On the football-obsessed campus of Notre Dame, Marcus Bramble, a wealthy alum with an unhealthy passion for the sport, says he'll contribute $10 million if it's put toward a memorial to Knute Rockne, the university's legendary football coach. When Madeline Rune, a Notre Dame trustee, is found dead after disparaging remarks about the donation, Bramble, along with Madeline's womanizing husband, is suspected of foul play. But when her husband also turns up dead, the case becomes more impossible than a Hail Mary. As detective Philip Knight and his brother, brilliant philosophy professor Roger Knight, scour the campus for a killer, they're caught in a high-stakes scrimmage between the mega-bucks donor determined to resurrect Knute Rockne and the Notre Dame academia, dead-set on burying football for good. And in between this bitter campus infighting, the brothers must prevent the murderer's next play before football becomes the ultimate blood sport...

In a mere twelve years, Rockne's "Fighting Irish" won 105 games, including five astonishing undefeated seasons. But Rockne was more than the sum of his victories--he was an icon who, more than anyone, made football an American obsession. The book gives us colorful descriptions of such Rockne teams as the undefeated 1924 eleven led by the illustrious Four Horsemen, and the 1930 squad, Rockne's last and greatest. A renowned motivator whose "Win one for the Gipper" is the most famous locker-room speech ever, Rockne was also football's most brilliant innovator, a pioneer of the forward pass, a master of the psychological ploy, and an early advocate of conditioning. In this balanced account, Rockne emerges as an exemplary and complex figure: a fierce competitor who was generous in victory and defeat; an inspiring father figure to his players; and a man so revered nationwide that when he died in a plane crash in 1931, at the height of his career, he was mourned by the entire country. "A solid portrait of one of football's most solid figures."--The New York Times Book Review

Introduces the Knight brothers--Philip, a P.I., and Roger, the philosophy professor--in their first case, which involves ten million dollars, a dead trustee, and the great coach Knute Rockne

A tragic aeroplane crash in 1931 cut short the amazing life of Knute Kenneth Rockne, the famous football coach at the University of Notre Dame. His 12 years as the Flighting Irish head coach left a legacy that, to this day, still rates as the national record for winning percentage among college coaches. Knute Rockne: A Portrait of a Notre Dame Legend delves into the intriguing facets of Rockne's life and ends with the original interviews with Irish players who survived him some sixty years later. Augmented by dozens of rare photographs, this fascinating book furnishes readers with a superb understanding of one of American sports' most unique individuals.

"Coach For A Nation" transports the reader to an extraordinary time of energy, excitement, passion, and possibilities in early 20th Century America. Into this burgeoning drama stepped an immigrant lad destined to make his mark on the nation like few before him, or since. Rockne blossoms at Notre Dame and skyrockets to national fame because of his excellence as player and later coach of the Fighting Irish. His visionary genius made Notre Dame football a household name, yet his story transcends athletics; it embodies the hope and promise of a new era dawning in the US. Growing from a stammering speaker to an oratorical giant, he inspired millions through his message of dedication, teamwork, and fair play. Rockne's legacy, in life and in death, still impacts the game of college football and an American audience of the 21st Century. Now his life story is told as never before. "Coach For A Nation" is the Bronze Medal, Sports/Recreation/Fitness winner 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

With rivalries rekindled and the brothers Knight digging into the university's past, Sham Rock, the latest in Ralph McInerny's well-loved mystery series, is as witty and charming as ever. The University of Notre Dame relies on Roger Knight, the rotund professor of Catholic Studies, and his brother Philip, a semiretired PI, to investigate certain delicate situations that could put the school in a bad light. Students, faculty, and alumni, like David Williams, are all fair game. Having been a successful financial adviser until recently, David has returned to campus to renege on a pledged donation to the university's ethics program. While he's there, one of his former classmates sends a letter confessing to the murder and a secret burial of one of their closest friends, a student who had gone missing decades before and was never found. As students, David, Patrick, and Timothy made up the "Trinity," an irreverent nickname for three close friends and fierce rivals---be it for on-campus prestige or the affections of a beautiful St. Mary's student from across the road. Ready to help the school put the whole sordid tragedy behind them, Roger and Philip set about the sad task of unearthing Timothy's body, only to find that they have a much bigger mystery with which to contend.