Notre Dame in St. Joseph County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Dan Devine

Head Coach

— 1975—1980 —

Dan Devine statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 16, 2023

1. Dan Devine statue

Inscription. 53 wins, 16 losses, 1 tie
National Champions: 1977
"Leave the field a better player.
Leave Notre Dame a better person."

Erected 2011 by University of Notre Dame.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Sports. A significant historical year for this entry is 1977.

Location. 41° 41.963′ N, 86° 13.986′ W. Marker is in Notre Dame, Indiana, in St. Joseph County. Marker can be reached from Moose Krause Circle west of Leahy Drive, on the left when traveling west. The statue is outside the Dan Devine Gate (Gate A) entrance into Notre Dame Stadium, which is in the northeast corner of the facility. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2010 Moose Krause Cir, Notre Dame IN 46556, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Knute Rockne (within shouting distance of this marker); Ara Parseghian (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lou Holtz (approx. 0.2 miles away); Endowed Professorships (approx. 0.2 miles away); Coach Frank Leahy (approx. 0.2 miles away); University of Notre Dame Band (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Endowed Professorships (approx. 0.2 miles away); Rev. Michael Dillon McCafferty, C.S.C. (approx. ¼ mile away).

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More about this marker. While the statue has always stood near Gate A since its 2011 unveiling, it was moved to its current location, to the right of the Dan Devine Gate (Gate A), after the university completed Corbett Family Hall, one of three buildings built alongside Notre Dame Stadium and completed in 2017.

Regarding Dan Devine. Notre Dame was the final stop in Dan Devine's long and illustrious coaching career. Previously, after several years as an assistant coach at Michigan State, he had spent three years as head coach of Arizona State, where in his third and final season (1957) the team finished 10-0. After that, he was head coach at the University of Missouri, where he spent 13 mostly successful years, including four top-10 finishes. Devine left Mizzou in 1971 to become head coach and general manager of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. The Packers made the playoffs in 1972, but his next two teams saw declining performance, which led to a simultaneous decline in his relationship with Packers' fans. When the Packers were eliminated from playoff contention in 1974, Devine resigned before the season ended and returned to the college ranks to become coach of the Fighting Irish.

Devine had been a candidate for the Notre Dame job in 1964, when the Irish ultimately chose Ara Parseghian

Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 18, 2023

2. Dan Devine statue

(who is honored with his own statue outside Notre Dame Stadium). When Parseghian retired, Devine was quickly hired to replace him. Devine oversaw six successful seasons in South Bend, most notably the 1977 National Championship season, when the Irish finished 11-1 and ended the season with a 38-10 victory over Texas in the Sugar Bowl and the #1 ranking. However, Devine's teams at Notre Dame never again reached the same heights, and he proved to be less popular than his predecessor Parseghian; ultimately, Devine retired after the 1980 season at age 55.

While Devine did return to Missouri as its athletic director for a short stint in the 1990s, he never coached again. Devine was elected into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1985 with an overall collegiate mark of 173-57-9. He died in 2002 at age 77.

In popular culture Devine is probably best known as the Notre Dame coach (played by actor Chelcie Ross) in the movie "Rudy." In that movie, Devine was portrayed as refusing to put walk-on Rudy Ruettiger on the roster for the final game of the 1975 season, only giving in when the team's seniors placed their jerseys on Devine's desk in an organized walk-out. Devine had agreed to allow the filmmakers to portray him as the antagonist, but, according to later interviews, he objected after seeing the movie to how much he was portrayed as the

Dan Devine Gate (Gate A) at Notre Dame Stadium image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 16, 2023

3. Dan Devine Gate (Gate A) at Notre Dame Stadium

The Dan Devine statue can be seen on the right side of the photo, near the gate named after him at Notre Dame Stadium.

bad guy. He and others who participated in the game later said that the jersey scene was pure fiction.

Also see . . .
1. A Legacy to Honor.

Excerpt: "In six seasons at Notre Dame, Devine compiled a 53-16-1 (.764) ledger, highlighted by the 1977 national championship. However, it’s the inscription in Devine’s sculpture that makes his seven children most proud: 'Leave the field a better player. Leave Notre Dame a better person.' 'I think my dad’s best coaching legacy was the consistency of his teams,' Dan Devine Jr., 57, said. 'He encouraged his players to give their best in all parts of their student-athlete lives. My dad also valued educating his players.'

(Submitted on December 18, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. College Football Hall of Fame: Dan Devine. (Submitted on December 18, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 24, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 18, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 66 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 18, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.