Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 SEPT. 10, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Notre Dame men's basketball's 14- game non-conference 2018-19 sched- ule from Nov. 1 through Dec. 29 was released in late August, and the 18-game Atlantic Coast Conference slate is ex- pected to be announced sometime in mid-September. All eight games in November will be at home before embarking on a challenging three-game road trip in the early part of December. Nov. 1 Central State University — The Marauders are coached by 1982-86 Fighting Irish guard Joseph Price, who enrolled with the front line of Ken Bar- low, Tim Kempton and Jim Dolan. Nov. 6 Illinois-Chicago — First of four games in the Gotham Classic hosted by Notre Dame through Nov. 20. Nov. 8 Chicago State — Notre Dame consensus All-American and 1990 Lom- bardi Award winner Chris Zorich is the first-year athletics director for the Cou- gars, who were 3-29 last year. Nov. 14 Radford — The second Irish game in the Gotham Classic, Radford won the Big South championship and defeated LIU Brooklyn in the NCAA First Four. Nov. 17 William & Mary — The third Irish foe in the Gotham Classic, tip-off is scheduled for noon to not interfere with the Notre Dame-Syracuse football game at Yankee Stadium at 2:30 p.m. EST. Nov. 20 Duquesne — The fourth and fi- nal contest in the Gotham Classic, and the first meeting with the Dukes since 1995. Nov. 24 DePaul — Played the same day as Notre Dame's football finale at USC. The Irish have won 10 straight in this series in which they are 61-44. Mar- quette is the lone school Notre Dame has played more often (118) than DePaul in men's basketball. Nov. 27 Illinois — Notre Dame hosts the ACC-Big Ten Challenge this season after playing at Michigan State last year. The Irish won their previous such en- counter versus the Illini on the road in 2015 (84-79), and are 3-2 overall in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Dec. 4 Oklahoma (Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden) — It's the first meeting ever in men's basketball between the two schools, and the first Irish game since 2013 in MSG, where it is 59-52 all time. Dec. 8 at UCLA — The first true road game in another team's home arena (Pauley Pavilion). The Bruins lead the series 28-20, with the peak years in the 1970s when they played home and home. The most recent encounter was an 84-73 Irish win at home on Dec. 19. 2009. It also will be a homecom- ing for senior guard Rex Pflueger (Dana Point, Calif.). Dec. 15 Purdue (Crossroads Classic, Indianapolis) — After starting 3-0 in the Crossroads Classic, the Irish have lost the last three in heartbreaking fash- ion: Indiana in 2015 and 2017, and Purdue in 2016. Dec. 18 Binghamton — The Bearcats finished 2-14 in the America East Conference last year. Dec. 20 Jacksonville — First meeting between the two schools, and the last game prior to head- ing home for Christmas break. Dec. 29 Coppin State — Final non-league contest before ACC play commences at the turn of the new year. • The four ACC home-and-home series, with dates still to be finalized, will be Boston College, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Virginia Tech. • The five other home games are Clemson, Duke, North Carolina State, Syracuse and Wake Forest. • The five other road outings are Florida State, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina and Pitt. On March 12, the 2019 ACC Tournament will tip off at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. — Lou Somogyi GARTH BROOKS NOTRE DAME STADIUM CONCERT SET FOR OCT. 20 Even during the bye weekend this fall, Notre Dame Stadium will make some history. For the first time in the structure's 88 years standing, an outdoor concert will be held there this Oct. 20 when six-time Country Music As- sociation entertainer of the year Garth Brooks takes the field for a 7 p.m. performance. The Notre Dame football team is not playing that weekend — in between a home game with Pitt Oct. 13 and a road trip to San Diego to play Navy Oct. 27 — and the school also will be on mid-semester fall break from Oct. 13-21. Brooks, who turned 56 last February, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Country Music Hall of Fame a year later. A 1984 graduate of Oklahoma State who threw the javelin on the track team, Brooks said his dormitory room featured three icons on the wall: country singer Merle Haggard, three-time Playboy cover girl Candace Collins — and Notre Dame quarterback Joe Montana decked out in the green and gold. "When this call comes in, you don't say no," Brooks said of Notre Dame inviting him to perform inside the Stadium. "This is a dream." The Joyce Center also had hosted a Brooks concert Feb. 12-13, 1994. He was in town this Aug. 26-31 as a volunteer for the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project that had 20 Habitat for Humanity houses designated at nearby Mishawaka, Ind. Notre Dame executive vice president John Affleck-Graves stated during the conference that Brooks' background not only as an enter- tainer but also as a humanitarian made him an ideal choice for a new first in the Stadium. "We looked for somebody that had a repu- tation for treating others with respect and kindness," Affleck-Graves said in the Aug. 27 conference. "We looked for somebody that was committed to the communities in which they lived and worked. "We looked for somebody who had a global presence, and we looked for somebody who'd bring excitement to the Notre Dame family and to the local community — and boy did we luck out." All concert seats, which go on sale Sept. 14, will cost $98.95 apiece (eight-ticket limit), with the stage set up on midfield and the audience encircling it. No tickets will be sold at the Notre Dame box office. They are available at ticketmaster. com/garthbrooks, Ticketmaster Express at 866-448-7849 or 800-745-3000 or through the Ticketmaster app for mobile devices. — Lou Somogyi MEN'S BASKETBALL NON-CONFERENCE SLATE ANNOUNCED California native Rex Pflueger, a senior guard, will have an opportunity to play close to home when the Irish travel to take on UCLA at Pauley Pavilion Dec. 8. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN