On Monday, Notre Dame and Wisconsin announced that in future seasons they will face off at two iconic NFL stadiums–Green Bay’s Lambeau Field, and Chicago’s Soldier Field.
Under the plans revealed on Monday, the two football programs will square off in high-profile matchups in the next several years. The slate of games will begin in 2020, when the two play at Lambeau Field. In the following year, the matchup will shift to Chicago, where it will take place at Soldier Field.
The shift of two high-profile college matchups to NFL stadiums is notable in and of itself, but the news that was revealed on Monday also has some significance for the universities. When these games take place, they will mark a new chapter in the history between two programs who have not played each other in decades. More from The Wisconsin State Journal:
The schools announced the series at a news conference Monday in Chicago, paving the way for two premier programs to meet for the first time since 1964.
[Wisconsin athletic director Barry] Alvarez said he and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick first discussed scheduling a matchup together around 2005, when Alvarez was also still the head coach at UW.
“We visited but nothing really opened up,” Alvarez said. “There’s so many things that have to fall into place in scheduling, and it just never worked out.”
Alvarez and Swarbrick, along with Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy and Mike Kelly, the general superintendent and CEO of the Chicago Park District, participated in Monday’s news conference at the Under Armour Brand House on Michigan Ave.
Wisconsin has played at Lambeau Field in the recent past, squaring off against LSU in a rare college game that was played at the stadium last September. For Notre Dame, the 2020 trip to Lambeau will be a first in its history. Notre Dame last played at Solider Field in 2012, with Wisconsin’s most recent game there taking place in 2011.
The specific dates to watch: It will be October 3, 2020 for the Lambeau Field matchup, with the Soldier Field contest scheduled for September 25, 2021.