45 years after Notre Dame was founded, the school fielded their first football team in 1887, after future rival Michigan came to Notre Dame for an exhibition game between the two schools. Soon after, Notre Dame’s football prowess grew as rapidly as the game took hold of the Midwest. Eventually, the mentee would take the mentor to task – after Notre Dame won its first game against Michigan in 1909, they refused to play the Irish again for 33 years.