Sept. 5, 2008
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame will play the first basketball event in the new Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6 in Indianapolis, Ind., when the Irish take Ohio State at 4:00 p.m. (ET) as part of a doubleheader in the Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase.
Indiana will meet Gonzaga is the first game of the doubleheader at 1:30 p.m. (ET). The event, which is owned and managed by BEST, is in its third year and serves as an annual fundraiser for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Both games of the doubleheader will be televised by ESPNU.
Tickets are priced from $15 to $250 for both games. Public sale of tickets for The Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase begins at noon on Monday, Sept. 8 at the Lucas Oil Stadium box office, all Ticketmaster locations, Ticketmaster.com, or by calling 317-239-5151. Complete event information can be found on www.hoophall.com or www.experienceBEST.com.
“We’re excited to be part of this great doubleheader and to be the first-ever basketball event that is going to be played at Lucas Oil Field,” head coach Mike Brey said. “Playing Ohio State will be great test for our basketball team as we face one of the Big Ten’s best program. This is the type of non-conference game that will really help us before we begin BIG EAST play. The atmosphere and excitement surrounded this event will be very similar to that of an NCAA tournament game.”
Notre Dame and Ohio State have met 11 times previously with the Buckeyes holding a 6-5 advantage in the series. The last meeting between the two schools took place on November 16, 1999 in Columbus, Ohio in the first round of the Preseason NIT with the Irish earning a 59-57 victory on David Graves’ jumper at the buzzer. Notre Dame will head into December’s game having won two straight against Ohio State
Lucas Oil Stadium, which opened in August, is home to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and will serve as the host of the 2010 NCAA Final Four and Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. The basketball configuration for The Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase will accommodate approximately 40,000 fans. Seating will be arranged in typical Final Four style with fan bases in each quadrant.
This will be the event’s first trip to a domed stadium. The event was launched at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix in Dec. 2006 and visited Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden last year. The doubleheader serves as a mobile “bowl-like” event for college hoops featuring four college basketball programs while building the brand and image of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, an institution that recognizes excellence at all levels of the game. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HG), partnered last year to become the title sponsor of the event.
As a companion to the games, The Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase also features a rich schedule of community outreach programs and a youth clinic. It tips off its Indianapolis impact with a corporate golf event on Oct. 6, 2008 at The Brickyard. More than a dozen enshrined members of the Basketball Hall of Fame are expected to participate on the famed course that includes four holes inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Last year, the Greater Boston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau estimated the event’s effect on its local economy to reach nearly $10 million.