The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located adjacent to South Bend, Indiana, USA. The school was founded in 1842 by Rev. Edward Sorin and French priests who were members of the Congregation of Holy Cross. The University received its charter from Indiana on January 15, 1844. A sister campus exists in Fremantle, Australia.

Rev. Edward A. "Monk" Malloy, CSC, PhD, is the 16th President of the university. He is serving his third five-year term. Malloy is also a full professor in the Department of Theology. Malloy also played varsity basketball for the Irish hoops squad while earning his Bachelor's degree in English (1963). The Rev. John Jenkins, CSC, DPhil, will become President of the university in the summer of 2005.

Notre Dame's picturesque campus sits on 1,250 acres (5 km²) containing two lakes and 136 buildings.

Total enrollment for the Fall 2002 Semester was 11,311.

Its athletic teams are known as the Fighting Irish. The school has a comprehensive and nationally competitive Division I athletic program, but it is most famous for its football program. Notre Dame is a member of the Big East Conference in all sports except for football, in which it maintains its status as one of a small handful of Division I-A independents; and hockey, which is not sponsored by the Big East. Its hockey program competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

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Famous Alumni

• Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior and Governor of Arizona
• Tony Bill, film producer
• Don Criqui, sportscaster
• Edward J. DeBartolo, businessman and former owner of the San Francisco 49ers
• Phil Donahue, talk show host
• Mike Ferguson, U.S. Congressman
• Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, President Emeritus of the university, holds the world record for most honorary degrees received
• Paul Hornung, American football player
• Joe Kernan, Governor of Indiana
• Bill Laimbeer, former NBA player, current WNBA coach
• Barry Lopez, author
• Kate Markgraf, professional soccer player
• William E. Miller, nominee for Vice President in the 1964 U.S. presidential election
• Joe Montana, American football player
• Alan Page, American football player and Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
• Regis Philbin, television personality
• Dan Renaldo, correspondent for ABC News
• Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor (master's degree)
• Knute Rockne, American football player and coach
• Mark Souder, U.S. Congressman
• Nicholas Sparks, author
• Hannah Storm, television personality
• Anne Thompson, correspondent for NBC News
• Pete Visclosky, U.S. Congressman
• Jim Wetherbee, astronaut

External links

• Official university site (http://www.nd.edu)
• Official Notre Dame athletics site (http://www.und.com)
• Notre Dame Scholastic Magazine (http://scholastic.nd.edu)