Oct. 21, 2004

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Two members of Notre Dame’s 1988 national championship football team — quarterback Tony Rice and All-America lineman Mirko Jurkovic — will sign autographs Saturday from 11:00 a.m.-noon (EST) in the Joyce Center Fieldhouse. Both men will be available to meet with visiting fans as part of the “Notre Dame Experience,” an interactive fan festival for each of the 2004 home football games. The “Notre Dame Experience” combines the Notre Dame Alumni Association Hospitality Center with interactive inflatables, photo booths, autograph sessions, Notre Dame football trivia and stage activities.

Rice was one of the cornerstones of the 1988 Irish national championship team that went 12-0 and defeated West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. He holds the school records for rushing yardage by a quarterback in a season (884 in 1989) and a career (1,921), ranking 17th among all Irish players in the latter category. Rice also stands sixth in school history with 4,882 yards of total offense.

Jurkovic was a four-year monogram winner on the offensive line at Notre Dame from 1988-91, earning consensus All-America honors in 1991 and starting at right guard during his final two seasons. A native of Calumet City, Ill., he helped Notre Dame post a combined record of 43-7 over the course of his career, including three bowl victories (’89 Fiesta Bowl, ’90 Orange Bowl and ’92 Sugar Bowl).

Gates to the Joyce Center Fieldhouse will open three hours prior to kickoff and will remain open until one hour after the game ends. Admission is free for all “Notre Dame Experience” events.

Notre Dame (5-2), which is ranked 24th in the latest Associated Press poll and 25th in the current ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, takes on Boston College Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (EST) at Notre Dame Stadium. That game will be televised nationally by NBC.

— ND —