July 13, 2009
Notre Dame, Ind – The 57 Fighting Irish football alumni who will line up as the Notre Dame Football Legends in Tokyo on July 25 will practice ahead of their trip to Japan at the LaBar Fields practice facility at the University of Notre Dame from July 16 to 18.
Head coach LOU HOLTZ will implement his game plan during five practices before the team heads to Japan to take on the Japanese senior national team in the 55,000-seat capacity Tokyo Dome.
The camp kicks off with an 8.30pm evening practice once all players have arrived and been fitted for equipment. They will hit the practice field again at 10m and 4pm on Friday, July 17, and at 9am and 3pm on Saturday, July 18.
“We saw during the Blue-Gold weekend that as athletes these players are eager to take some snaps and line up again on the football field,” said event organizer PATRICK STEENBERGE of Global football, who played quarterback at Notre Dame in the early 1970s. “Now comes the serious business of learning the playbook and preparing themselves to take on the Japanese.”
Team Japan won the first two IFAF Senior World Championships of American Football in 1999 (Palermo, Italy) and 2003 (Frankfurt, Germany) and only lost the 2007 final in double overtime to a United States team comprised mainly of DII and DIII college players. The Japan roster is made up of players from the country’s semi-professional X-League and college leagues.
The Waterford Estates Lodge, which caters to Irish fans everywhere, will welcome the Notre Dame Football Legends during their stay in South Bend. The Lodge, which offers indoor and outdoor pools, fitness facilities, a fine dining room and an authentic Irish pub, has generously donated complimentary rooms, breakfasts and dinners for the team during their stay. For more information visit www.waterfordestateslodge.com.
The 100-strong group of Notre Dame Football Legends players, coaches, staff and university representatives will leave South Bend on Sunday, July 19 at 6.30am and then fly from Chicago O’Hare airport to Tokyo Natrita airport. They are due to arrive in Japan at 1.45pm local time (12.45am US ET) on Monday and will attend a week of practices, sightseeing and media events before facing Japan in the Tokyo Dome on Saturday, July 25, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Japan American Football Association (JAFA). The event is endorsed and supported by the Notre Dame Monogram Club.
CBS College Sports Network, the original 24-hour sports network, will broadcast the Notre Dame Japan Bowl to a nationwide audience in the United States on Monday, August 10 (9:00 PM, ET; taped 7/25/09) as part of the Network’s “Countdown to Kickoff Week” programming. CBS College Sports Network is widely accessible across the country through local cable operators and nationally via satellite on DirecTV (Channel 613) and Dish Network (Channel 152). CBS College Sports Network is available to over 84 million homes nationally.
There will be five former Irish team captains on the Notre Dame Football Legends roster, including 1988 national championship quarterback TONY RICE, MELVIN DANSBY, BOBBIE HOWARD, MIKE GOOLSBY and BRANDON HOYTE.
Completing the coaching staff are defensive coordinator GARY DARNELL, defensive backs coach BILL LEWIS, offensive Line coach TONY YELOVICH receivers coach TIM BROWN, defensive line coach CHRIS ZORICH, running backs coach REGGIE BROOKS, offensive coach BILL REAGAN and defensive coach TSUYOSHI KAWATA.
Notre Dame Football Legends Team Schedule – Training Camp
Thursday, July 16 2:30 pm Coaches Meeting 6:30 pm Team Meeting 7:45 pm Equipment Distribution 8:30-10:30 pm Practice @ LaBar Fields
Friday, July 17 8:30 am Team Meeting @ Hammes Auditorium 10:00 am Practice @ LaBar Fields 1:45 pm Team Meeting 3:15 pm Team Photo @ ND Stadium 4:00 pm Practice
Saturday, July 18 7:30 am Team Meeting 9:00 am Practice 12:30 pm Japanese Culture Presentation 1:15 pm Team Meeting 3:00 pm Practice
Sunday, July 19 6:30 am Buses to Chicago O’Hare 10:50 am Flight to Tokyo Narita 1.45pm + 1 day Arrive Tokyo
For more information on the Notre Dame Japan Bowl 2009 and the Notre Dame Football Legends, visit www.NDJapanBowl.com