Michigan HC Brady Hoke Says Notre Dame “Chickened Out” of Rivalry

University of Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke isn’t one to mince words. Hoke has become famous in the college football world for his no-nonsense personality, and that persona shined through on Monday.

Hoke was quoted (at a luncheon in Grand Rapids, Michigan) as saying that the University of Notre Dame “chickened out” of the longtime rivalry between the two schools. According to records, there was an opt-out clause in the contract between the two universities that allowed for the Irish to get out of the annual game by giving three years notice prior to the kick-off of that year’s game.

Just before the two teams kicked off on September 22, 2012, Notre Dame apparently exercised their right to opt out, and fans of both schools were not particularly pleased. The reason for Notre Dame’s opt-out was, of course, their imminent move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the 2014 game between the two schools will be the last for the foreseeable future. Michigan AD Dave Brandon made sure to reference that the decision to skip the rivalry was “Notre Dame’s and not ours”, and that was yet another reference to put the focus on Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is a team with multiple rivals (USC, Navy, Michigan State, etc.) and Michigan’s arch-rival will always be Ohio State, but that doesn’t diminish the significance of the series between two of the winningest schools in NCAA history. There are two more match-ups on tap between the two teams, and the final game on the schedule between the teams will be on September 6th, 2014 at Notre Dame Stadium.