Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Notre Dame - Kentucky Men’s Basketball Series Announced

The University of Notre Dame and University of Kentucky have announced a three-game men’s basketball series that will begin during the upcoming 2020-21 season. 

The Irish will travel to Rupp Arena on December 12, 2020, for the tip off of the series. A neutral site game will be played December 11, 2021, followed by a visit from the Wildcats to Purcell Pavilion on December 10, 2022. Game times and broadcast details are still to be determined for all three matchups. 

“It is great to renew a series between two of the ‘blue bloods’ of college basketball,” Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey said. 

“If our recent battles with Kentucky are any indication, these games should be appointment viewing for college basketball fans.” 

Fresh in most college basketball fans’ minds is the 2015 meeting between ACC Champion Notre Dame and number-one ranked Kentucky during the NCAA Elite Eight at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Wildcats outlasted the Irish by two points while the game drew the highest rating ever recorded for a college basketball game broadcast on cable television. 

The two teams first met in 1929, with regular meetings following throughout the history of both programs. The Irish won six of the first seven meetings between the two teams, but Kentucky has controlled most of the series – with a large majority of the meetings taking place at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Wildcats hold a 43-19 advantage in the series, but the teams have split their four most recent meetings. 

The revival of this historic series was initiated by JMI Sports, who will be the promoter of the neutral site game in 2021. JMI Sports is the exclusive multimedia rights holder at Kentucky and shares comparable rights with Legends at Notre Dame.

About JMI Sports

JMI Sports is a full-service collegiate media and marketing firm providing the highest quality management of athletics multimedia rights. Breaking new ground in the creation of the Total Campus Marketing program, JMI Sports works hand-in-hand with each university in the pursuit of their success and maximizing their economic potential. JMI Sports owns the rights to an impressive list of signature partnerships including the University of Kentucky, Clemson University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, the Ivy League, Patriot League, Mountain West Conference, the Mid-American Conference, and joint-venture properties of the University of Georgia and Columbia University (with IMG College), as well as the University of Notre Dame (with Legends).

Notre Dame – Kentucky Series Details

December 12, 2020 – Notre Dame at Kentucky | Rupp Arena

December 11, 2021 – Notre Dame vs. Kentucky | Neutral Site (TBA)

December 10, 2022 – Kentucky at Notre Dame | Purcell Pavilion