As the summer speeds by and fall rapidly approaches, it is time to start planning your Notre Dame football weekends. The University has several programs designed to help you make the most of the 2009 Fighting Irish football season, including a new Hospitality Village and outdoor pep rallies.  

Hospitality Village

The new Hospitality Village will be located on the Irish Green, south of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. It will be in operation from 3:00-7:15 p.m. Friday and 10:00 a.m.-kickoff Saturday for each Notre Dame home football game.

The area will be free and open to the public. It will feature entertainment on a main stage (including bands and speakers), plus roaming “kid-friendly” entertainment around the grounds. Food and beverages (including beer) will be available for purchase. Follett’s and other vendors will be on site.

Pep rallies

Despite ongoing construction at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame Football Luncheons on home football Fridays will continue in the north dome (fieldhouse) and Friday night pep rallies will be held at a variety of campus locations during the 2009 season.

The traditional season-opening Dillon Hall Pep Rally, normally held the Thursday before the first game, will be moved to 6:30 p.m. EDT, on Friday, Sept. 4, in front of Dillon Hall on the South Quad. Head Coach Charlie Weis, the ’09 Irish football squad, and the Band of the Fighting Irish will be in attendance.

The Notre Dame-USC rally on Oct. 16 will be held at a location to be determined, possibly in Notre Dame Stadium.

The Notre Dame-Connecticut rally Nov. 20, prior to the final Irish home game, will be held in the new Purcell Pavilion on the arena side (south dome) of the Joyce Center.

Four other Friday pep rallies--Sept. 18 (Michigan State), Oct. 2 (Washington), Oct. 23 (Boston College) and Nov. 6 (Navy)--will be held outdoors at the new Hospitality Village at the Irish Green, south of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Dubbed “Rally on the Green,” these rallies also will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET.

All pep rallies are free of charge. Outdoor rallies are subject to cancellation due to inclement weather.

The Nevada, USC and Connecticut rallies will include the entire Irish squad, while the four “Rally on the Green” events will include representation from several Notre Dame players and/or coaches per week.

Kickoff luncheons

The Friday Notre Dame Kickoff Luncheons are slated for noon Eastern time on Sept. 4 (Nevada) and 18 (Michigan State), Oct. 2 (Washington), 16 (USC) and 23 (Boston College), and Nov. 6 (Navy) and 20 (Connecticut).

Tickets are $23 each and can be ordered by writing to Athletics Business Office, 112 Joyce Center, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 456556. Checks can be made payable to University of Notre Dame. There is a $3 handling fee per order. Deadline for reservations is Aug. 14. There are 10 seats per table.

Irish head coach Charlie Weis, a combination of Irish players and assistant coaches, and other special guests will be in attendance.

Buying and selling tickets

Members of the Notre Dame alumni community can buy and sell* Notre Dame football tickets using the NDAA Ticket Consignment Program, which will begin posting tickets online August 17. If your tickets are sold through this program and then later resold by someone else for more than face value, you will not be liable for violating the University’s resale policy.

Registered users can buy available tickets through the Ticket Consignment website for face value plus a small transaction service fee. Tickets are available on a first come, first serve basis, and purchase limits may apply. Purchased tickets can be picked up at the Alumni Association will call window at Gate 3 in the Joyce Center on game day.

Game day ticket sales also take place at Gate 3 of the Joyce Center. The sales window will open to alumni and students 4 ½ hours before kickoff (game day sales open to the general public 3 ½ hours prior to kickoff).

Learn more about the NDAA Ticket Consignment Program, including how to sell tickets.

*Listing football tickets on the NDAA Ticket Consignment website does not guarantee they will be sold.

If you are looking to attend the USC or Boston College game this fall, consider participating in Notre Dame Alumni Travel’s Home Field Advantage program.

The Home Field Advantage program is available to any ND alumnus or alumna who was eligible for the University’s 2009 football ticket lottery. For two home football games (USC-Oct. 17 and Boston College-Oct. 24), the NDAA is offering a complete football weekend package for two. The travel package includes two game tickets, a two-night stay at the Hyatt Place, two pep rally tickets, transportation to and from campus, a private Friday-night reception, a private post-game Mass, and a Saturday post-game dinner. The cost is $1,575 per couple. 

Register now for the Home Field Advantage.

Saturday Scholars Series

You are invited to experience an intimate discussion with Notre Dame’s most engaging faculty speakers on some of the most pressing and fascinating issues of our times.

Each lecture and Q&A is presented in the Snite Museum’s Annenberg Auditorium at noon on home game Saturdays, with one exception: the lecture before the October 31 game versus Washington State University will be in San Antonio (time and venue TBD). No tickets are required for any of the lectures. View the lecture dates and topics.

Senior Alumni game-Nevada, Sept. 5

The first game of the season (Sept. 5 vs. Nevada) also happens to be the Senior Alumni game. The ND Senior Alumni Board (NDSA) and the Alumni Association welcome all senior alumni to stop by the NDSA hospitality tent at the north of the Eck Visitors Center, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4. All ND Senior Alumni are invited to the 50-Year Club mini-reunion on Sept. 5 from noon to 2:30 p.m. at Legends Restaurant (cost is $20 per person). For more details, visit the 50-Year-Club mini-reunion website or send an e-mail to Melonie Rhodes.

Watch the Irish in the Alamodome in October

On Oct. 31, Notre Dame will host the Washington State Cougars in the Alamodome in San Antonio, and Anthony Travel is offering travel packages that include lodging at Official Notre Dame Headquarters hotels for Irish fans. Visit the Anthony Travel website for more information about travel packages and to book your trip.

The Notre Dame Club of Dallas has partnered with Anthony Travel to offer an official bus trip from Dallas to San Antonio for the game.The Bus Trip Packages include two night hotel accommodations at the Westin Riverwalk, round-trip bus transportation from Dallas to San Antonio, food, and drinks on the bus and game day transportation. To make your reservations or for more information, visit AnthonyTravel.com and search ND Dallas or call 800-366-3772.

Travel to games—home and away—with Anthony Travel

Make your football weekend plans stress-free. Anthony Travel can take care of all your Fighting Irish football travel needs, including air reservations, car rentals, and lodging. Anthony Travel also offers home game weekend packages. Visit the Anthony Travel website for details.