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1918 – 1930
The man: Knute Rockne was born Knut Larsen Rokne on March 4, 1888, at Voss, Norway. He came up through Harper's teams as an end — he is the receiver of the 1913 Army game — and succeeded Harper as head coach in 1918.
The record: In thirteen seasons his teams went 105–12–5, a winning percentage of .881 that stands as the highest of any major-college head coach. Five of his seasons were undefeated and untied. He produced twenty first-team All-Americans. He won his last nineteen games.
The whole job: The coaching was only part of the office. Rockne served simultaneously as athletic director, business manager, ticket distributor, track coach and equipment manager, and his annual income reached a reported 75,000 dollars. The program that the next decades inherited — its schedule, its stadium, its national following — was built as a business as much as a team, and he built both.
Sources:
- Rockne biographical record — the birth name and date, the .881 percentage, the five undefeated-untied seasons, the twenty All-Americans, the last nineteen wins, the combined offices and the reported income.
- University of Notre Dame Archives, football coaching records — the 105–12–5 mark.