Notre Dame Leprechaun

The Leprechaun
	File:NDLeprechaun.svg The ND leprechaun
Team	Fighting Irish
University	University of Notre Dame
Description	Irish leprechaun with his fists up
Origin of name	Irish heritage
First seen	1960
Related mascot(s)	e
Website	[1]

The Notre Dame leprechaun is the mascot of the Fighting Irish sports club at the University of Notre Dame, USA. He appears at athletic events, most notably at football games. It was designed by sports artist Theodore W. Drake in 1964 for US$50.^[1]

The Leprechaun was featured in the cover of TIME magazine in November 1964.^[2]

Irish tradition

The Fighting Irish logo features a side view of The Leprechaun with his fists up, ready to battle anyone that comes his way. The live version is a student, chosen annually at tryouts, dressed in a cutaway green suit and Irish country hat. The Leprechaun brandishes a shillelagh and aggressively leads cheers and interacts with the crowd, supposedly bringing magical powers and good luck to the Notre Dame team.

The Leprechaun was not always the official mascot of Notre Dame. For years, the team was represented by a series of Irish terrier dogs. The first, named Brick Top Shuan-Rhu, was donated by Charles Otis of Cleveland and presented to football head coach Knute Rockne the weekend of the Notre Dame-Pennsylvania game November 8, 1930. A number of terriers later took the role of the school mascot, which usually took the name Clashmore Mike. The Clashmore Mike mascot last made an appearance on the cover of the 1963 Notre Dame Football Dope Book with coach Hugh Devore and captain Bob Lehmann. In 1960, the Irish cheerleaders added the leprechaun to their cheering lineup. Terry Crawford, dressed in green, would walk back and forth in front of the cheerleading group with the Irish terrier, Mike.

The Leprechaun was named the official mascot in 1965,^[3] when the Leprechaun was registered as an official university mark. However, earlier, in 1961, John Brandt from Elyria, Ohio became the first man to don the uniform and appear with Clashmore Mike at a home game against Oklahoma. Brandt served as the Leprechaun until 1963. The Leprechaun for the 2011-2012 academic year was Mike George.^[4] Senior Bryce Burton was the leprechaun for the 2012 football season.^[5] Senior Johnny Romano was the leprechaun for the 2013 football season.^[6] Junior John Doran was the leprechaun for the 2014-2015 football and basketball seasons and repeated his role as a Senior for the 2015-2016 seasons.^[7]

Campus figure

The Leprechaun can be seen around campus on football game weekends as he acts as the MC of Friday night pep rallies, makes several appearances at tailgates before games, and leads the band as it marches to Notre Dame Stadium. During games, he leads the traditional cheers of the student section, who are named "The Leprechaun Legion." The Leprechaun Legion is the student section and they are big fans of Notre Dame.

Along with the cheerleaders, The Leprechaun also travels with the team as the Fighting Irish travel across the nation. The Leprchaun travels across the nation. He engages in several community service initiatives and makes public appearances. He makes public appearances and engages in community service initiatives.

Tryouts

Tryouts to become The Leprechaun take place over a month long process each spring. Prospect leprechauns are presented with several mental and physical challenges until the field is narrowed down to under ten finalists. During the final round of tryouts, each contestant must lead a 5-minute mock pep rally, answer questions during an interview with a local media personality, respond to a game situation, answer Notre Dame trivia, dance Notre Dame's version of the Irish Jig, and complete 50 pushups. A panel of judges then interviews each candidate in private before making the final decision.

Despite popular belief, there are no strict requirements for becoming the leprechaun. Notre Dame students of any height are eligible to try out regardless of their ability to grow a beard. The overall "look" of candidates does weigh into the decision, however, and more often than not a young man with a chinstrap beard will be chosen.

References

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↑ http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19641120,00.html
↑ University of Notre Dame Traditions at CSTV.com
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↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ http://www.abc57.com/news/Notre-Dame-selects-Johnny-Romano-as-leprechaun--202857241.html
↑ http://www.troyrecord.com/sports/20140501/notre-dame-leprechaun-mascot-john-doran-a-troy-native

[-1] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

[2] ttp://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19641120,00.html

[3] University of Notre Dame Traditions at CSTV.com

[4] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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[6] ttp://www.abc57.com/news/Notre-Dame-selects-Johnny-Romano-as-leprechaun--202857241.html

[7] ttp://www.troyrecord.com/sports/20140501/notre-dame-leprechaun-mascot-john-doran-a-troy-native

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v t e Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Venues	Cartier Field (1889–1928) Soldier Field (1929) Notre Dame Stadium (1930–present)
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Culture & lore	All-time series results History Band of the Fighting Irish Irish Guard Notre Dame Box Notre Dame Leprechaun "Notre Dame, Our Mother" "Notre Dame Victory March" Play Like a Champion Today Subway Alumni T formation Tall Grass Game 1946 "Game of the Century" 1966 "Game of the Century" Catholics vs. Convicts 1993 "Game of the Century" Bush Push Navy ends the drought Knute Rockne, All American Notre Dame Football on NBC Rudy
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks Four Horsemen NFL draftees
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National championship seasons in bold

v t e Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
Venues	Notre Dame Fieldhouse (1898–1968) Joyce Center (1968–present)
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Culture & lore	Notre Dame Leprechaun Crossroads Classic Accomplishments
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Helms national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

v t e University of Notre Dame
Schools and Colleges	College of Arts and Letters College of Engineering College of Science Law School Mendoza College of Business School of Architecture
Academics	Center for the Study of Religion and Society Environmental Research Center History of Science Society Journal of Legislation Medieval Institute --> Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy Notre Dame OpenCourseWare Driehaus Architecture Prize
Campus buildings	Basilica of the Sacred Heart Cartier Field Compton Family Ice Arena Edmund P. Joyce Center Fire Department Frank Eck Stadium Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes Legends of Notre Dame Log Chapel Main Building Notre Dame Fieldhouse Notre Dame Stadium Snite Museum of Art Stepan Center Theodore Hesburgh Library Washington Hall
Residence Halls	Residence halls Lewis Hall Morrissey Hall O'Neill Hall Old College Sorin Hall St. Edward's Hall Walsh Hall
Athletics	Bengal Bouts Football Jeweled Shillelagh Leprechaun Baseball Men's Basketball Men's Ice Hockey Men's Lacrosse Men's Soccer Rugby Football Club Women's Basketball Women's Soccer UConn–Notre Dame rivalry
Culture and the arts	Band of the Fighting Irish Irish Guard Laetare Medal Molarity comic strip Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival Notre Dame Glee Club "Notre Dame, Our Mother" (Alma mater) Notre Dame Review Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra "Notre Dame Victory March" (Fight song) Scholastic Summer Shakespeare University of Notre Dame Press WNDU-TV WSND-FM
Related topics	Alumni Congregation of Holy Cross History Notre Dame, Indiana Presidents
Key people	Fr. Edward Sorin Fr. Theodore Hesbrugh Knute Rockne Fr. John Zahm Fr. Edward Malloy Fr. Julius Nieuwland Dan Devine Frank Leahy Ara Parseghian Lou Holtz

v t e Mascots of the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Division	Baldwin the Eagle (Boston College) The Tiger (Clemson) Osceola and Renegade (Florida State) Cardinal Bird (Louisville) Mr. & Ms. Wuf (North Carolina State) Leprechaun (Notre Dame) Otto the Orange (Syracuse) Demon Deacon (Wake Forest)
Coastal Division	Blue Devil (Duke) Buzz & Ramblin' Wreck (Georgia Tech) Sebastian the Ibis (Miami) Rameses (North Carolina) Roc the Panther (Pittsburgh) CavMan (Virginia) HokieBird (Virginia Tech)

Notre Dame Leprechaun

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Irish tradition

Campus figure

Tryouts

References

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