The Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry is officially back.
The two schools officially announced Thursday the renewal of a rivalry featuring two of college football's winningest programs with a home-and-home series beginning in 2018. The Irish will host the Wolverines on Sept. 1, 2018 — the season-opener for the two teams — and Michigan will host Notre Dame on Oct. 26, 2019.
The news was first reported by Sports Illustrated on Wednesday evening.
Renewed. See you soon, @NDFootball.
— Michigan Football (@umichfootball) July 7, 2016
INFO https://t.co/W7AniMQqs0#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/bBSyQnSPDM
"The competition between Michigan and Notre Dame has created a fair, healthy and productive rivalry over time, and it brings out the best in both programs," Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said in a press release. "We look forward to facing Coach Brian Kelly and the Irish in the coming years."
Added Kelly, via a Notre Dame press release: "We’ve wanted to make this happen for quite some time. We wouldn’t be able to make today’s announcement without the work from Jack (Swarbrick) and other members of our administration. This is a win for everyone involved, not just those at either institution, but both fan bases and fans across the entire college football landscape.”
In order to make the rivalry renewal possible, Michigan canceled an agreement to play a series Arkansas. The move will reportedly cost the university $2 million.
The Irish recently ended the yearly game between the two college football powerhouses to make it possible to schedule more games against ACC teams as part of an agreement with the conference. The last time the two teams met was in 2014 — a 31-0 victory for Notre Dame.
Michigan leads the all-time series 24-17-1.
