Rome Basketball Doubleheader: Pope Leo XIV Blesses Villanova and Notre Dame Teams
The Eternal City Tip-Off opens the college season Sunday at the Palazzo dello Sport, following a Vatican audience attended by 7,000 fans and players.
By Claire Herrera ·
Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball teams will open the 2026-27 season in Rome on Sunday. The four squads meet in a doubleheader at the Palazzo dello Sport, an event created to honor the first American pope.
Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago-born alumnus of Villanova, received all four teams in a private audience at the Vatican on Saturday. Approximately 7,000 people, including players, coaches, families, and fans, filled the audience hall. The pope told the crowd he remained neutral in sports matters, a position his former self might not share.
“Prevost has another opinion, but we won’t do that now,” Leo said to the cheering group. He recently underwent lung cancer surgery and is not expected to attend the games. However, a group of cardinals and other Vatican officials will be present at the arena.
The men’s game begins at 3:30 p.m. local time, or 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Fox will broadcast the match with Bill Raftery serving as the analyst. The women’s game starts at 6:00 p.m. local time, or noon Eastern Time, on FS1.
No. 13 Notre Dame is the only ranked team playing that day. The Palazzo dello Sport has a capacity of 11,000 seats and is located about a 30-minute drive from the Vatican. Both schools brought their team chaplains to Rome for the opening weekend event.
Source: KSAT-TV
