Tradition

The University of Notre Dame is steeped in traditions, some of which date back more than a century. Others are more recent, but are no less important in creating the sense of community and character that has defined Our Lady’s University for the people who study, work, and visit here.

Campus Community

Notre Dame has a longstanding tradition of a vibrant, residential campus life. With no Greek life on campus, residence halls become the place where lifelong relationships are formed. These individual communities combine across campus to create the fabric of the residential life that is a hallmark of the Notre Dame experience.

Each residence hall has what’s known as a “signature event,” used to raise money for a particular charity or cause. The events contribute to a lively campus atmosphere and are some of the fondest Notre Dame memories of the people who organize and participate in them.

The residence halls also facilitate spiritual life on campus. Each hall has a chapel, and Mass is celebrated weekly. For some residence halls, these Masses become traditions unto themselves, as is the case with “Milkshake Mass” at Dillon Hall.

More than 100 Masses celebrated on campus each week

More than 50 on-campus chapels

A close-up of hands using an ice cream scooper to place rainbow sprinkle-filled sugar cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet.

FJ's Cookies

When Fr. Joe Carey moved to Ryan Hall as the priest-in-residence, the move came with a kitchen. Eager to find ways to engage in the community he decided to learn how to bake. Now, residents of Ryan Hall gather in Fr. Joe’s kitchen to bake, sample cookies, brownies and other treats and enjoy time together.

A group of seven people wearing bathingsuits running into a lake. The grass behind them is covered in snow.
Polar Bear Plunge, an annual charity fundraiser event organized by Badin Hall.
Two people covered head to toe in mud slide slide on their stomachs in mud.
Muddy Sunday, a volleyball tournament played in the mud at White Fields in support of Habitat for Humanity, organized by Keenan Hall.
A group of five male students squat on top of a homemade boat. One student rows as two people point onward with their paddles.
The Fisher Regatta is the signature event of Fisher Hall, where teams of students race across St. Mary's Lake in homemade boats.
Rector Rev. Paul Doyle, C.S.C., a priest, stands in front of a congregation and prays.
Rector Rev. Paul Doyle, C.S.C. celebrates the Thursday night Dillon "Milkshake Mass" in the Baumer Hall chapel.
A group of six people stand in a form of a circle, holding cups in their hands, and talking.
Residents and guests chat over milkshakes following the Thursday night Dillon "Milkshake Mass."

Service

Throughout the years the community involvement of faculty, staff and students alike has formed a tradition unto itself. It starts in the area immediately around campus, where the Notre Dame family contributes more than 90,000 service hours annually. In addition, Notre Dame alumni clubs frequently give of their time in their respective cities around the globe.

The commitment to service is evident in other corners of the University. Notre Dame has a vibrant and longstanding relationship with the branches of the military, as evidenced by its ROTC program, one of the largest in the country. The collective program is celebrated in impressive fashion each year with the Pass in Review.

Another campus tradition has used the sport of boxing to bring relief to the nation of Bangladesh. The Bengal Bouts, established in 1931, is a series of boxing matches that raise money for orphanages and missions run by the Congregation of Holy Cross, Notre Dame’s founding entity. In 1997, the all-female version, Baraka Bouts, debuted. It raises money for Holy Cross missions in East Africa.

More than 90,000 service hours annually

A college student wearing goggles crosses his arms and floats under water.

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A group of people in a room work at tables. A Black man with dreads is in focus in the foreground with his back facing the camera. His shirt says 'Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.'
Student, faculty and staff volunteers work on making blankets for the Ronald McDonald House during the first annual Notre Dame Law School Martin Luther King Day of service.
One girl wearing protective goggles swings a hammer toward a dilapidated house while five other students stand back and watch.
Students with the Center for Social Concerns work with Big Creek People in Action to rehabilitate a house in McDowell County, West Virginia.
Two people that just shaved their heads hug each other in front of a large group of people.
"The Bald and the Beautiful" is a charity that helps to raise money and awareness for children’s cancer by collecting money and shaving heads as a sign of solidarity with kids going through treatment.
A large group of ROTC members stand in attention stance.
The University has a long history of military service. Ever since World War II, Notre Dame has been training future officers, and the University’s Pass‐in‐Review is a great reminder of the military presence on campus. In this annual event, University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., inspects the (ROTC) Tri-Miitary presence of the school.
Two young men box in a boxing ring.
Bengal Bouts, an annual event raising funds for the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh.
Two young women wearing boxing pads and gloves box in a boxing ring. One woman throws a punch towards the other.
Baraka Bouts, an annual event hosted by the Women's Boxing club to raise funds for Missions in East Africa.
Middle schoolers stand in a pool and listen to a student athlete who is outside of the pool. Three other athletes sit in chairs.
Members of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams provided free swimming lessons to a diverse group of middle schoolers in South Bend as part of Pass It On, a sports-based leadership program led by student-athletes.

Other Campus Traditions

Other campus traditions seem to have developed from lore. For instance, undergraduates are known to avoid the steps of the Main Building (the Golden Dome) during their four years here, triumphantly scaling them immediately only after commencement. No one knows for sure the true origin of this tradition, but legend has it that many decades ago a young student was seen loitering on the steps when he should have been in class. A priest reportedly told the student that if he caught him on the steps instead of in class again, he’d be expelled. As these things do, the story took on a life of its own and now all undergrads heed the (clearly hyperbolic if not outdated) warning.

Similarly, undergraduates refrain from stepping on the grass on “God Quad,” the spiritual center of campus buttressed by the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, because legend has it offenders will not pass their theology course requirement.

A large group of Notre Dame seniors gather at the Grotto for a prayer service during Senior Week 2022.
Graduating seniors gather at the Grotto for a prayer service.
Allan Njomo, a Black man, celebrates and smiles during a Commencement ceremony.
Former Notre Dame Student Body President Allan Njomo celebrates at the end of the 2022 Commencement ceremony.
At night people wearing coats place lit candles on the ground during a prayer service.
Walk the Walk Week, held in conjunction with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, seeks to challenge the Notre Dame community to continue the important work of inclusion and begins with a candlelight prayer service.

Each year, Commencement heralds a series of traditions all its own. After finals, undergraduates move out and Senior Week begins, full of social gatherings and organized events that celebrate the four years of hard work accomplished by soon-to-be graduates. On the Thursday before Commencement, seniors head to the Grotto for what’s known as The Last Visit. Here, they light candles and hear words from the University president, and reflect on this pivotal moment in their lives.

Recently, a new campus tradition seeks to challenge the Notre Dame community to continue the important work of inclusion. Walk the Walk Week, held in conjunction with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, begins with a candlelight prayer service in the Main Building Rotunda. The week also includes a Celebration Luncheon, which features an address from a prominent figure. Past keynote speakers include David Robinson, Judge Ann Claire Williams, and Freedom Rider Diane Nash. The week also features events designed to advance the campus dialogue around diversity and inclusion.

An aerial view of God Quad on Notre Dame's campus.

A Tradition of Firsts

Notre Dame’s research enterprise has charted unprecedented growth in recent years, but scholars have long since created knowledge at Our Lady’s University.

In 1882, an ambitious Notre Dame student named Albert Zahm built what might have been the first wind tunnel in the United States so that he could study the lift and drag of various wing shapes. Zahm built the hand-driven contraption by removing the vibrating screens from a farmer’s winnowing blower. Two decades before the Wright brothers’ famous flight in 1903, Zahm was among the first to conclude that slender, concave surfaces shaped like a bird’s wing would make the best wings and propellers.

In 1899, professor Jerome Green and his electrical engineering assistants were experimenting with wireless telegraphy. After a series of experiments in Science Hall, Green transmitted a message a mile away to Saint Mary’s College. Scholastic reported: “This is the farthest distance a message has been sent in this country as far as we know and the boys in the scientific department feel highly elated over their success.”

In another first, Rev. Nieuwland, C.S.C., working in his lab in the Chemistry Building (now Crowley Hall, just south of LaFortune), successfully polymerized acetylene into divinylacetylene, a formulae which DuPont later used in developing neoprene, or synthetic rubber.

Notre Dame is also the first to establish a campus fire department, a university band, and is home to the oldest Catholic law school in the country.

A painting depicting a glider experiment by professor Albert Francis Zahm.

The First U.S. Wind Tunnel

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An archival photo of a priest in a chemistry laboratory with a student standing behind a large table with beakers and other lab equipment. There is a shelf that takes up most of the back wall with with different sizes of bottles.
Rev. Julius Nieuwland, C.S.C. in a chemistry laboratory with a student, 1933-1934.
An archival photo of the Notre Dame Fire Department firemen, wearing coats and helmets and some holding onto a hose, posed on Main Quad in front of the Main Building.
Notre Dame Fire Department firemen posed on Main Quad in front of Main Building, c1899.
An archival photo of the Notre Dame Marching Band posing for a photo in three rows holding wind instruments. In front of the group lays drums, a tambourine and a cymbal.
Notre Dame Marching Band, Jubilee Year, 1895.
An archival photo of a transmitting wire on the Scared Heart Church Basilica.
Transmitting wire on Sacred Heart Church Basilica, used by Jerome Green for his wireless transmission in April 1899.

Athletics

Millions of fans identify with the University through its unparalleled athletics tradition. The Fighting Irish.

Some of the fondest memories for many students and Fighting Irish fans involve football home game weekends. The festivities begin Friday afternoon with Trumpets in the Dome, when members of the Band of the Fighting Irish play the Notre Dame Victory March to throngs of people inside the Main Building. Later the traditional pep rally designed to energize the Irish faithful with rousing speeches from players and coaches. On Saturdays, fans line up to wish the Irish players good luck during the Player Walk, two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff. The band performs a concert on the steps of Bond Hall 90 minutes before kickoff, before marching from the Main Building to Notre Dame Stadium. As fans file into the House the Rockne built, the band plays “Hike, Notre Dame,” as well as the Victory March, followed by the playing of America, the Beautiful and the National Anthem. Then it’s time to say “Go Irish!” as the team takes the field.

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The Notre Dame football team, wearing navy blue suits, walks between large groups of fans taking photos and cheering.
The Irish football arrive at the Gug on Saturday afternoons for final preparations before taking the field at Notre Dame Stadium. After the team walks from the Gug to Hesburgh Library, they proceed south toward the stadium, and enter the house that Rockne built through the North Tunnel gates. The Player Walk takes place 2 hours and 15 minutes before kickoff..
The Notre Dame Women's Basketball team stands in the middle of a basketball quart and celebrates while confetti falls from the ceiling.
Women's Basketball Final Four Championship Game, Notre Dame defeated Mississippi State 61-58.
The Notre Dame Marching Band performs outside on the steps of Bond Hall in front of a group of fans.
The Notre Dame Marching Band performs on the steps of Bond Hall.
The Notre Dame Marching Band trumpet players perform in the Main Building rotunda surrounded by fans.
"Trumpets Under the Dome," a brief performance of the Alma Mater and the Notre Dame Victory March by the trumpet section of the Notre Dame Marching Band in the Main Building rotunda on Football Saturdays.

A Tradition of Progress

Perhaps the most important part of tradition is the sense of grounding it provides as we look to the future. Notre Dame is a place with deep roots that provide sturdy footing in times good and bad. It is the attachment to the place and what takes place here—in the lab, in classroom, in the residence halls, and on the field—that empowers the Notre Dame community to tackle new challenges with confidence and boldness.

Throughout the years, Notre Dame has sought to bring knowledge into service of justice. That has historically led us into many arenas of academic and social endeavor, but today, the calling and mission of the University is perhaps best described in three focus areas.

A man wearing a mask sticks an instrament under shallow water.

Research

For scholars who share a common passion for inquiry because of what it can reveal about our world and ourselves, there is opportunity here.

Research at Notre Dame

A group of students kneel and pray while holding lit candles.

Faith

Notre Dame is animated by a faith that inspires us to seek knowledge because of the powerful tool it can be to improve humankind.

Faith & Service at Notre Dame

A student, wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt tied around her waist, walks away from the camera and through an open gate towards a beautiful landscape.

Internationalization

Notre Dame seeks to be in the world, and to bring the world to Notre Dame, because inquiry and scholarly exchange are enriched by the pursuit of cultural fluency.

Global Scholarship at Notre Dame

The work of the University is to train young people and create knowledge to help a world deeply in need. Notre Dame is a place that uses tradition as a foundation for its life and work. Our intellectual and spiritual heritage propels us forward.