April 5, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame will serve as the host for the 13th annual Jimmy V Women’s Classic on Dec. 6, 2014, taking on former BIG EAST Conference rival Connecticut at Purcell Pavilion, according to an announcement made Saturday by ESPN, in conjunction with the V Foundation For Cancer Research. The 2014 Jimmy V Women’s Classic will be televised live on ESPN or ESPN2.
This is the first time Notre Dame has been selected to play in the Jimmy V Women’s Classic, which is part of the eighth annual “Jimmy V Week,” a weeklong initiative across multiple ESPN platforms and programs featuring special content to help raise funds for cancer research. In seven years, “Jimmy V Week” has generated $8,246,000 in total contributions for The V Foundation for Cancer Research, including a record-setting number of $1,827,000 in 2014.
Notre Dame and Connecticut have met 41 times in series history, making the Huskies the most frequent opponent in Fighting Irish women’s basketball history. Connecticut is 30-11 all-time against Notre Dame, although the Fighting Irish have won seven of the past nine meetings between the squads. With Notre Dame’s move to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) last summer, the 2013-14 campaign marked the first time the teams did not play in the regular season since 1994-95.
No. 2 Notre Dame (36-0) has advanced to the NCAA Women’s Final Four for the fourth consecutive season and the sixth time in program history. The Fighting Irish will play in the NCAA national semifinals at 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. CT) Sunday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., against No. 11/9 Maryland live on ESPN, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN platform, with radio coverage on Michiana’s Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) and nationally on the Westwood One/NCAA Radio Network.
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s basketball program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s basketball Twitter pages (@ndwbbsid or @ndwbb), like the program on Facebook (facebook.com/ndwbb) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director