Intercollegiate Athletics

Since its first athletic contest in 1887, the University of Notre Dame has proudly shouldered the responsibility as a model for intercollegiate athletics. Notre Dame student-athletes today live by the athletic department’s five pillars: excellence, education, faith, community and tradition. Not only do the approximately 650 student-athletes across the department’s 26 sports excel on the field, in the classroom and in community-centered service efforts, they show their commitment to those endeavors through their displays of faith and of pride in the University. More than 130 years on, Notre Dame student-athletes remain unparalleled in their dedication to shine in all facets of college life.

The University is committed to a well-rounded program for both men and women. The Notre Dame athletic tradition boasts national contenders across 26 varsity sports (13 men’s sports and 13 women’s sports) and since 2001, the Irish have won national championships in fencing (’05, ’11, ’17, ’18, ’21 ’22 and ’23), women’s basketball (’01 and ’18), women’s soccer (’04 and ’10), men’s lacrosse (’23) and men’s soccer (’13).

The Notre Dame student body plays an important role in the success of teams that represent the University. Anyone who has attended a football pep rally or seen a top-ranked basketball team upset in the Purcell Pavilion knows why. The pride and loyalty displayed by the Leprechaun Legion are moving forces that embody the spirit of the Notre Dame community. Athletic contests at Notre Dame are an integral part of the social life as well as an opportunity for the athletically gifted to compete against the nation’s best.

Facilities

Notre Dame Stadium, with its 77,622 seats, has been the home to Irish football since 1930. In the fall of 2017 the University debuted the Campus Crossroads Project, which enhanced fan experience at games as well as brought academic and student life closer to other campus facilities at the University. The project included the addition of a video board in the south end zone and ribbon boards around the east and west sides. Academic buildings connect to both the south, east and west sides of the stadium with premium seating and media accommodations located on the top floors. Installation of an artificial FieldTurf surface was completed prior to the 2014 football season.

Built in 1968, Notre Dame’s Joyce Center has been called one of the most complete sports complexes in the country. Not only is there a 9,149-seat basketball/volleyball arena (Purcell Pavilion) but also boxing, weight rooms and multi-use courts in the North Dome Fieldhouse. In 2012 the Castellan Family Fencing Center opened inside the Joyce

Center Fieldhouse. The new fencing facility includes 15 fencing strips, men’s, women’s and coaches’ locker rooms, a team lounge, conference room and offices. Next, the Rolfs Aquatic Center, with its Olympicsized swimming pool, caps off the different sporting events held inside the Joyce.

On top of all that, the Joyce contains the administrative and business offices and houses a vast majority of Notre Dame athletics employees. Lastly, on the second floor of the Joyce Center is Heritage Hall, a special display of all former Monogram winners and key moments in the varsity programs’ various histories.

Purcell Pavilion opened in October 2009 after a massive $26.3 million addition and renovation to the Joyce Center. The finished product, which maintains the intimate environment that has provided a homecourt advantage for Notre Dame since the facility first debuted in 1968, added chair-back seating throughout the venue. It also added a three-story updated structure to the south end that now houses Notre Dame ticket operations, the Mike Leep Sr. Varsity Shop and Club Naimoli, a spacious (16,500 square feet) and comfortable hospitality area that can be used during basketball games and for University private functions.

Rolfs Athletics Hall was dedicated on May 8, 2019, as the new state-of-the-art practice complex for the men’s and women’s basketball programs. One of the largest practice facilities in the country, the 77,000-square-foot building features video rooms, team rooms and locker rooms for both programs, as well as views into both practice gyms on the entry level. The entry level also includes locker areas for coaching and support staff, basketball alumni, practice players and other guests.

The lower level features nutrition space, a sports medicine facility with two in-ground hydrotherapy tubs, a large strength and conditioning center and two separate practice gyms. The upper level includes a shared reception area, office suites for both programs (each with a kitchen and storage space) and two conference rooms suspended above the respective gym spaces.

The University of Notre Dame is enjoying its 19th full season with access to the Guglielmino Athletics Complex, affectionately referred to as “The Gug” (pronounced Goog). The Gug houses the football practice-week locker rooms, coaches’ offices and meeting rooms in addition to enhanced sports medicine, strength and conditioning and weight room equipment for all Notre Dame student-athletes.

Underwritten with a gift from the late Don F. Guglielmino and his wife Flora, the Gug provides the Irish football team with a central location for post-practice and pre-practice routines as well as daily positional meetings.

The first floor of the 96,000-square-foot complex features the 25,000-square-foot Haggar Fitness Center (gift of Ed and Patty Haggar, and Joe and Isabell Haggar) with the latest state-of-the-art equipment that all student-athletes can use on a daily basis. The 8,300-square-foot Loftus Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center (a gift of John and Julie Loftus) services all Notre Dame student-athletes and also houses the athletic training staff. Also on the first floor are the Romano Family Locker Room (a gift of D.J. “Buddy” and Florence Romano), Isban Auditorium (a gift from Leonard and JoAnn Isban), the Allen Equipment Room (a gift of Marty and Sue Allen) and Hickey Coaches’ Locker Room (a gift of Jack and Rosemary Hickey).

The second floor houses the Smith Family Office Suites (a gift from the Smith family in honor of Francis W. and Rita C. Smith) with Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman’s area overlooking the LaBar Practice Complex and the Irish Indoor Athletics Center. Eleven banners hang in the Morse Recruiting Lounge (a gift of Jim and Leah Morse) commemorating Notre Dame’s 11 consensus national championships.

Loftus Sports Center is now in its 37th full year of service at the University of Notre Dame and is one of the most widely used athletics buildings on campus. Designed for use by all Notre Dame athletics teams as well as students, faculty and staff, the center comprises nearly 129,000 square feet and stands tucked in a forested area of campus just north of LaBar Practice Complex and connected to the Guglielmino Athletics Complex. Dedicated on April 23, 1988, the Loftus Center saw its first football practice on Sept. 30 of that season. The facility is a gift of John R. Loftus, a member of Notre Dame’s basketball team in 1944, 1948 and 1949. The Irish track and field program hosts a number of indoor meets in the complex each season, including the well-known Meyo Invitational. The men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball and baseball teams practice on Meyo Field (a gift of Raymond D. Meyo), a100-yard Prestige Turf field, throughout the winter and spring seasons.

The Irish Indoor Athletics Center enters its fifth full season of use and is the home to the indoor practice field of the Fighting Irish football and men’s and women’s soccer teams. Constructed on the site of what is now the western-most field of the Notre Dame football team’s LaBar Practice Complex, the 111,400-square-foot facility was underwritten by gifts from a number of benefactors.

Labar Practice Complex enters its 16th season of use and is home to the outdoor practice fields of the Fighting Irish football team. A gift of Rees and Carol LaBar, the practice fields are located directly south of the Guglielmino Athletics Complex (on the former site of Moose Krause Stadium and Cartier Field). The LaBar Practice Complex features three football fields, lights, video towers, a maintenance building to provide storage, and is secured with an eight-foot fence. All three practice fields are FieldTurf fields (installed for 2019), allowing the Irish to practice year-round without fear of damaging grass fields due to inclement weather and general wear and tear. The third field is a natural grass field.

Construction of Compton Family Ice Arena, a stateof-the-art, two-sheet ice facility, began in March 2010 south of the Joyce Center. The rink (200'x90') in the main arena (capacity ~5,000) is named in honor of legendary Irish coach Charles W. “Lefty” Smith Jr., while an Olympic-sized (200'x100') auxiliary rink sits on the basement level. The facility includes offices, locker rooms, strength, cardio and other training areas for the Notre Dame hockey program as well as locker rooms, service and support staff and areas necessary to operate campus and community hockey, skating and other recreational ice sport usage. For Irish games and other hospitality functions, O’Brien’s, a club area with adjacent premium seating is available on the mezzanine level. The facility opened on October 18, 2011, and Notre Dame played its first hockey game in the new building on October 21 against RPI.

Notre Dame opened Alumni Stadium, home of the Irish men’s and women’s soccer programs, in 2009. The approximately 3,000-seat facility, which sits side-by-side with the Irish lacrosse facility, Arlotta Stadium, features a natural grass field, fully equipped locker rooms, restrooms and concession areas, an expanded press box and a state-of-the-art light and sound system.

Arlotta Stadium is the home for the men’s and women’s lacrosse programs. Located east of Alumni Stadium, Arlotta features over 2,000 permanent seats with additional seating available on a grass berm opposite of the stands, lights, an artificial turf field, locker rooms, player lounges, press box, restrooms and concession areas. The first event in the new stadium was held October 16, 2009, as the men’s lacrosse team played the Iroquois National team in an exhibition contest. Women’s lacrosse held its first event in the new stadium on March 7, 2010 in a regular-season matchup with Dartmouth.

Frank Eck Stadium, with its 2,500 seats, has been home to Irish baseball since 1994 and has undergone a series of improvements in that time. The clubhouse was remodeled in 2011, before an artificial surface was installed on the playing field in 2014. The program opened its addition of a team room and study lounge in 2017.

Melissa Cook Stadium opened for competition on April 12, 2008. This venue is named in memory of former Irish softball player Melissa Cook. It features a brick/stucco exterior, bluegrass sod outfield, a Daktronics scoreboard with full-color message center, Musco lighting, heated dugouts, home and visitor locker rooms, training room, press box, six batting cages, chair back and bleacher seating, interior restrooms, and concession stand.

The Eck Tennis Pavilion, a 35,000-square-foot structure opened in 1987, is the place on campus for indoor tennis and serves as home for both Irish men’s and women’s tennis teams. Inside are six courts, coaches’ offices, showers and lockers, a repair shop and an observation deck. The pavilion stands adjacent to its outdoor counterpart, the Courtney Tennis Center which features 12 courts for use during the warmer months.

The construction of the new Harris Family Track and Field Stadium was completed in 2018, featuring an existing nine-lane track where the Irish hold outdoor meets during the spring competition season. Harris Family Stadium is located southeast of the Joyce Center and features space for throwing and jumping events in two directions and a warm-up area at one end of the track. Among the amenities are men’s and women’s locker rooms, a training facility and a team room, in addition to press box and concession facilities. The first meet held in the venue was the Bob Harris Open, which was held on May 1, 2021.

Located on the St. Joseph River in downtown South Bend, the 15,000-square-foot McConnell Family Boathouse was dedicated on September 8, 2016. The boathouse features a team room, coach’s lockers and office, varsity locker room, laundry facilities, training room and spectator gallery on the upper level. The lower level includes three boat storage bays, one boat repair bay, boat trailer access, a 144-oar racking system and equipment storage space. A new dock was also constructed for the women’s varsity and the men’s club team to utilize.