When Notre Dame women's basketball coach Niele Ivey first heard the idea, she was thrilled.
With the election of Pope Leo XIV as inspiration, college sports event organizers wanted to host a pair of men's and women's basketball games in Rome. Villanova, the pope's alma mater, would occupy one bench. Notre Dame, another of the United States' prominent Catholic universities — only about 80 miles from where the pope grew up in Dolton — would be on the opposing side.
Ivey had taken her team to Paris in 2023 to play a season-opening game. She knew an international game could be special for her players, some of whom never had left the country.
She also believed her team — ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press poll to open the season and led by senior guard Hannah Hidalgo, one of the nation's best players — deserved the big stage that comes the event, which takes place a day before the rest of the college basketball season opens.
And on top of that, the trip very likely would come with an audience with the pope.
"I thought this was a perfect opportunity for us to really get challenged early, but also have that experience," Ivey said. "We have a really strong group of women of faith, and I felt like this is an experience that they'll have, being able to visit the Vatican, see the Colosseum.
"Being here (at Notre Dame) is bigger than basketball, and this is an opportunity for them to have some life experiences while also playing great basketball against a great opponent."
The Notre Dame and Villanova men's and women's teams will meet Sunday in the Eternal City Tip-off at the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome in front of about 8,500 fans, most of them Americans who made the trip to support their teams. The men will tip off at 8:30 a.m. CT on Fox, and the women will play at 11 a.m. on FS1.
The idea for the event was born shortly after Leo was elected the first American-born pope in May 2025.
Longtime college basketball producer Steve Scheer brought a concept to Fox Sports executive vice president Jordan Bazant, who discussed the idea with Villanova men's coach Kevin Willard over a beer.
Meanwhile, Villanova athletic director Eric Roedl had texted John Anthony, the executive vice president of sports travel company OnLocation, to say that Villanova and Notre Dame basketball should meet in Rome.
Soon, the leaders of both universities, the teams, Fox Sports, OnLocation and basketball events operator Players Era were all on board to make the first U.S. college basketball games in Rome happen.
"It's a match made in eternity, if you will," Anthony said.
Bazant led the effort, along with the Atlantic Coast and Big East conference commissioners, to persuade the NCAA to allow them to open the season a day early — an effort he called "appropriately difficult."
The two university president offices communicated with the Vatican to sort out details. Were Vatican officials supportive of the idea? Could a game be played in Vatican City? Was it OK to play on All Saints' Day? Would Leo be able to participate in any way?
The conclusion was that games could be played Nov. 1 in Rome. The teams and their fans who bought ticket packages for the trip are scheduled to attend a mass Saturday in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, celebrated by Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez. The pope is scheduled to give them an audience later that day at Paul VI Audience Hall.
Organizers are uncertain whether Leo will attend the games — an AP report out of Rome said it's unlikely — but they've made arrangements at the stadium in case he does. The Vatican did not respond to an inquiry about his attendance.
Leo, an avid sports fan, noted in September that he expected a strong Villanova turnout.
"They tell me that the people coming to the match, 90 percent are Villanova and 10 percent Notre Dame," he said. "So the voice of the people of God will be very strong on the Villanova side."
Anthony said the percentages aren't quite that skewed, but more ticket packages were sold to Villanova fans. Some tickets were held for the local Italian market.
Leo's participation is complicated by his recent lung cancer diagnosis and surgery to remove a lower lobe of his right lung, which had a malignant tumor on it. He is said to be recovering well, and doctors have cleared him to participate in an upcoming trip to South America.
Leo has given several audiences over the last week, according to the Holy See Press Office, and event organizers are hopeful theirs will go on as planned.
"Most importantly, we all pray for his health and are very grateful that the reports have come out that they've got everything and no further treatment is necessary," Anthony said. "So the papal audience is still scheduled as it has been all the way from the start, which can always change on a minute's notice when you're dealing with a world leader of the magnitude of Pope Leo."
Notre Dame men's player Ethan Roberts, who is from Arlington Heights, called the trip and the potential meeting with Leo "a dream come true."
"It feels divine," he told reporters last week. "Like, I can't believe this is happening. … It will be such a cool experience. Hopefully I get to say something to him, ask for his blessing or something."
The holistic experience was the goal for organizers.
Ian Orefice, the CEO of EverWonder Studio and the co-founder of Players Era, said they wanted to make sure the events leading up to the games were meaningful, including welcome receptions Friday for both schools' communities and Saturday's activities, which also include a Special Olympics event on the court.
Anthony, the co-founder of the annual Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, said planning for these games included finding the right-sized venue. Organizers shipped in a basketball court from the United States and brought in video boards and shot clocks — all of the things college basketball teams and fans expect.
The event also comes with financial contributions to the teams.
Players Era has made waves in the college basketball world by hosting early season events with large name, image and likeness components for players. Last year's men's and women's events had more than $20 million in NIL money available for participating teams. The Eternal City Tip-Off teams also will receive NIL compensation around the trip, Orefice said.
"We really wanted this to be more than a collection of two great basketball programs playing two games overseas," Orefice said. "We wanted this to be an opportunity where sports could unite. … Really our goal was how do we make sure this has a lasting impact.
"A lot of the other international extensions in college sports have been an incredible athletic competition, and we really wanted to expand that conceit to make this have an incredible lasting cultural impact as well."
Ivey said her team's trip to Paris three years ago informed how they would prepare for this one. The Irish left Wednesday so the players would have plenty of time to acclimate to the time change, the hotel and the arena. She said they worked for six months to make sure they had the right plan in place.
Hidalgo, a three-time All-American who was last year's national defensive player of the year, called it a "full-circle moment" to play the first game of both her freshman and senior seasons overseas.
"I'm just so blessed to be in this position," she said. "I just remember the energy (in Paris) being so different. … It was just an exciting place to be."
For those who didn't make the trip, Bazant hopes the uniqueness of the event captures TV viewers' attention during a sports window that also includes the World Series, WNBA Finals, NFL, college football, NBA and NHL games.
"It amplifies and elevates the start of the college basketball season during a very crowded time of the sports calendar," Bazant said. "This is something that does break through the clutter, and that's exciting for us."
Orefice was in the middle of final preparations for Players Era's first international college game, but he also took a moment to look ahead. He would love to help open the college basketball season overseas every year.
"We've hopefully laid the foundation and the blueprint for this to be an annual event," he said.
But for now, this one stands alone in its originality.
"If Pope Leo is able to make it to the game, it's a once-in-eternity experience," Anthony said. "Even if he doesn't, the whole weekend is a once-in-a-lifetime experience because you're having mass in St. Peter's with all of your fellow alumni and fans. You're having a papal audience with the only pope that's ever been born in America, with ties to both universities. Then you're seeing great basketball in a very unique setting.
"So I absolutely think this is something people are going to be remembering for the rest of their lives — and happy that they were there in person to experience it."
