The halls are divided into divisions with a round-robin schedule of four to six games, depending on the number of teams in each division. The best teams advance to the playoffs, where they vie for the coveted interhall championship. While most games can be found on one of Notre Dame's many, many auxiliary football fields, the championship is traditionally decided in Notre Dame Stadium.

Many other colleges also support their own intramural football leagues. However, what sets interhall apart from any other collegiate program in the country is a commitment to playing full pads, 11-on-11, tackle football. After West Point and the Naval Academy discontinued their contact programs in the 1990s, Notre Dame became the last remaining post-secondary school to offer intramural tackle football in any capacity. This is yet another purely unique aspect of the N. D. experience!

Interhall football at Notre Dame has been consistently outshone by its gold and blue counterparts inside the Stadium, and understandably so. The Fighting Irish are among the most storied programs in college football history, holding records in All-American selections, NFL draft picks, and College Football Hall of Fame inductees. However, the story of Notre Dame football as it is told today omits a unique aspect that sets Notre Dame apart from other colleges with major college football — its Interhall Football League. The men, and eventually women, who have occupied the Interhall Football League over the past 130 years have made the program worth remembering. To best explain the full extent of this league, I have divided its history into eight eras. Click on an era below for a description of the period, major developments, new interhall football teams, and notable players.

Since 1890, there have been 124 recognized seasons of men's interhall football at Notre Dame. Beginning with co-education in 1972, 50 women's interhall football seasons have come and gone as well. The most important entry under each year is the season schedule, which documents all round-robin regular season games, as well as the post-season tournament that the top teams in each division compete in for the interhall championship. There are also a number of other sections which are periodically added based on the year that the season took place. Starting in 1950, a "talking points" section features notable details, updates, clarifications, and even controversies. The first "Alumni Stories" accounts begin in the 1950s as well, adding a personal touch that goes beyond the results found in the Observer and the Notre Dame Scholastic.

The Observer and the Scholastic have been great resources for the games and scores recorded in the interhall database. The unique story of interhall football, however, can best be told only through the experiences of its players, coaches, and associates. Thanks to their efforts, you can now read some of the incredible stories that have characterized the interhall football league through the post-World War II era.

Want to write a story of your own? Email your anecdote to interhallfootball@gmail.com and become a distinguished contributor to this site!

There are 32 active undergraduate residence halls at the University of Notre Dame. Seventeen for men, and fifteen for women. The halls are the lifeblood of intramural competition at Notre Dame, hosting dozens of interhall and sectional sports teams every year for over a century. The oldest continually used residence is Sorin Hall, debuting in 1888. The most recent addition is Johnson Family Hall, first opened for the 2020-21 schoolyear. Additionally, nine former residence halls have been repurposed or demolished, the most recent being Zahm Hall. Whether you are a Dawg, a Rambler, a Shamrock, or a Screamin' Otter, it is impossible to deny that you simply cannot maintain an interhall football league without a hall to call home.

The legend of Notre Dame football was built from unforgettable moments, the exploits of extraordinary players, and the dominant teams on which they played. The legend of interhall football is similar in these respects, although the stories of those events have remained in the shadows for decades. That changes now. 

The Legends section highlights important moments in interhall history, such as the time that a group of students tore down a goalpost after the 1926 Army game and sold the pieces on campus to pay for the medical bills of John Eagen, who had injured his leg in an interhall football game and was in danger of losing his tuition to cover the costs. The section also includes a list of people who were revolutionary in the development of interhall football, such as early administrator Br. Paul, C.S.C., and longtime interhall coach Dr. James "Doc" Carberry.