University of Notre Dame

Game Day

Game Day Initiatives

Coach Kelly addresses an Irish basketball crowd

Since its creation in April of 2009, the University’s Game Day Operations division has worked to make the Notre Dame football weekend experience as safe and enjoyable as possible for all visitors to campus. Through a series of different initiatives, Game Day has worked to improve the University’s game weekend experience in the categories of hospitality, communications, and safety and security. The 2009 season was just the beginning of improvements Game Day plans to bring to the weekend experience. Below is a list of past initiatives, and advancements for the 2012 season will be coming soon.

Past Initiatives

Guest Services Teams

After a successful 3 year campaign, the Guest Services Teams will be expanding their footprint for the 2012 season. The University has increased its fleet of Green Jacket Ushers to provide even more help and courtesy to campus visitors. In addition, Guest Services booths will be placed just inside each gate of Notre Dame Stadium. The ushers behind these booths will offer their expertise on the University in the same courteous manner as they do on other parts of the campus. Our Guest Services ushers, clad in green jackets, are happy to greet you with a “Welcome to Notre Dame.” This team can assist you with game day planning, direct you to the most beautiful sights on campus and provide campus maps and Gridiron Guides, which detail the weekend’s schedule of eves.

Campus Transportation

The Notre Dame campus has plenty to offer on a home football weekend. From the trumpet concert inside the Main Building to the pep rallies at the Irish Green, the traditions of a football weekend are spread across the University’s beautiful campus. In order to allow all our guests to campus to best enjoy everything an Irish football weekend has to offer, Game Day Guest Services is proud to introduce an improved Campus Transportation initiative for the 2012 football season.

Texting Service

The fan assistance texting program worked very well the past three seasons. In an effort to continually improve the University’s effort to offer guests a safe and enjoyable game experience, Game Day Operations has done significant work in the off-season to improve this service. The new texting number, 69050, will feed to a brand new receiving system that will allow us at Game Day to best service all our guests, both in the Stadium and across campus. Again, simply text IRISH and the issue to 69050 when in need of assistance on football game days

Burke Golf Course Parking

Game Day parking is available on the Burke Memorial Golf Course, weather permitting, for a $40 fee. Vendors take only cash and drivers show their football tickets to enter the parking areas. Tailgating is permitted, but Burke parking is restricted to passenger cars only. Recreational vehicles, large trucks, buses, motorcycles and limos are not permitted.

Football Facility Tours

Game Day, in partnership with the Notre Dame Athletic Department, is offering all guests a chance to walk where the Irish walk. The north tunnel of Notre Dame Stadium is open to all guests on Friday. LaBar Practice Field, which opened in 2008 and became the benchmark for football practice facilities, is open on Saturdays. It’s sure to impress Notre Dame fans of all ages.

Coaches Statues

Five of Notre Dame’s National Championship-winning coaches are immortalized in statue form on the University’s campus. Prior to the 2010 season, four of the statues were moved to their new locations directly outside four of Notre Dame Stadium’s six entrances and each gate was renamed in honor of the corresponding legendary coach. During the 2011 season, a statue honoring Dan Devine was dedicated and is placed in front of the Dan Devine Gate, which was named in 2010. Their locations are:

  • Knute Rockne (1924, 1929, 1930 National Champion) – North Tunnel, Knute Rockne Tunnel
  • Dan Devine (1977 National Champion) – Gate A, Dan Devine Gate
  • Ara Parseghian (1966, 1973 National Champion) – Gate B, Ara Parseghian Gate
  • Frank Leahy (1943, 1946, 1947, 1949 National Champion) – Gate C, Frank Leahy Gate
  • Lou Holtz (1988 National Champion) – Gate D, Lou Holtz Gate