The name "Knute" sounds like "Kuh-newt," as was explained by no less a personage than President Ronald Reagan during the dedication ceremony for a 22-cent postage stamp honoring Knute Rockne issued in 1988.
The 40th President of the United States was well aware of the proper way to pronounce Rockne’s first name, just as he was well aware that many in the audience that day did not know how to do so. Speaking at the dedication ceremony for the Rockne postage stamp held at Notre Dame on March 9, 1988, Reagan said “Now, let me explain, I may be saying the name differently, but when we made the picture we were told, and Bonnie [Mrs. Knute Rockne] upheld it to us, that it was Knute [Kuh-newt] -- not Knute [newt]. So, you'll have to get used to me saying it that way.”