Oct. 12, 1999

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Austin Carr, Notre Dame’s career scoring leader in men’s basketball, has been added as a special guest as the countdown for the 1999-2000 Notre Dame season begins on Friday, Oct. 15, at the Joyce Center with “Friday Night Live.”

Carr scored 2,560 points in three season from 1968-71 and still holds the NCAA tournament record for most points in a game with 61 against Ohio in the first round the 1970 tournament. Carr currently serves as the director of community and business development for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. Carr played for the Cavaliers from 1971-80 and also the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Bullets, both during the 1980-81 season.

Carr will serve as one of the coaches in a 20 minute team scrimmage that will begin just after the stroke of midnight on Oct. 16 – the first day teams can practice under NCAA regulations. Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger will be the other coach while ABC and ESPN color commentator Dick Vitale will also be in attendance.

The event begins at 10:00 p.m. EST and the doors of the Joyce Center will open at 9:30 p.m. and the first 1,000 fans to enter will receive a free t-shirt. In addition, there will be give-aways the entire night.

The evening will start with the semifinals and finals of a basketball tournament between the men’s residence halls on campus. Preliminary games in that event will be held earlier in the week. The finals of a three-point field goal shooting contest between the women’s residence halls on campus also will be featured.

At 11:05 p.m., first-year Irish head coach Matt Doherty and the rest of the Irish coaching staff will challenge the winning women’s residence hall to a three-point contest and then the staff will play the winning men’s residence hall in a five-on-five contest.

Doherty will address the Joyce Center crowd at 11:45 p.m., and following team introductions, the first practice will begin at midnight with a 20 minute scrimmage. Following the scrimmage, Vitale and Hilfiger will conduct a raffle drawing for all Notre Dame students in attendance.