Notre Dame Football’s Rivalry Trophies

Sep 21, 2013; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback KeiVarae Russell (6) and linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) tackle Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Aaron Burbridge (16) in the fourth quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

The Megaphone Trophy / Michigan State

Known only as The Megaphone Trophy, this trophy may now be the most famous of the Notre Dame trophies…or should I say infamous. Introduced in 1949, it is a joint sponsorship by the Alumni Clubs of Notre Dame and Michigan State in Detroit. Half of the megaphone is painted blue with an ND monogram and the other side is white with a green MSU. The score from each year is painted on it. The current trophy is the third one in use since it has run out of room for scores twice before.

This award became nationally known after the 2005 and 2006 games. The Spartans were outraged when Notre Dame did not present them with the trophy after they were victorious against the Irish in 2005. Notre Dame stated that it has been the custom all along to give the trophy to the opposing team after a defeat away from the field. This may have been the starting point for Johnelle to becoming crazy as a bat. Most of the Notre Dame players and Coach Weis himself, admitted to not even knowing the trophy existed. This is probably true since there was little written about the trophy prior to this game, and I don’t remember hearing much about it until EA Sports NCAA Football began showing what games had rivalry trophies.

Notre Dame leads the series with a 48-28-1 mark. The one tie was one of the most famous ties in all of college football history, the 1966 “Game of the Century.”

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