Nonsense back to you. Sure, Hoke called ND out at a booster function. Dave Brandon made comments as well, although much more measured.
But, Michigan based sportswriters and fans have been doing so for two years. It was not a "one time thing" or "tongue in cheek".
http://theb1gtime.com/teams/michigan/michigan-s-hoke-calls-out-nd-for-dropping-rivalry.html
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/9/8/4706320/michigan-vs-notre-dame-chicken-dance
Well, Michigan could have said, “Hey, them’s the breaks, guys.” But who was Notre Dame to claim it didn’t need Michigan? So instead, Michigan coach Brady Hoke said Notre Dame “chickened out”. Hoke is a not a big-ego guy and was probably just having fun with it, but
Michigan folks jumped on it. When Michigan beat Notre Dame in Ann Arbor last year, the loudspeakers blasted “The Chicken Dance” afterward."
http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/09/04/michigan-notre-dame-rivalry-ending
These reactions by Michigan are hypocritical and ironic considering Michigan's prior cancellations of the ND series over the decades.
http://www.melfortjournal.com/2014/09/03/irony-drapes-finale-of-heated-notre-dame-michigan-rivalry
Particularly so when it was Michigan who first started talking about ending the annual series with a two year "hiatus":
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...michigan-not-playing-2018-2019/1#.VAjW1PldXTp
"The announcement Wednesday from Michigan that the Wolverines and ND would be taking a hiatus in 2018 and ’19 only surprised Swarbrick in one respect.
“To tell you the truth, I already thought it had been announced,” the Notre Dame athletic director said. “I was caught off-guard by the fact it was news.
“We got a request from (former Michigan AD) Bill Martin, I want to say three years ago, ‘Would you consider this?’ And I said, ‘Sure, as long we can keep the rivalry going afterwards.’ Checked it off my list and never thought about it again.”
ND and Michigan took a break from each other twice in recent years — in 2000-01 when Texas A&M and Nebraska rolled onto the September schedules, and in 1995-96 when the Irish had a home-and-home with Ohio State.
“(Current Michigan AD) Dave Brandon called to talk about future scheduling,” Swarbrick said, “and the 2018-19 issue sort of surfaced for him for the first time. We had already committed the dates, so hence the announcement.”
http://irish.nbcsports.com/2013/05/14/friendly-reminder-michigan-asked-to-stop-nd-series-first/
ND cancelled exactly two games, the same as Michigan did in June, 2012 (three months before Swarbrick did).
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...michigan-not-playing-2018-2019/1#.VAjW1PldXTp
Nonsense back on the "lying to get out of the Michigan series" stuff too. If ND wanted out of a series because it was tough, it wouldn't have replaced Michigan with the likes of Ohio State, Georgia and Texas, among others.