"Murray Sperber takes us beyond the headlines and the public controversies to explore the profound and tragic impact of big-time intercollegiate athletics on undergraduate education. Sperber explodes cherished myths about college sports, particularly at "Big-time U's," the large public research universities with high-profile men's football and basketball teams playing at the top level of the NCAA." "Using research culled from students, faculty, and...

Beginning with the humble origins of the Notre Dame football program in the nineteenth century, Shake Down the Thunder traces the evolution of the team to its status as a preeminent football power - winning national championships and attracting huge crowds to its games from coast to coast. In the process, Notre Dame has been hailed as the paragon of college football, and its history has gained almost mythical proportions. This is the true story of...