Oct. 6, 2005
The Notre Dame-USC pep rally scheduled for
Friday night, Oct. 14, 2005, will be held in Notre Dame Stadium,
weather permitting.
Gates will open at 5:00 p.m. EST for all spectators. The
general public should enter through Gates C and D. Students should
enter at Gate E. There will be seating sections reserved for
students.
The pep rally will begin at approximately 6:00 p.m. Coach
Charlie Weis and the Notre Dame team will enter the Stadium at 6:30
p.m. The Irish squad will be seated facing the west side of the
Stadium.
Weis and Notre Dame athletics officials made the decision to
move the rally based on a combination of the thousands of fans who
were turned away from the Sept. 16 Notre Dame-Michigan State rally
once the Joyce Center was filled to capacity (11,418 for
basketball), plus the anticipated interest in the Notre Dame-USC
rally and football game.
In case of inclement weather, the rally will move back to the
Joyce Center arena (where rallies normally are held), with access to
the facility for students at 5:00 p.m. EST and for the general
public at 5:45 p.m. EST.
This would mark the fourth football pep rally held in Notre
Dame Stadium. The three others were held prior to games against
Georgia Tech in 1997 (the dedication game for the renovated
Stadium), Michigan State in 1997 and Nebraska in 2000.
The Georgia Tech and Nebraska rallies drew in excess of
30,000 fans. The '97 Michigan State rally ultimately was moved to
the Stadium concourses due to rain.
