Welcome to the official dog days of summer.  We’ve entered August without knowing if college football will actually be played this fall, just that if it is, that it will look nothing like anything we’re used to.

July was a bit of a crazy month here at Fighting Irish Wire as we started to break down the season to come a bit more with a set of player profiles that came out and there will be plenty more of that in August as we await what is hopefully an early-September start to the 2020 football season.

July saw a bunch of recruiting news, calls for nickname changes and a ton else for a traditionally pretty quiet month that usually just helps finish bridging the gap to the next season.

As always a big thank you to Geoffrey Clark and Mike Chen who help me make this site work each and every day.

Here they are – the ten most viewed stories at Fighting Irish Wire in the month of July:

10. Regis Philbin to hold funeral, be buried at Notre Dame

 Credit: Photo by Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

TV-icon and Notre Dame graduate Regis Philbin died in late July and Notre Dame fans were sad about about his passing but obviously happy to know his final resting place will be at the University he loved so dearly.

Regis Philbin Will Have Funeral, Be Buried at Notre Dame

9. Notre Dame family mourns loss of Crystal Erwin

Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Former Notre Dame women’s basketball player Crystal Erwin died on July 18 at just 35 years old.  The former forward for Muffet McGraw’s Fighting Irish played in four NCAA Tournaments at Notre Dame during her time from 2003-2007.

Notre Dame family mourns loss of Crystal Erwin

8. USC RB/Former Notre Dame commit sick over no meeting

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Markese Stepp was a one-time Notre Dame commitment before the Indianapolis product eventually enrolled at USC.  After the Pac-12 announced they would be playing only conference games in 2020, Stepp took to Twitter to share his disappointment in not having Notre Dame on the schedule this fall.

USC RB/Former Notre Dame commit sick over no meeting

7. What Notre Dame's 2020 football schedule could look like

Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

When the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced that they’d only be playing conference games in 2020, it led us to wonder what a Notre Dame schedule against only ACC teams might look like.  We took our best guess and as it turns out, we got nine of the ten opponents correct.

What Notre Dame’s 2020 football schedule could look like

6. USC offers prized Notre Dame commit

Notre Dame and USC might not be meeting on the football field in 2020 but that doesn’t mean they’re not still battling off it.  That was again the case in mid-July when the Trojans made a scholarship offer to one of Notre Dame’s most important commitments in the 2021 class.

USC Offers Prized Notre Dame Commit

5. RIP Notre Dame/Alabama 2020

Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

For an incredibly short amount of time before new schedules were announced for 2020, there was a belief held by one college football bowl executive that Notre Dame may open the season against Alabama.  That turned out to be proven false just a day later and fans apparently loved reading about that.

RIP Notre Dame/Alabama 2020

4. Another Conference Cancels Fall Sports for 2020

Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

It was a month of big news in terms of cancellations for college football.  One Notre Dame rival’s conference cancelling their fall sports season drew a ton of attention to Fighting Irish Wire in July, even though the Notre Dame rival was given clearance by their conference to remain playing because of their unique situation.

Another Conference Cancels Fall Sports for 2020

3. Notre Dame to ACC in 2020 - 5 things to know

 Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

There was plenty of speculation that Notre Dame would join the ACC for the 2020 football season after the Big Ten and Pac-12 made their conference only announcements in the middle of July. The news was still huge for all college football fans however as Notre Dame will not be an independent in 2020, the first time ever in the program’s long history.

Notre Dame to ACC in 2020 – 5 things to know

2. Former Notre Dame captain, All-American passes away

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Shannon was a former captain on Notre Dame’s football team in the early 1950’s before living a life that eventually brought him back to campus as the University’s Monogram president from 1995-97.  The father and grand-father of eventual Notre Dame football players as well, Shannon died at 86 years old last month.

Former Notre Dame captain, All-American passes away

1. Calls for Notre Dame to Ditch 'Fighting Irish' Nickname Commence

 Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

In a world that saw the Washington Redskins remove their nickname and become the Washington Football Team and the Cleveland Indians discuss publicly, the possibility of changing their name, there was a call by someone to change the nickname of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this month and Notre Dame fans did not seem at all pleased by the idea.

Calls for Notre Dame to Ditch ‘Fighting Irish’ Nickname Commence