Notre Dame Stadium

It looks like the Sunburst Races will finish at the 50-yard-line inside Notre Dame Stadium after all.     In February, organizers said the end of the race would be changed because of construction at Notre Dame Stadium. But, because of our warm weather, crews were able to finish their work early. The Sunburst Races are on June 2nd. They start in downtown South Bend and finish at the 50-yard line.

I was at the last night game played at Notre Dame Stadium. September 15 th , 1990. I'll never forget it. It was the height of the Lou Holtz era. The Irish were #1 in the country, and it was the season-opener against #4 Michigan. Tony Rice was gone, and Rick Mirer was about to make his first career start. I was a 13 years old and about to catch a break that any kid my age who loved Notre Dame would die for. I didn't have a ticket, and when I woke up that morning I wasn't planning on going to the game.

Some University of Michigan students got in an early jab in for this weekend's game with Notre Dame. Apparently the students hung up a banner overnight Tuesday. It's on one of the entrances to Notre Dame Stadium and it reads "beat the Irish" along with the Michigan logo. Photo courtesy: http://www.michigandaily.com

Notre Dame will kick off the Brian Kelly era against Purdue at Notre Dame Stadium Sept. 4. Game time will be 3:30 EDT. Notre Dame announced kickoff times for all seven home games for the 2010 season as well as its off-site home game at Yankee Stadium against Army Nov. 20. That encounter will begin at 7 p.m. EST. NBC Sports will televise all seven home games nationally from Notre Dame Stadium, as well as the Army game. The rest of the home games and their starting times include Michigan Sept.

The home opener isn't until Saturday but Brian Kelly had his football team inside Notre Dame Stadium Thursday. “We were in the stadium today,” head coach Brian Kelly said after Thursday's practice. “(We've) created a new weekly schedule of being in the stadium on Thursday and work our team out on Thursday.” Kelly held the final practice inside Notre Dame Stadium, to get his players used to the place that's supposed to feel like home.  He will continue to do that every Thursday on home football weekends.

NOTRE DAME - With one college start under his belt, Everett Golson is looking forward to his debut, in Notre Dame Stadium. "It's going to be tremendous.  It's gonna be crazy" Golson says about Saturday's home opener against Purdue at Notre Dame Stadium.   "Playing in front of 81 thousand fans that you know.  The nerves are still going to be there but I'm going to stay calm and stay the course. " Staying calm, is precisely what impressed head coach Brian Kelly more than anything, during a 50-10 win in the season opener.

Results from the 2011 University of Notre Dame football ticket lottery are now available online. Ticket demand for the 2011 season is estimated to be twice as large as the previous season.   Nearly $2 million will be refunded this year to unsuccessful lottery participants. That $2 million figure is more than twice the refund amount from the 2010 lottery – even though the 2010 lottery featured seven games in Notre Dame Stadium compared to six in 2011. The Notre Dame ticket office will begin to mail those refunds the week of July 11. Both the USC game on Ocotber 22nd at Notre Dame Stadium and the September 10th Michigan game in Ann Arbor rank among the top 25 games all-time in terms of home and away ticket requests, according to Notre Dame.

SOUTH BEND - When Brian Kelly puts in film of Stanford, Notre Dame's opponent this week, a certain element of the Cardinal's game jumps out. "They physically intimidate their opponent," Kelly said Tuesday, "and that's clear. " Kelly's seventh-ranked Irish (5-0) get to see that in person Saturday when the 17th-ranked Cardinal (4-1) visit Notre Dame Stadium. Stanford has won three straight in the series and knocked off USC earlier this season. Kelly rattled off a number of Stanford standouts, including running back Stepfan Taylor, who is averaging 112 rushing yards per game.

SOUTH BEND — The University of Notre Dame’s sixth annual "From Old 2 Gold" campus yard sale, formerly held over Memorial Day weekend, will be moved to June 26 from 7 to 11 a.m. in Notre Dame Stadium. Beginning this year, Notre Dame will hold commencement ceremonies in the stadium in mid-May, so the sale date has been moved to allow sufficient time to prepare for the sale. "From Old 2 Gold," which benefits participating local charities, will feature items left behind and donated by students, including electronics, clothing, computers, carpeting, furniture, appliances and sports equipment.

Notre Dame pulled out all the stops Saturday night and still lost to USC. By all the stops I mean how they tried to jazz up the stadium or, in this case, rock up the stadium. And they still lost to USC and did not look very good either. So that is all the proof you need that Notre Dame need not do like most other big time football programs on game day. Let tradition reign!  Lets keep doing like we have always done it. Sure, let's keep doing nothing much more than open up the gates and everything else good will follow.

SOUTH BEND -- It's an 8-0 Notre Dame football team coming off a big road victory against a team it is favored to beat. Yes, that's an apt way to describe the situation facing the Irish this week, but it was also the case 10 years ago. This year, ND is coming off a huge win at Oklahoma with 4-4 Pitt coming to Notre Dame Stadium. Don't, however, expect Irish coach Brian Kelly to harp on a decade ago, when Tyrone Willingham's first Irish team stumbled at home to Boston College after improving to 8-0 with a win at Florida State.

Following its impressive 30-13 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday night, Notre Dame jumped one spot to No. 4 in the Associated Press college football poll released Sunday. The Irish are also ranked fourth in the USA Today coaches poll. Alabama remains in the top spot, followed by Oregon and Kansas State while LSU is ranked fifth. Notre Dame earned 1,344 points in the AP poll while Kansas State recorded 1,382. Each of the top four teams has an 8-0 record. The No. 4 ranking is the highest for ND since the third poll of the 2006 season.

NOTRE DAME - Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson successfully completed concussion testing on Tuesday and has been cleared to practice, the school announced Wednesday morning. Golson suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of ND's 20-13 overtime victory over Stanford last Saturday, and did not return to the game. Golson did not pass a cognitive test on Monday and sat out Tuesday's practice.  He is expected to start for Notre Dame Saturday vs BYU. Head coach Brian Kelly thought Everett Golson played well on Saturday, particularly in the 4th quarter, despite committing three turnovers on the afternoon.

SOUTH BEND - When Brian Kelly puts in film of Stanford, Notre Dame's opponent this week, a certain element of the Cardinal's game jumps out. "They physically intimidate their opponent," Kelly said Tuesday, "and that's clear. " Kelly's seventh-ranked Irish (5-0) get to see that in person Saturday when the 17th-ranked Cardinal (4-1) visit Notre Dame Stadium. Stanford has won three straight in the series and knocked off USC earlier this season. Kelly rattled off a number of Stanford standouts, including running back Stepfan Taylor, who is averaging 112 rushing yards per game.

CHICAGO (AP) - Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III gave Notre Dame its first 100-yard rushing duo in a decade, and Everett Golson came off the bench to lead the No. 9 Irish to a 41-3 victory over Miami on Saturday night in what was a very tame sequel to the famed "Catholics vs. Convicts" rivalry. Wood rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Atkinson added 123 yards and another score. Golson, who sat the first series as punishment for violating team rules, completed his first six passes and finished 17 of 22 as Notre Dame improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2002.

NOTRE DAME -  Notre Dame renews an old rivalry with Miami this Saturday when the two teams meet at Soldier Field in Chicago. Brian Kelly's team is in a good place right now:  Undefeated, and ranked in the Top Ten. Just like Notre Dame was for many of the classic games in this rivalry which were played in the late 1980s. The greatest of all those games came in 1988 at Notre Dame Stadium.  Notre Dame was 4th at the time.  Miami was number one.  And Lou Holtz's team shocked Jimmy Johnson's Hurricanes, on their way to winning the national championship.

Some University of Michigan students got in an early jab in for this weekend's game with Notre Dame. Apparently the students hung up a banner overnight Tuesday. It's on one of the entrances to Notre Dame Stadium and it reads "beat the Irish" along with the Michigan logo. Photo courtesy: http://www.michigandaily.com

NOTRE DAME - There's no ideal way to prepare for Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson.  Just when you think you've got him where you want him, he turns a loss into a big gain, sometimes even six points. "There isn't an easy answer to that", coach Brian Kelly said when asked how to contain Robinson.  "He's a superior football player. He's not a great player; he's the best player on the field. "  Nobody knows that better than Notre Dame.  Robinson burst onto the national scene two years ago, slicing and dicing his way through the Irish defense for 500 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns at Notre Dame Stadium.

The home opener isn't until Saturday but Brian Kelly had his football team inside Notre Dame Stadium Thursday. “We were in the stadium today,” head coach Brian Kelly said after Thursday's practice. “(We've) created a new weekly schedule of being in the stadium on Thursday and work our team out on Thursday.” Kelly held the final practice inside Notre Dame Stadium, to get his players used to the place that's supposed to feel like home.  He will continue to do that every Thursday on home football weekends.

NOTRE DAME - With one college start under his belt, Everett Golson is looking forward to his debut, in Notre Dame Stadium. "It's going to be tremendous.  It's gonna be crazy" Golson says about Saturday's home opener against Purdue at Notre Dame Stadium.   "Playing in front of 81 thousand fans that you know.  The nerves are still going to be there but I'm going to stay calm and stay the course. " Staying calm, is precisely what impressed head coach Brian Kelly more than anything, during a 50-10 win in the season opener.