Sept. 14, 2017
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame women’s basketball’s path for a fifth straight Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title sweep and 23rd consecutive NCAA Championship appearance was officially established on Thursday afternoon with the complete 2017-18 schedule release. The schedule features 13 home contests, a possible of 17 NCAA Tournament opponents from a year ago and at least six matchups on ESPN.
Non-Conference Schedule:
10 Possible NCAA Tournament Teams, 1 WNIT Champion, 7 Conference Champions
Notre Dame’s road will yet again be a challenging one, starting with a non-conference slate which will see the Irish battle 11 teams that made the postseason from a year ago, including seven conference champions.
After the season opener on Nov. 11 vs. Mount St. Mary’s, the Irish hit the road for seven straight contests, finally returning to Purcell Pavilion on Dec. 6 to host Michigan State. In between, Notre Dame will first clash with Conference-USA Champion Western Kentucky on Nov. 14 followed by Pac-12 regular season champion Oregon State on Nov. 19.
Then the Irish head to Estero, Florida, for the Gulf Coast Showcase from Nov. 24-26. The tournament consists of an eight-team bracket in which a potential championship matchup could witness Notre Dame challenging the defending national champion South Carolina.
Afterwards, Notre Dame travels to the defending WNIT champion Michigan on Nov. 29 for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on the Big Ten Network. Next, a rivalry gets renewed on Dec. 3 when the Irish challenge American Athletic Conference champion UConn on ESPN. The two sides are an even 7-7 against each other since the 2011 Final Four.
Later, the tour of league champions rolls into Philadelphia on Dec. 9 when the Irish battle Ivy League champ Penn. The Blue and Gold then return home to host the Big East regular season champion in DePaul on Dec. 17, followed by tournament champion Marquette on Dec. 20.
Flash forward to Jan. 18 and Notre Dame officially closes out its non-conference schedule with a prime-time matchup with Tennessee on ESPN.
Home: Mount St. Mary’s (Nov. 11) | Michigan St. (Dec. 6) | DePaul (Dec. 17) | Marquette (Dec. 20) | Tennessee (Jan. 18)
Away: Western Kentucky (Nov. 14) | Oregon St. (Nov. 19) | Michigan (Nov. 29) | UConn (Dec. 3) | Penn (Dec. 9)
ACC Schedule
7 NCAA Tournament Teams, 4 WNIT
Last March marked the third time in the last four years in which at least seven teams from the ACC booked their tickets to the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the ACC ranked first in the country in winning percentage (.626) and third in RPI.
At the top of that list is a Notre Dame squad who has produced a 62-2 record during four years of ACC play. The Irish will look to make history this season, becoming the first school in league history to sweep its regular season and tournament titles in five consecutive years.
Home: Syracuse (Dec. 28) | Miami (Jan. 4) | Boston College (Jan. 14) | Clemson (Jan. 21) | North Carolina (Feb. 1) | Georgia Tech (Feb. 11) | Virginia Tech (Feb. 22) | NC State (Feb. 25)
Away: Wake Forest (Dec. 31) | Georgia Tech (Jan. 7) | Louisville (Jan. 11) | Pittsburgh (Jan. 25) | Florida State (Jan. 28) | Duke (Feb. 4) | Virginia (Feb. 15) | Boston College (Feb. 18)
Irish on TV
Finally, fans will have at least six opportunities to catch Notre Dame on ESPN/ESPN2, squaring off with the likes of UConn, Louisville, Tennessee, Florida State, Duke and NC State in the national spotlight.
ESPN: at UConn (Dec. 3) | at Louisville (Jan. 11) | vs Tennessee (Jan. 18)
ESPN2: at Florida State (Jan. 28) | at Duke (Feb. 4) | vs NC State (Feb. 25)
BTN: at Michigan (Nov. 29)
RSN: vs Georgia Tech (Feb. 11)
All-together, all 120 conference regular season games will either be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, Regional Sports Networks or ACC Network Extra.
2018 ACC Tournament
The 41st annual ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament is back in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum Wednesday, February 28 – Sunday, March 4. RSN will carry the first, second and quarterfinal rounds, while the semifinals will be broadcast on ESPNU. ESPN2 will carry Sunday’s championship game.
Ticket Info
To purchase your season tickets, please visit und.com/buytickets. Single-game tickets go on sale to the public on Oct. 12.
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Josh Bates joined Fighting Irish Media as associate athletics communications director in July of 2017, serving as the women’s basketball and men’s golf contact. Bates earned both his bachelor’s (2011) and master’s (2014) degree in sports management from the University of Illinois. He also worked as a grad assistant at Illinois from 2012-14 and worked full-time at Tulane University from 2014-17.