Rockne coaches interhall

Unlike most names associated with interhall athletics, "Knute Rockne" needs no explanation to persuade you of its significance. The original "Rock" has won three national championships, coached ten consensus and two unanimous all-Americans, sired a coaching tree of over a hundred direct members, and still maintains the highest winning percentage (.881) of any major college football coach over ninety years after his tragic plane crash in Bazaar, Kansas.

There is a popular story that coach Rockne was the founder of the interhall football leagues, and it was he who began the tradition of hall rivalry and the gifting of old varsity equipment to the interhall players. However, this is actually a myth that has been perpetrated since the 1940s. In reality, interhall football had existed at Notre Dame over two decades before Rockne ever stepped on campus. It had been a recognized institution on campus since the 1909 season as well. Jesse Harper was the first coach to allow interhall players to use old equipment, not Rockne.

The focus of Knute Rockne's involvement in interhall football is clearer during his playing days than when he was head coach of the Fighting Irish. As a varsity end, Rockne took his very first coaching job for the 1912 Sorin Hallers.

The Scholastic reported, "a large squad of Sorinites have donned the moleskins and are practising diligently. The rigorous daily workouts are well calculated to put the team in perfect trim for the opening of the football, season. Knute Rockne is coaching, and with the promising material at hand, should develop an excellent eleven."

However, by the time the season began, Rockne was transferred to Corby Hall, interhall champion in six of the past the last nine seasons. Unfortunately for the Rock, he was not able to sustain that success in his inaugural year as a Notre Dame football coach. The Corbyites ground to a 1–2–1 halt.

The 1913 Dome Yearbook commented on this performance, writing "the surprise of the season was the failure of the Corby men. Only one victory was credited to them – a 5 to 0 win from Walsh. They also played to a tie with Sorin."

In the following season, Rockne was again tasked with coaching the Corbyites to victory. Once again, he failed to do so. Corby had an abysmal 0–1–2 showing, their worst record since 1902.

It's ironic that arguably the most renowned football coach in history, a man who lost just twelve games in his entire thirteen-year career with the Fighting Irish, won only a single game against three losses and as many ties as a two-year interhall coach.

Varsity coaching record: 105–12–5 (.881)
Interhall coaching record: 1–3–3 (.357)