June 6, 2007

Fans of Notre Dame football will get a rare opportunity this August to get a sneak peek at the 2007 Fighting Irish football team inside Notre Dame Stadium. Fan Appreciation Day is a free event with general admission seating and will take place from 9:00-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11. This will be the public’s best chance to see the Irish players in person at Notre Dame Stadium prior to the season opener on Sept. 1 against Georgia Tech. Fans will be able to see head coach Charlie Weis and his assistants run the team through the morning practice. Player autographs and pictures with the players or coaches will not be permitted. Fans are encouraged to follow und.com for updates regarding parking, traffic, time the gates open, etc.

Two other events will also take place during training camp: Professor Appreciation Day and Student Appreciation Night. Professor Appreciation Day is open to all Notre Dame faculty and is set for Thursday, Aug. 23, at Cartier Field. Professors at the University are invited to view the practice from 9:00-11:30 a.m. with a cookout to follow. An e-mail will be sent to all Notre Dame faculty as the date approaches with further information and details of how they should RSVP for the event.

Student Appreciation Night will be only for current students of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s and will take place from 8:00-10:00 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26, in Notre Dame Stadium. This will be the final practice of the preseason for the Irish and the best chance for Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s students to see their football team before the Georgia Tech game. Students will be admitted with their student IDs and additional details will be announced as the date nears.

Both the Fan Appreciation Day and Student Appreciation Night are weather permitting. Should inclement weather force the team to practice inside on either of these dates, the event(s) will not be rescheduled.

Notre Dame’s training camp opens on Monday, Aug. 6, at Cartier Field and 23 of the team’s 25 practices are scheduled for the team’s normal practice fields. The other two are the aforementioned practices set for Notre Dame Stadium.

Check back with und.com for updates on these events as well as reports on the Notre Dame football team.