The historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Butler’s campus turned 93 years old Sunday. What does this possibly have to do with Notre Dame? Well, somebody had to be Butler’s first opponent in the building, and it just so happened to be the Irish, then the defending national champions. In a final score that would have been seen as a defensive struggle even at that time, the Irish suffered a 21-13 loss in overtime.
Notre Dame has an all-time record of 28-17 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, although it hasn’t played there since 1995. In fact, the Irish and Bulldogs only have met on two occasions in the years since: The 2006 NIT Season Tip-Off at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Although the programs take part in the annual Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis, they never play each other so that Indiana and Purdue can save their matchup or matchups for the Big Ten season. Hopefully, this in-state rivalry can be revived to some degree in the not-too-distant future as there is a lot of potential here.