The 2015 college football season featured some of the greatest rivalries the sport has to offer, but many fans across the country missed one game they have grown accustomed to: Notre Dame against Michigan.
The two universities met in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament last Friday, and their hockey programs will face each other on Friday evening. Michigan and Notre Dame have developed strong athletic programs in multiple sports, but something about Michigan against Notre Dame football feels unique in its own way, as it has become ingrained in college football history.
Michigan's new athletic director Warde Manuel has said that he would be open to discussing future games between the two historic programs, and after just one season without the two playing many are calling for the historic rivalry to be reinstated.
"If there are opportunities in the future to bring the rivalry on the football field back, obviously I'd be open that having that conversation," said Manuel. "It's not only great for Michigan and Notre Dame football, I think it's great for college football for that rivalry to continue at some point in the future, so we'll see where that goes."
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said back in September that the rivalry was "trending up. It's something that we need to get in line to get that going I think that's something that everybody wants to get going and get Michigan back on the schedule. I think that sentiment is coming back to the forefront of where college football needs to be and some of those classic rivalries coming back together. I know we're going to be working hard to see if we can get that done. I think we're going to see it happen."
While the Fighting Irish head coach believes it could happen in the future, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said that he would be open to the idea of reinstating the classic rivalry.
For college football fans it sounds like everything is pointing in the right direction for these two historic programs to land in each other's schedules, but Notre Dame's current deal with the ACC has limited its scheduling choices.
The Fighting Irish had to drop the Wolverines from their schedule in order to keep both rivalry games against Stanford and USC in place, and it will be interesting to see if the two programs can somehow workout a way for the two to meet in the future. For now it looks like both Wolverine and Fighting Irish fans will have to wait, but clearly it won't be forgotten, as a piece of college football will always feel like it's missing if Notre Dame and Michigan don't meet during the season.
