The University of Notre Dame’s Shamrock Series football game Saturday against Purdue University at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., also will include a series of events throughout the weekend at various locations in the Indianapolis area.
The Shamrock Series events presented by Sprint annually include not only a football game but also a variety of other activities for Notre Dame alumni and fans.
Here are some of the featured events during the weekend:
- A Friday night pep rally in the Georgia Street/Pan Am Plaza area in downtown Indianapolis featuring the Band of the Fighting Irish, the Notre Dame cheerleaders, Irish Guard and the leprechaun (free and open to the public; 4:30-6:30 p.m. EDT). The rally includes half-hour musical performances by “The Fighting Jamesons” (4:35-5:05 p.m. EDT) as well as 2010 Notre Dame graduate and Chicago-based singer/songwriter Pat McKillen (5:15-5:45 p.m. EDT). Jack Nolan will serve as master of ceremonies and interview various special guests. (If you are interested in interviews with The Fighting Jamesons, please contact rebecca.venkauskas@me.com.)
- A Saturday morning Shamrock Series 5K run from Bankers Life Fieldhouse through downtown Indianapolis to Pan Am Plaza (8 a.m. EDT; signup/registration details at gameday.nd.edu). Registration is $30 through Thursday—and $35 on event day. Proceeds benefit graduate student fellowships at Notre Dame.
- A Saturday morning Mass at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church (126 W. Georgia Street in Indianapolis), with Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., as celebrant and Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., as homilist (10 a.m. EDT; free and open to the public)
- The Shamrock Series Fan Fest in the Georgia Street/Pan Am Plaza area, featuring food trucks, a beer tent, an Under Armour merchandise tent, live musical entertainment, Indy racing cars, inflatable games, interview segments with VIP guests, plus appearances by McKillen and Indy Irish Fest musicians (11 a.m.-6 p.m. EDT Saturday; entry is free and open to the public).
- The Notre Dame band’s Drummer’s Circle at Pan Am Plaza (noon EDT Saturday; free and open to the public).
- The Notre Dame band pre-game concert that begins at 4:15 p.m. EDT at Monument Circle and then moves to Pan Am Plaza (4:45-5:15 p.m. EDT Saturday; free and open to the public). The Band of the Fighting Irish at 5:25 p.m. EDT will step off from Pan Am Plaza to Lucas Oil Stadium.
Three Friday academic programs, sponsored by Notre Dame’s College of Science, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and the Interdisciplinary Center for Network Science and Applications.
- The College of Science event is titled “Let’s Have a Moment of Science” and is set for 9:30-11:30 a.m. EDT at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum.
- The Kellogg Institute event titled “Democracy in HD: An Online Journey Across Time and Space” is set for 1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m. EDT at the Westin Indianapolis Hotel.
- The Interdisciplinary Center event titled “Bringing Big Data to Healthcare: Making a Societal Impact” is slated for 3-4 p.m. EDT at the Westin.
All three events are free and open to the public.
- A Saturday with the Saints lecture titled “Mary at Notre Dame: Mary in Art and Image on Notre Dame’s Campus” at the Westin (11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EDT).
- A Friday service project at Providence Cristo Rey High School sponsored by the Notre Dame Alumni Association (details and signup at gameday.nd.edu)
- The Notre Dame-Purdue football game that kicks off at 7:40 p.m. EDT, and will be televised live by NBC Sports (Lucas Oil Stadium gates open at 5:30 p.m. EDT). NBC Sports Network will carry a pre-game show live from 6:30-7:30 p.m. EDT from inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
Alumni headquarters for the weekend will be the Westin Indianapolis at 50 S. Capitol Avenue in Indianapolis (317-262-8100).
A limited number of tickets remain available for the football game (click the Shamrock Series button on the front page of UND.com).
The Westin Indianapolis will include a Notre Dame Hammes Bookstore satellite store, as well as hospitality desks manned by the Notre Dame Alumni Association, Notre Dame University Relations and Anthony Travel.
Go to gameday.nd.edu for a complete listing of all the weekend’s events.
This marks the sixth straight year Notre Dame has taken one of its football games “off-site”–after playing in San Antonio in 2009 (versus Washington State at the Alamodome), in New York City in 2010 (versus Army at Yankee Stadium) and in Washington, D.C., in 2011 (versus Maryland at FedExField), in Chicago in 2012 (versus Miami at Soldier Field) and in North Texas in 2013 (versus Arizona State).
Future Shamrock Series games are slated for Boston in 2015 (Fenway Park versus Boston College) and San Antonio in 2016 (versus Army at the Alamodome).
