Aer Lingus College Football Classic
StadiumAviva Stadium
LocationDublin, Ireland
Previous stadiumsLansdowne Road
Croke Park
Operated1988–89, 1996, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024
Former names
Croke Park Classic
Emerald Isle Classic
Shamrock Classic
2023 matchup
Navy 3 Notre Dame 42
2024 matchup
Georgia Tech, Florida State
US Ambassador Dan Rooney and Taoiseach Enda Kenny take part in the ceremonial coin toss before the 2012 game at Aviva Stadium

College football in Ireland (Irish: Peil an Choláiste) began initially in 1988 as part of a promotional campaign to mark the Dublin millennium celebrations. Dubbed the Emerald Isle Classic, it was the first NCAA-sanctioned American college football game played in Europe.[1] The game was played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, Ireland in the years 1988 and 1989.

The event was first proposed and arranged by Aidan J. Prendergast and Jim O'Brien. Prendergast, who was a former president of the Irish American Football Association conceived the idea of bringing a major NCAA game to Ireland in the mid-1980s and started pitching the idea on both sides of the Atlantic. Prendergast promoted both the 1988 and 1989 games.

The game was intended as an annual event to attract some of the 40 million Americans of Irish descent back to Ireland. College teams with particularly Irish or Catholic background were chosen in an effort to attract Irish nationals to the games.

1988

The inaugural Emerald Isle Classic was held at Lansdowne Road with a crowd of 42,524 in attendance. It featured a 2–7 Boston College team led by Mark Kamphaus beat the 8–1 Army Black Knights 38–24.[2]

1996

In 1996, Notre Dame and the United States Naval Academy began a second American football event in Ireland called the Shamrock Classic. The event, played at Croke Park, drew a slightly smaller crowd than the first Emerald Isle Classic. Notre Dame won the game over Navy, setting the record for the longest winning streak over an annual collegiate opponent at 33 wins (Notre Dame added 10 additional wins to the streak, which remains the all-time record at 43 consecutive victories).

2012

A return trip by the teams in 2012, held at Aviva Stadium, was confirmed by the two schools and stadium management in September 2010. The Emerald Isle Classic was tied to the Irish tourism initiative The Gathering, which sought to encourage members of the Irish diaspora (especially in the U.S.) to visit their ancestral home in 2013. The first advance sellout for a sporting event in the two-year history of Aviva Stadium, 15,000 tickets sold in less than two hours, and about 35,000 Americans went to Dublin. The 2012 game aired live in parts of Europe as well as the U.S. The U.S. Navy docked an amphibious-assault warship in Dublin before the game.[3] While the event was successful from a tourism perspective, it was marred by the poor treatment of the sport locally by the game organisers.[4][5] Consequently, the originators, who had allowed the name "Emerald Isle Classic" to be used in 2012, transferred the intellectual property relating to the event, including the trademarks for the event name to the Irish American Football Association in 2015 for 'safe keeping'.[6]

2014

In June 2013, Penn State and UCF were reportedly in negotiations to play their 2014 season opener at Aviva, and the stadium was also seen as a potential venue for a proposed bowl game that would begin that season.[7] The Orlando Sentinel, located in UCF's home city, reported in July 2013 that the teams would play the game at Croke Park instead of Aviva.[8] That month the game, to be called the Croke Park Classic, was confirmed.[9] The Croke Park Classic saw the University of Central Florida (UCF) host Penn State in their 2014 Season Opener in GAA HQ on 30 August 2014. This was the first time UCF and Penn State had played outside the United States and Penn State took the Dan Rooney Trophy in a competitively fought game. 53,304 fans attended the thrilling encounter in which Penn State defeated UCF with a Sam Ficken field goal in the dying seconds, by a final score of 26 to 24. The Irish American Football Association was one of the official partners in the game and provided both promotional and technical assistance to Croke Park. [10]

2016

On 4 June 2015, Irish American Events Limited (IAEL), which is a joint venture between Corporate.ie and Anthony Travel, announced that American college football would return to Ireland in 2016 with a match-up between Boston College and Georgia Tech. The game was played at Aviva Stadium on 3 September 2016, and billed as the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.[11]

The announcement was made at the reception in Dublin attended by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, which was followed by a reception in Boston College in the U.S. attended by the mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh.

Aer Lingus was announced as the title sponsor for the game, with Tourism Ireland, Failte Ireland and the Dublin City Council also lending support.

The game attracted 40,562 spectators and resulted in a 17–14 victory for Georgia Tech.[12]

2020

University of Notre Dame announced on 25 October 2018, that the Fighting Irish would return to Dublin to face Navy Midshipmen at Aviva Stadium on 29 August 2020.[13] On 2 June 2020, it was announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the game would not be played in Dublin and would instead be played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.[14] The game would eventually not be played after Notre Dame elected to play an all-ACC schedule for the 2020 season, and the conference disallowed most games outside the conference to maintain the same screening standards for each game.[15]

2022

University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced on 14 October 2019, that the Nebraska Cornhuskers would travel to Dublin to face the Illinois Fighting Illini at Aviva Stadium on 28 August 2021.[16]

On 17 February 2021, it was announced that the game would once again not be played in Dublin due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and instead be played at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, on 28 August 2021.[17] The game was ultimately postponed to the 2022 season, where it was played on 27 August 2022 against the Northwestern Wildcats instead of Illinois where Northwestern won the game 31–28 against Nebraska.[18]

2023

University of Notre Dame announced on 24 October 2022, that the Fighting Irish would return to Dublin to face Navy Midshipmen at Aviva Stadium on 26 August 2023 where Notre Dame won the game 42–3 against Navy.[19]

Results

Season Date Winners Losers Venue Attendance Notes Ref.
1988 19 November 1988 Boston College 38 Army 24 Lansdowne Road 42,525 Emerald Isle Classic [20]
1989 2 December 1989 No. 24 Pittsburgh 46 Rutgers 29 Lansdowne Road 19,800 Emerald Isle Classic [21]
1996 2 November 1996 No. 19 Notre Dame 54 Navy 27 Croke Park 38,651 Shamrock Classic [22][23]
2012 1 September 2012 Notre Dame 50 Navy 10 Aviva Stadium 48,820 Emerald Isle Classic [24]
2014 30 August 2014 Penn State 26 UCF 24 Croke Park 53,304 Croke Park Classic [25]
2016 3 September 2016 Georgia Tech 17 Boston College 14 Aviva Stadium 40,562 Aer Lingus College Football Classic [26]
2022 27 August 2022 Northwestern 31 Nebraska 28 Aviva Stadium 42,699 Aer Lingus College Football Classic [27]
2023 26 August 2023 No. 13 Notre Dame 42 Navy 3 Aviva Stadium 49,000 Aer Lingus College Football Classic [28][29]

Future games

Season Date Matchup Venue Notes Ref.
2024 24 August 2024 Georgia Tech Florida State Aviva Stadium
2027 28 August 2027 Pittsburgh Wisconsin Aviva Stadium

Attendance

Up to date as of 26 August 2023

Total attendance
335,361
Average attendance
41,920
Highest attendance
53,304
Penn State 26–24 UCF
30 August 2014

References

  1. ↑ Lohr, Steve (20 November 1988). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Dubliners Cheer as B.C. Wins". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ "007 Emerald Isle Classic, 1988". flickr. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  3. ↑ Pogatchnik, Shawn (31 August 2012). "US fans take over Dublin for Navy-Notre Dame game". Louisville, Kentucky: WDRB. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "Emerald Isle Classic Press Release".
  5. ↑ "IAFA responds to Navy".
  6. ↑ "Irish Trade Mark Register".
  7. ↑ Wilson, Christopher (11 June 2013). "Report: Bowl games could be coming to Dubai, Dublin, the Bahamas". Dr. Saturday. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Tenorio, Paul (9 July 2013). "UCF, Penn State to officially announce Ireland game on Sunday". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Penn State to Face UCF in Ireland's Croke Park Classic to Open 2014 Season" (Press release). Penn State Athletics. 14 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Penn State native".
  11. ↑ "College Football Ireland".
  12. ↑ "Georgia Tech vs. Boston College - Game Summary - September 3, 2016 - ESPN".
  13. ↑ "Notre Dame football: Fighting Irish to take on Navy in 2020 at Dublin's Aviva Stadium". NCAA.com. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  14. ↑ Dinich, Heather (2 June 2020). "Notre Dame-Navy football game moving from Ireland to Maryland". ESPN. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  15. ↑ Copeland, Kareem (6 August 2020). "Navy-Notre Dame, one of college football's longest rivalries, canceled for 2020". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "Huskers, Illinois to Open 2021 Season in Ireland".
  17. ↑ IAEL (17 February 2021). "2021 College Football Game moved from Aviva Stadium". Aer Lingus College Football Classic | 2021 Nebraska vs Illinois. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  18. ↑ Maguire, Ken (27 August 2022). "Northwestern rallies past Nebraska 31-28 in opener in Dublin". Associated Press. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  19. ↑ "Notre Dame vs Navy". 26 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  20. ↑ Lohr, Steve (20 November 1988). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Dubliners Cheer as B.C. Wins". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  21. ↑ "Croke Park Classic". UCF. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  22. ↑ "No. 19 Notre Dame 54, Navy 27". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "Games Played in Ireland". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  24. ↑ "Aviva Stadium To Host The 2012 Navy-Notre Dame Game" (Press release). United States Naval Academy Varsity Athletics. 21 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  25. ↑ "Penn State stuns UCF, wins opener on Sam Ficken's game-winning FG". ESPN. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  26. ↑ Boston College Athletics - Recap: Georgia Tech 17, Boston College 14
  27. ↑ "Northwestern rallies past Nebraska 31-28 in opener in Dublin". ESPN. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  28. ↑ "2023 – Notre Dame vs. Navy Game Announcement", und.com/, 5 November 2021, retrieved 15 November 2021
  29. ↑ "Hartman throws 4 TD passes as No. 13 Notre Dame opens with a 42-3 win over Navy in Ireland". ESPN. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
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