Welcome to Tradition Tuesday, a weekly look at the iconic rituals, traditions and moments that make college football game days so special.
Today, we’re heading to South Bend for one of the sport’s most recognizable pregame traditions: Notre Dame’s “Play Like a Champion Today” sign, one of the sport’s most storied rituals.
Few college football traditions are as simple — or as recognizable — as the moment Notre Dame players reach for a sign on their way to the field.
In the tight walkway from the locker room to the field at Notre Dame Stadium, the words “Play Like a Champion Today” have greeted generations of Fighting Irish players.
The ritual takes only a second: Each player reaches up and touches the sign, then continues toward the field. But over time, that small act has come to represent something much larger.
The phrase connects the players who wear the Notre Dame uniform today with those who came before them.
It reflects the expectations that come with playing for one of college football’s most storied programs, while reminding each player that he has a role to play in carrying on that history.
Its origins are just as interesting. The sign wasn’t introduced as part of a stadium renovation or marketing campaign. Instead, it returned after a head coach in his first year with the program came across an old photograph in a history book.
From that chance discovery came a new sign, a new ritual and, eventually, one of the most recognizable symbols of Notre Dame football.
The tradition
- The Play Like a Champion Today sign came about before the 1986 season when coach Lou Holtz flipped through a university library history book and spotted the slogan in an old, black-and-white photo of the stadium’s tunnel area.
- The sign is in the narrow stairwell and tunnel leading from the home locker room to the field at Notre Dame Stadium. As players race toward the field, they reach up to touch the iconic gold-and-blue sign.
- Holtz asked university staff members what happened to the original sign after seeing it in print. When nobody remembered it, he commissioned a university graphic artist to craft a fresh version in Notre Dame’s signature colors.
- It has grown beyond a simple motivational wall-hanging to become a defining cultural symbol of Notre Dame football, representing the heavy weight of the program’s history, player sacrifices and team accountability.
- The tradition was cemented into lore as generations of players tapped the wood-and-paint fixture, inspiring countless replicas and turning a coach’s quick fix into one of the most recognizable pregame rituals in college football.
Quote of note
“I read a lot of books about the history of Notre Dame and its football program. I forget which book I was looking at — it had an old picture in it that showed the slogan ‘Play Like a Champion Today.’ I said, ‘That is really appropriate; it used to be at Notre Dame and we needed to use it again.’ So, I had that sign made up.” — Holtz, who coached the Irish from 1986-96, compiling a 100-30-2 record.
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Mike Garbett is a content specialist working with McClatchy’s Content Innovation Lab.