by Fitzgerald Cecilio

Grand Rapids, MI

Michigan coach Brady Hoke criticized Notre Dame for pulling out of their annual football rivalry game with the Wolverines.

"We have unbelievable rivalry games at Michigan," Hoke told a crowd at the West Michigan Sports Commission in Grand Rapids. "The Notre Dame, that rivalry, which they're chickening out of ... they're still going to play Michigan State, they'll play Purdue; they don't want to play Michigan."

The contract between Notre Dame and Michigan calls for a notice of termination of the deal three years in advance due before kickoff of the game between the schools that year.

The Irish gave notice to Michigan on the night of Sept. 22, 2012 that they were pulling out of the series just before the teams played.

Notre Dame's decision came 10 days after the university announced its move to the ACC. With the move, the Irish agreed to play five games against schools in that conference each season.

"The decision to cancel games in 2015-17 was Notre Dame's and not ours," Wolverines athletic director Dave Brandon said in a release in September. "We value our annual rivalry with Notre Dame, but will have to see what the future holds for any continuation of the series."

Michigan and Notre Dame will play on Sept. 7 in Ann Arbor, and then the final game of the series on Sept. 6, 2014, at Notre Dame.

Copyright © - All Rights Reserved

Michigan's Brady Hoke Hits Notre Dame for Pulling out of Rivalry Game