Oct. 12, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The traditional, lighted numeral one today was placed atop Grace Hall on the University of Notre Dame campus, in honor of the Irish women’s soccer team’s current number-one ranking.

The eight-foot sign, for years under the auspices of Grace Hall (a men’s residence hall from 1969-96), has not appeared since it last was lit in honor of the ’95 NCAA championship won by the Notre Dame women’s soccer team.

The number-one sign, built by Father Bob Malone and a group of seminarians, originally went up at Moreau Seminary in January of 1974 following Notre Dame’s 1973 national championship football season. Designed to be lit anytime a Notre Dame team was ranked number one, it later moved to Howard Hall — and finally went to the roof of Grace Hall.