About the Author

When Jacob Keyes was eight years old he attended his first football camp at Notre Dame. He came home enchanted by everything about the campus and university – the history and architecture, the basilica and the grotto, the performing arts center and of course, The Fighting Irish football legacy. He also came home with an idea – to write a book all about Notre Dame football geared towards young people.

And so began The Little Gipper journey. After obtaining permission from Notre Dame for the project, Jake had to write every individual (or families of individuals) he wished to include in order to use pictures for the book. The release letters started to arrive with encouraging words from greats like Coach Lou Holtz, Joe Theismann, Tim Brown, and many others. He feels so blessed to have been given so much encouragement by so many to finish the project. He published the book in 2012, and the response was amazing! He wrote and published a supplement to the book called Echoes Awake!

Jake lives in Spokane, WA with his two sisters, Grace and Tess, and his parents Mike and Theresa. He is now a senior in High School at his Jesuit High School, Gonzaga Prep. He is still selling the Little Gipper through his website, Amazon.com, and at the Notre Dame Hammes Bookstore. He is in the midst of applying to college and, of course, he has already submitted his application to Notre Dame!

Jake and his sisters back at the Notre Dame Hammes Bookstore on a 2019 summer trip to ND!