Aug. 7, 2009
Notre Dame, Ind. – CBS College Sports Network, the original 24-hour sports network, will broadcast the NOTRE DAME JAPAN BOWL to a nationwide audience next week on Monday, August 10 (9:00 PM, ET; taped 7/25/09) as part of the Network’s “Countdown to Kickoff Week” programming.
The Notre Dame Football Legends, a team of Fighting Irish football alumni led by legendary head coach LOU HOLTZ, took on the Japanese Senior National team in front of 21,080 fans in the Tokyo Dome in Japan’s capital city on July 25.
The game was the highlight of a weeklong visit to Japan from July 20-26, which was endorsed and supported by the Notre Dame Monogram Club and produced jointly by Global Football, whose President PATRICK STEENBERGE was a quarterback at Notre Dame in the early 1970s, and the Japan American Football Association (JAFA), which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2009.
“We are excited that CBS College Sports Network will broadcast this game so football fans across the country can watch how former Fighting Irish stars shape up against the best college and semi professional players from Japan,” said Steenberge.
Holtz and his coaching staff, which included 1987 Heisman Trophy winner TIM BROWN, held player tryouts at the University of Notre Dame in April. Among those selected to pull on a Fighting Irish jersey again were five former Irish team captains including 1988 national championship-winning quarterback TONY RICE, MELVIN DANSBY, BOBBIE HOWARD, MIKE GOOLSBY and BRANDON HOYTE. Full event details can be found at the official website www.NDJapanBowl.com.
Japan won the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Senior World Championship in 1999 and 2003 and narrowly lost their title to the United States in double overtime in 2007.
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. For more information, go to www.cbscollegesports.com.