When you get an American Pope from Chicago that is a known lover of sports… you get really cool things. On Tuesday, Matt Norlander with CBS Sports reported that Notra Dame and Villanova will have both of their Men’s and Women’s basketball teams open the 2026-2027 season with a game in Rome.
The two universities are prominent private Catholic schools with connections to the Pope. For Villanova, an obvious one: Robert Francis Prevost is a 1977 alumnus. The Notre Dame piece is tied to the school’s massive global brand. Notre Dame is regarded as the most prominent Catholic institution of higher learning in the world. It also has an outpost in Rome. An avowed sports fan, the Pope also grew up in Chicago, which has a significant Notre Dame fan presence given its proximity to nearby South Bend, Indiana. (Soon after Prevost was named the most powerful man in the Catholic Church, online detectives went back and found he appeared on television during the White Sox’s 2005 World Series run.)
The teams will play the doubleheader at the Palazzetto dello Sport, known more colloquially as the PalaTiziano. The arena seats 3,500 people for basketball games and has existed since the late 1950s. It was built in the lead-up to Rome’s hosting of the 1960 Olympics. The PalaTiziano underwent significant renovations from 2018-2023 and is approximately 30 minutes from the Pope’s residence in Vatican City.
The article also state that it’s unknown if Pope Leo will be at the games, but… you know he absolutely is going to be in attendance.
The broadcast will be on FOX and will be the lead in for the NFL action that day.
There has been all kinds of talk about more international games across different sports and different leagues as of late, and this is the kind of thing a lot of Notre Dame fans have hoped for in those discussions. I think most of them wanted a Notre Dame vs Boston College football game in Rome, and all I can say is that this basketball event could be a good precursor for something like that in the future.