The University of Notre Dame is being very realistic with students and fans as it considers what football games this fall may look like.
Athletic director Jack Swarbrick said this week that he hopes games will happen but admitted they may be played in front of significantly reduced crowds in Notre Dame Stadium.
“We’re committed to having fans in the stands and we’ll start with the other students,” Swarbrick said, according to Fighting Irish Wire. “My view throughout has been, if we think it’s safe for students to be on the field playing football, it should be safe for the students to be in the stands watching football. So, we’ll build off that base of the other students, faculty and staff will be a priority for us to give them an opportunity, and then our fans.
“We haven’t yet gotten to the question of how big that audience is. We won’t be at capacity. We’ll do something less than that. And we’ll be very careful about maintaining social distance, how the facility works, how you enter it, how you exit it, all things to be determined. We’re working hard on them.”
Notre Dame’s first home game against Arkansas on Sept. 12 would be permitted under Indiana governor Eric Holcomb’s plan for reopening.
Blue and Gold reports that decisions on which ticket holders will be given priority and how many single-game tickets will be made available have not been finalized. However, students will be the first (and possibly only) group to be granted access as long as the team can play.
