Harbaugh ‘open to’ Michigan/Notre Dame series resuming

Jim Harbaugh played in two Michigan vs. Notre Dame games as a Wolverine, winning in 1985 and 1986.

Now he’s back as U-M coach, but the rivalry is beginning an indefinite hiatus.

He said Tuesday he would be open to resuming it.

“I would have a conversation with coach (Brian) Kelly about it,” he said on the Big Ten teleconference. “But I would be open to it, yes.”

The idea began last week, when Kelly went on the Rich Eisen Show and said he believes it will happen. Though he said he’s not directly involved in any talks, he gets the feeling a resumption is possible.

Harbaugh didn’t want to fully endorse it, though, saying he’d like to deal privately first.

“I’d probably have a conversation with coach Kelly about that before anybody else; that would probably be the best course of action,” he said.

The series, which resumed in 1978 after two games in the previous 70 years, became an early season hallmark of college football over 36 years. But Notre Dame chose to end the rivalry after the 2014 game, exercising an out clause in the deal. Notre Dame cited its increasingly difficult scheduling upon agreeing to play five ACC games per season.

While only Michigan’s leadership has changed since, that may be relevant to the potential renewal. Former coach Brady Hoke drew headlines by telling a pro-U-M crowd on the west side of the state that the Irish were “chickening out” of the series. After U-M won the 2013 game in Ann Arbor, the school played the “chicken dance” song during the postgame.

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