Filmed on Tuesday, May 30 2023, I drive around the campus of Notre Dame to see what's going on.

In 1842, the bishop of Vincennes offered land to Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross, on the condition that he build a college in two years.

Stephen Badin, the first priest ordained in the United States, who had come to the area invited by Potawatomi chief Leopold Pokagon to minister to his tribe, had bought these 524 acres of land in 1830.

Sorin arrived on the site with eight Holy Cross brothers from France and Ireland on November 26, 1842, and began the school using Badin's old log chapel. After enrolling two students, Sorin soon erected more buildings, including the Old College, the first church, and the first main building.

Notre Dame began as a primary and secondary school; in 1844 it received its official college charter from the Indiana General Assembly, under the name the University of Notre Dame du Lac (University of Our Lady of the Lake).

Because the university was originally all-male, the Sisters of the Holy Cross founded the female-only Saint Mary's College near Notre Dame in 1844.

The college awarded its first degrees in 1849. As it grew under the presidency of Sorin and his successors, new academic programs were offered and new buildings built to accommodate the growing student and faculty population.

Under William Corby's first administration, enrollment at Notre Dame increased to over 500 students. In 1869, he opened the law school, which offered a two-year course of study, and in 1871 he began construction of Sacred Heart Church, today the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

Fire destroyed the Main Building and the library collection in April 1879; the school closed immediately and students were sent home. Sorin and President Corby immediately planned for the rebuilding of the structure that had housed virtually the entire university.

Construction began on May 17, and by the incredible zeal of administrators and workers, the current Main Building was completed before the fall semester of 1879.

President Matthew Walsh (1922–1928) addressed the material needs of the university, particularly the $10,000 debt and the lack of space for new students. When he assumed the presidency, more than 1,100 students lived off campus while only 135 students paid for room and board. With fund-raising money, Walsh concentrated on the construction of a dormitory system.

By 1925, enrollment had increased to 2,500 students, of which 1,471 lived on campus; faculty members increased from 90 to 175. On the academic side, credit hours were reduced to encourage in-depth study, and Latin and Greek were no longer required for a degree.

One of the main driving forces in the university's growth was its football team, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Knute Rockne became head coach in 1918. Under him, the Irish would post a record of 105 wins, 12 losses, and five ties. During his 13 years, the Irish won three national championships, had five undefeated seasons, won the Rose Bowl Game in 1925, and produced players such as George Gipp and the "Four Horsemen".

The success of Notre Dame reflected the rising status of Irish Americans and Catholics in the 1920s. Catholics rallied around the team and listened to the games on the radio, especially when it defeated teams from schools that symbolized the Protestant establishment in America—Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Army.

Today, Notre Dame Football has the most members in the College Football Hall of Fame, is tied with Ohio State for the most Heisman Trophies won by players, and has the 3rd highest winning percentage in NCAA history, behind Ohio State and Alabama.

Forbes ranked the program college football's eighth most valuable for its average annual revenue of $120 million. It has a TV contract with NBC worth an estimated $15 million per year and one of the country's largest fan bases.

During World War II, O'Donnell offered Notre Dame's facilities to the armed forces. The Navy accepted his offer and installed Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) units on campus as part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program. Soon after the installation, there were only a few hundred civilian students at Notre Dame.

Theodore Hesburgh served as president for 35 years (1952–1987). Under his presidency, Notre Dame underwent huge growth and transformation from a school mostly known for its football to a top-tier university, academic powerhouse, and preeminent Catholic university.

Hesburgh made Notre Dame coeducational. Women had graduated every year since 1917, but they were mostly religious sisters in graduate programs.

Two of the residence halls were converted for the newly admitted female students, with two more converted the next school year. In 1971, Mary Ann Proctor, a transfer from St. Mary's, became the first female undergraduate.

Today, Notre Dame has the 18th largest college endowment at $18.4 billion dollars.