Ara Parseghian and the 1964 revival

1963 – 1964

The hire: Ara Parseghian — May 21, 1923, to August 2, 2017 — was hired late in 1963 from Northwestern. He had coached at Miami of Ohio under Woody Hayes and played for the Cleveland Browns. He was Notre Dame's first non-alumnus head coach since Jesse Harper.

1964: The revival was immediate: 9–1, and No. 3 in the final polls, losing only the finale at Southern California, 20–17, in a game Notre Dame led until the last 1:34, in the University Archives' account. John Huarte won the Heisman Trophy; his receiver, Jack Snow, finished fifth in the same voting.

The title that is not counted: The National Football Foundation named Notre Dame its co-champion for 1964 and awarded it the MacArthur Bowl; the AP and the UPI both named Alabama. Under the university's AP-and-Coaches' policy, 1964 does not appear among its recognized championships — the season stands in the apparatus below, in its proper column.

Sources:

1. Parseghian biographical record — the dates, the Northwestern hire, the Miami and Cleveland years, the first-non-alumnus-since-Harper standing.
2. University of Notre Dame Archives, 1964 season account — the 9–1 record, the USC finale and its last 1:34.
3. Championship records — the NFF co-championship and MacArthur Bowl; the AP and UPI selections of Alabama.
4. Notre Dame athletics, Heisman history — Huarte's win; Snow's fifth place.