Carolina On Their Mind: ND playing 3 road games in Carolinas this season

(WNDU) - Notre Dame fans who live in the Carolinas are in for a treat this season.

They’ve been blessed with a schedule that puts the Irish in that area for not one, not two, but three games in 2023. The Irish are in Raleigh on Saturday, they play Duke in Durham on Sept. 30, and Clemson in nearby South Carolina on Nov. 4.

That’s a big thrill for Notre Dame Club members who are eager to welcome the Irish.

“We’re headquartered in Raleigh-Durham, but really, we’re all of Eastern North Carolina,” said Brian Rigney, president of the Notre Dame Club of Eastern North Carolina. “We’ve got about 1,200 alums in the area, and quite an active membership between service activities, faith events, and obviously tons of sporting events being in the ACC and having so many schools here locally.”

Their recent UND celebration featured none other than head coach Marcus Freeman.

“He was our guest speaker to the to our local alums, which was just a great event and just, you know, just that positive energy and you can see why he recruits so well,” Rigney said.

“It’s a great season for football in that area and they’re taking full advantage of it,” said Mike Sullivan, senior director of alumni programs at the University of Notre Dame. “Our affiliation with the ACC in football has some advantages for our alumni living in that area. We see Notre Dame travel to play football games in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia with some regularity. And our alumni turn out in huge numbers. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if towards the end of fourth quarter, we’re pulling away to victory, the Notre Dame fans will make some noise.”

There are many Carolina/Irish connections of note: Sam Hartman is from Charlotte, N.C., Gerad Parker coached at Duke, and the three athletic directors at UNC, NC State, and Duke are all Notre Dame alums.

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