The Emerald Isle Classic was the first NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

-sanctioned American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 game played on the European continent

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. The game was played at Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...

 in Dublin, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 in the years 1988 and 1989. The first game featured a 2-7 Boston College

Boston College Eagles football

The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...

 team led by Mark Kamphaus

Mark Kamphaus

Mark Kamphaus is a retired American football quarterback.Kamphaus played high school football at Cincinnati's famed Moeller High School and went on to play college football at Boston College from 1986-89. After backing up Shawn Halloran his fresman year, he split the starting job with Mike Power in...

 against the 8-1 Cadets

Army Black Knights football

The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....

 of West Point

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

.

The game was intended to be an annual event to attract some of the 40 million Americans of Irish descent back to their motherland. College teams with particularly Irish or Catholic background were chosen in an effort to attract Irish nationals to the games as well. After poor attendance in 1989, the Emerald Isle Classic was discontinued.

In 1996, Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

 and the United States Naval Academy

Navy Midshipmen football

The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...

 began a second American football event in Ireland called the Shamrock Classic. The event drew a slightly smaller crowd than the first Emerald Isle Classic. The game was played at Croke Park

Croke Park

Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...

. Notre Dame won the game over Navy, setting the record for the longest winning streak over an annual collegiate opponent

Most consecutive wins over one opponent (NCAA football)

The following is a list of the all-time leading NCAA Division I FBS college football single-opponent winning streaks. Teams are ranked by the number of consecutive wins they've posted against a specific opponent. All streaks of at least 20 games are in the list.† Active Streak...

 at 33 wins. A return trip by the two teams in 2012, to be held at Aviva Stadium

Aviva Stadium

The Aviva Stadium is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 50,000 spectators. The stadium is built on the site of the old Lansdowne Road venue, which was demolished in 2007, and replaces that stadium as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the...

, was officially confirmed by the two schools, the Irish American Football Association, and the stadium management in September 2010. The 2012 game has officially been announced as the Emerald Isle Classic by Navy Athletics. Additional information about the game can be found at EmeraldIsleClassic.com

Results

Game	Date	Venue	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Attendance	Reference
1988 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Notre Dame winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title via a 34-21 defeat of previously unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona....	19 November	Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...	Boston College Boston College Eagles football The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...	38	Army Army Black Knights football The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....	24	42,525
1989 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 80s, cementing its claim as the decade's top team, winning more titles than any other program....	2 December	Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...	Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Panthers football Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...	46	Rutgers Rutgers Scarlet Knights football The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...	29	-
1996 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Florida Gators crowned National Champions, but not as unanimously as the Bowl Alliance would have hoped....	2 November	Croke Park Croke Park Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...	Notre Dame Notre Dame Fighting Irish football Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...	54	Navy Navy Midshipmen football The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...	27	38,651
2012	1 September	Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium The Aviva Stadium is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 50,000 spectators. The stadium is built on the site of the old Lansdowne Road venue, which was demolished in 2007, and replaces that stadium as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the...		-		-	-