********
Welcome to the "Notre Dame Weekend FAQ"! [version 1.1]
This document is *not*, in any way, shape or form, an
official statement of rules or policies at Notre Dame. It is, however,
a listing made up of observations, shortcuts, and other tidbits
and tips that just might make a Fall trip to South Bend somewhat
easier. I hope it works out this way. If you've found something
on this list that is hideously wrong, or you would like to add a
tip or tidbit to help others, PLEASE SEND ME EMAIL! I cannot make
corrections if I don't know the problem, and I need new material
to keep this document somewhat current. Thank you for your
participation. Barring strenuous objections, I plan to post this
early in the week before every Notre Dame home football game.
The quoted part of this document is an e-mail I received from someone
who wanted to know lots and lots of things about Fall Saturdays in
South Bend. The "more information" part was originally written for a
Texas fan, but I've edited it to be more inclusive. Substitute
appropriately for the opponent of your choice.
Go Irish,
Matt Foley
******** Begin FAQ
> First, I need to know if it is possible to buy tickets in advance. If so, how
> much are they? If not, what's the likelihood of being able to get into a game
> by just showing up and how much are tickets? Are there different rates --
> adult, ND student, non-ND student,...? When do tickets become available? Could
> I purchase four? Who can I contact, how, and where, for tickets? Do you know
> of any hotels and/or restaurants near the stadium that you would recommend?
Well, before I go into a full-scale description of the ND ticket
situation, let me give you a useful number: (219)-631-7356. That's
the phone number for the ticket office here on campus. They can
explain the official situation far better than I can.
Here are my attempts to answer your queries as they came:
Tickets are rarely available to the general public because the alumni
and student demand is so fierce. "Just showing up" can be done,
but you might want to bring along the Federal Reserve to finance the
affair. The face value for tickets goes up every year, and I presume
this year they'll be $30 each (last year they were $28).
The deadline for ordering tickets has passed, as the alumni
lottery was held at the beginning of the summer. My restaurant
recommendation: Rocco's. Hotel/motel reservations: try the South
Bend or Mishawaka (the neighboring city) Chambers of Commerce. My
parents have had luck with bed and breakfasts, but never hotels.
Here's some more information:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) Hotels. South Bend has an extreme shortage of hotel space, which
means that every hotel room within 50 or 60 miles will be full for the
weekend of the game. Reservations are usually made one year in
advance (like that helps now) but people have been known to cash in
on cancellations, particularly on the night after the game (the hotels
make you purchase a minimun of two nights).
2.) Tickets. $$$. Our stadium seats 59,075 people, and will
be expanded *after* this season. Prices for games like ND vs. Texas
usually range from 2-5 times the $30 face value, depending
on the weather and how many rich Longhorns ;-) make the trip. Don't be
surprised to see people selling tons of tickets at inflated prices
along the roads leading to Notre Dame. Ticket scalping is legal in the
state of Indiana. The general motto for tickets is: if you see
a ticket at a reasonable price, snatch it up -- there are no bad seats
in Notre Dame Stadium (at least not yet). Also, be warned. Although
scalping is legal in Indiana, ND tries to stop it on university property.
2a.) * IMPORTANT TICKET INFORMATION *
There has been a University policy change regarding tickets: Notre Dame students
can now exchange their student ticket + $15 for a General Admission ticket,
which, unlike the student ticket, can be used by anyone. In reality this
means that scalped ticket prices have just gone down because the supply
of tickets, by all accounts, has increased. While I don't like the idea
of students selling out, it will help more people see the games, and allow
students who are gone for the home game on a Fall Break weekend (this year
it's U$C) to recoup some of their ticket investment. Also, it allows
us (the students) to more easily swing tickets for friends and family who
want to visit us and see a Notre Dame game.
3.) Weather. Contrary to popular belief, we rarely have football
games in the snow at Notre Dame. Conditions are usually pleasant up
to the end of October, but there is a law of nature that states,
"if Purdue is in town, the heavens shall open." So don't forget the
rain gear.
4.) Booze. The administration relaxes the rules on football weekends
to allow for normal tailgating. You can even wander campus with an
open container if you so desire. However, the ushers aren't big
fans of alcohol in the stadium.
5.) Parking. Notre Dame parking passes can be *really* expensive,
but the usual "pay $5 (or $10) and park on my lawn" still holds for the
neighborhood to the east of Notre Dame.
6.) Bookstore. Boy do they have a good thing going. :-) Reportedly
our bookstore makes more money than any other in the nation, and if
you see the lines on football weekends, you'll understand why. People
have been known to wait for hours and hours just to get in the place
and browse through the merchandise. The check-out line isn't very
short either... My recommendation is to pick up the mail order
catalogue and shop from home.
7.) Food. Many student organizations set up food booths all
over campus selling hot dogs, bratwursts, hamburgers, cokes, and
miscellaneous souvenirs (hats & shirts). The food's pretty good
for the money, and the cash goes for a good cause. Avoid waiting
to eat in LaFortune (the student center) if you can help it.
8.) Don't miss the band's concert on the steps of the Golden
Dome and hour and a half before kickoff. You never know, they might
play the "Eyes of Texas" for the Longhorn fans (they always play
the visiting team's fight song), and the rest of the show is
pretty good as well. Get to the show early so you can avoid
sitting behind a tree or the large shrubs in front of the Main
Building.
9.) The famous Notre Dame pep rallies are held on Friday nights
before home games in the basketball arena (south dome) of the JACC,
which itself is directly east of the football stadium. For big
games the place can fill up by 6:15 for the 7PM rally, so you may
have to watch it on television. The rallies are shown live on
WNDU-TV, channel 16.
10)William L. Holahan (holahan@csd.uwm.edu) adds:
"I would only add that the best food deal is the steak sandwich
in front of the Knights of Columbus building. I would also
add that everything people need has a peak load problem associated with
it. So, if you want to eat, eat 45 minutes before normal people eat. If
you want to watch the band, arrive 30 minutes before they blast off, and
if you want to get into the bookstore, show up on Wednesday. Also, plan
to arrive in the vicinity of campus around 9:30 AM on a football Saturday
unless you want to be part of some of the most spectacular congestion in
this great land. Come early and have a steak sandwich."
11.) Other sports. Notre Dame is not just a football school. On
any given weekend in the Fall, the volleyball and soccer teams could
be playing here in South Bend. Their events are usually scheduled either
for Friday or Saturday night (or even Sunday afternoon), and they like
nothing more than a rousing crowd the cheer them on. The volleyball
and soccer schedules are included in the appendix along with the home
football schedule.
12.) For more official information, use the web browser of your choice
and go to http://www.nd.edu/~ndsi/. That's the Notre Dame Sports
Information Department, and they have a very nice spread of more
information, including phone numbers, travel information, directions,
and an explanation of South Bend's quirky time zone (just remember
this: while everyone else is on daylight savings time, we're with
Chicago; while everyone else is on standard time, we're with New
York - we never change our clocks). This site keeps growing every
time I see it, so be sure to reference it.
******** Schedule Appendix
Football Home Games
(all games at Notre Dame Stadium)
Sept. 2 -- Northwestern 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 16 -- Vanderbilt 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 23 -- Texas 11:30 a.m.
Oct. 21 -- Southern California 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 28 -- Boston College 2:30 p.m.
Nov. 4 -- Navy 1:30 p.m.
From Dennis Brown:
Volleyball
(all matches at Joyce Center)
Sept. 1 -- Northwestern 8 p.m.
Sept. 2 -- Southern Cal 8 p.m.
Sept. 22 -- Texas 8 p.m.
Sept. 23 -- Colorado 7 p.m.
Sept. 24 -- Colorado 2 p.m.
Oct. 6 -- West Virginia 7 p.m.
Oct. 7 -- Duke 7 p.m.
Oct. 29 -- Syracuse 8 p.m.
Oct. 22 -- Pittsburgh 2 p.m.
Nov. 3 -- St. John's 8 p.m.
Nov. 5 -- Connecticut 2 p.m.
Nov. 18-19 -- Big East Conference Tournament
Women's Soccer
(all games at Alumni Field)
Sept. 2 -- Providence 10 a.m.
Sept. 3 -- St. John's noon
Sept. 15 -- Michigan State 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 17 -- Stanford noon
Oct. 6 -- Connecticut 7:30 p.m.
Oct 8 -- Santa Clara noon
Oct. 25 -- Xavier 7 p.m.
Oct. 27 -- Boston College 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 29 -- Butler noon
Men's Soccer
(all games at Alumni Field)
Sept. 3 -- DePaul 2 p.m.
Sept. 8 -- Valparaiso 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 10 -- Syracuse 1 p.m.
Sept. 22 -- Indiana 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 24 -- Boston College 1 p.m.
Sept. 28 -- Loyola-Marymount 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5 -- Detroit 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 8 -- Georgetown 2 p.m.
Oct. 14 -- Providence 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26 -- Western Michigan 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 3 -- Villanova 7:30 p.m.
******** End FAQ
--
Matt Foley mfoley3@darwin.cc.nd.edu
University of Notre Dame http://www.nd.edu/~mfoley3/