Emerald Isle Classic

Emerald Isle Classic Shamrock Classic Croke Park Classic Aer Lingus College Football Classic
Stadium	Aviva Stadium
Location	Dublin, Ireland
Previous stadiums	Lansdowne Road, Croke Park
Operated	1988–89, 1996, 2012, 2014, 2016

US Ambassador Dan Rooney and Taoiseach Enda Kenny take part in the ceremonial coin toss before the 2012 game at Aviva Stadium

The Emerald Isle Classic was the first NCAA-sanctioned American college football game played in Europe. The game was played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, Ireland in the years 1988 and 1989. The first game featured a 2–7 Boston College team led by Mark Kamphaus against the 8–1 Army Black Knights.

The game is intended as a biennial event to attract some of the 40 million Americans of Irish descent back to their fatherland. College teams with particularly Irish or Catholic background were chosen in an effort to attract Irish nationals to the games as well.

1996

In 1996, Notre Dame and the United States Naval Academy began a second American football event in Ireland called the Shamrock Classic. The event, played at Croke Park, drew a slightly smaller crowd than the first Emerald Isle Classic. Notre Dame won the game over Navy, setting the record for the longest winning streak over an annual collegiate opponent at 33 wins.

2012

A return trip by the teams in 2012, held at Aviva Stadium, was confirmed by the two schools and stadium management in September 2010. The Emerald Isle Classic was tied to the Irish tourism initiative The Gathering, which sought to encourage members of the Irish diaspora (especially in the U.S.) to visit their ancestral home in 2013. The first advance sellout for a sporting event in the two-year history of Aviva Stadium, 15,000 tickets sold in less than two hours, and about 35,000 Americans went to Dublin. The 2012 game aired live in parts of Europe as well as the U.S. The U.S. Navy docked an amphibious-assault warship in Dublin before the game.

2014

In June 2013, Penn State and UCF were reportedly in negotiations to play their 2014 season opener at Aviva, and the stadium was also seen as a potential venue for a proposed bowl game that would begin that season. The Orlando Sentinel, located in UCF's home city, reported in July 2013 that the teams would play the game at Croke Park instead of Aviva. That month the game, to be called the Croke Park Classic, was confirmed. The Croke Park Classic saw the University of Central Florida (UCF) host Penn State in their 2014 Season Opener in GAA HQ on the 30th August 2014. This was the first time UCF and Penn State had played outside the United States and Penn State took the Dan Rooney Trophy in a competitively fought game. 53,304 fans attend the Croke Park Classic in Croke Park. The game is a thrilling encounter which sees Penn State overcome UCF by 26 points to 24. The game ends in drama with Sam Ficken's field goal in the dying seconds winning Penn State the Croke Park Classic.

2016

On June 4, 2015, Irish American Events Limited (IAEL), which is a joint venture between Corporate.ie and Anthony Travel, announced that American college football will return to Ireland in 2016 with a match-up between Boston College and Georgia Tech. The game will be played at Aviva Stadium on September 3rd 2016. The game will be called Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

The announcement was made at the reception in Dublin attended by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, which was followed by a reception in Boston College in the U.S. attended by the Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh.

Aer Lingus was also announced as Title Sponsor for the game that will see the Boston College Eagles kick off the 2016/17 NCAA Division I College Football Season in an Atlantic Coast Conference game against the formidable Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. Tourism Ireland, Failte Ireland and Dublin City Council are also supporting the game.

Event organisers are confident the game will be a 48,000 ticket sellout. It is expected that 25,000 will travel from the US and Europe to the game.

Results

Game	Date	Event	Venue	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Attendance	Reference
1988	November 19	Emerald Isle Classic	Lansdowne Road	Boston College	38	Army	24	42,525
1989	December 2	Emerald Isle Classic	Lansdowne Road	Pittsburgh	46	Rutgers	29	19,800
1996	November 2	Shamrock Classic	Croke Park	Notre Dame	54	Navy	27	38,651
2012	September 1	Emerald Isle Classic	Aviva Stadium	Notre Dame	50	Navy	10	48,820
2014	August 30	Croke Park Classic	Croke Park	Penn State	26	UCF	24	53,304
2016	September 3	Aer Lingus College Football Classic	Aviva Stadium	Boston College vs. Georgia Tech

External links

• 2016 Aer Lingus College Football Classic

• http://collegefootballireland.com/