By CatholicPhilly Staff Report \u2022 Posted April 29, 2026 <\/p>\n
Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame will open their 2026-27 basketball seasons with a men\u2019s and women\u2019s doubleheader in Rome, part of a broader academic and faith-based experience tied to the schools\u2019 shared Catholic identity.<\/p>\n
The event, scheduled for Nov. 1, 2026, will feature nationally televised games with the men\u2019s matchup airing on the Fox network at 9:30 a.m. Eastern and the women\u2019s game following on FS1 at noon.<\/p>\n
University officials said the Rome gathering will extend beyond athletics, incorporating academic programming, cultural experiences, and shared worship opportunities. Plans include a Mass at St. Peter\u2019s Basilica and a possible papal audience with Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n
Villanova\u2019s president, Augustinian Father Peter M. Donohue, said the initiative reflects the university\u2019s Augustinian mission of integrating faith, learning and community in a global setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis journey offers a profound opportunity to grow in mind, body and spirit,\u201d Father Donohue said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s basketball coach Kevin Willard called the trip \u201ca great honor.\u201d Women\u2019s coach Denise Dillon said the event would showcase high-level competition while highlighting the university\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n
Organizers said the Rome experience will also include guided tours, academic discussions and cultural excursions. Travel packages are expected to be offered with additional details, including the game venue, at a later date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By CatholicPhilly Staff Report \u2022 Posted April 29, 2026 Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5739,5629,27,5688],"class_list":["post-11086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rome","tag-basketball","tag-notre-dame","tag-rome","tag-villanova-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}