UVa Hosts No. 9 Notre Dame Saturday in Home Opener at Scott Stadium

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Sept. 7, 2015

Virginia Entertains Nationally Ranked Notre Dame in Home Opener
• The University of Virginia opens its 85th season of play at Scott Stadium on Saturday when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish invade Charlottesville.
• Notre Dame is making its first trip to the Commonwealth in its storied history.
• Virginia is 90-28-7 (.748) all-time in home openers through the years.
• The Cavaliers have done well in the first home game of the season under head coach Mike London, winning four of five. The lone loss came in last year’s home opener against then-No. 7 UCLA.
• Overall, UVa has won 24 of its last 30 home openers, including 12 straight from 1985-96.
• Saturday’s game is the 445th all-time football game inside Scott Stadium.

Virginia to Honor Men’s Capital One Cup Victory
• During a timeout during the first quarter of Saturday’s game there be an on-field presentation to honor Virginia winning the Men’s Capital One Cup for the 2014-15 academic year.
• During the break between the first and second quarter the UVa men’s soccer team will be honored for their 2014 NCAA title team. During a break in the second quarter the UVa men’s tennis team will be honored for their 2015 NCAA title. During a break during the third quarter the UVa baseball team will be honored for their 2015 NCAA title.
• UVa became the first ACC athletics program to win three NCAA men’s titles in one academic year.

Nothing Cavalier about UVa’s September schedule
• With September games against UCLA, Notre Dame and Boise State, UVa is the only program in the nation that will play three nationally ranked opponents this month from the Associated Press’ preseason poll.
• UCLA entered the season No. 13, while Notre Dame came in at No. 11 and Boise State at No. 23.
• UVa plays Notre Dame and Boise State at Scott Stadium in 2015 where the Cavaliers are 4-5 all-time under head coach Mike London against ranked teams in Charlottesville.

The Corrigan Connection
• Virginia and Notre Dame are uniquely connected through Gene Corrigan.
• Corrigan served as the Director of Athletics at both Virginia (1971-81) and Notre Dame (1981-87) before becoming the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference (1987-97).
• Corrigan, a former Duke lacrosse player, was the head coach for UVa men’s lacrosse (1959-67) and men’s soccer (1958-65).
• As the commissioner at the ACC, Corrigan brought Florida State into the league.
• Corrigan’s son, Kevin, is a UVa alum and the current men’s lacrosse head coach at Notre Dame.
• As the Athletics Director of UVa he hired his niece, Debbie Ryan, as the women’s basketball coach of the Cavaliers in 1977. Ryan went on to a Hall of Fame career in Charlottesville and won 739 career games. Ryan retired from coaching in 2011.
• Corrigan resides in the Charlottesville area.

Virginia – Notre Dame Connections
• UVa offensive line coach Jappy Oliver and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly spent the 1988 season at Grand Valley State together. Oliver was the defensive line coach and Kelly was a graduate assistant working with the defensive backs.
• UVa’s assistant head coach and running backs coach Chris Beatty worked on the same staff in 2012 at Illinois with current Notre Dame defensive line coach Keith Gilmore. Beatty was co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Illinois in 2012, while Gilmore was the defensive line coach.
• Below is a list of high school and hometown connections between players on UVa’s roster and those on Notre Dame’s roster:

Luck of the Irish and Opening Season vs. Ranked Teams
• Virginia opens the 2015 season facing UCLA (13) and Notre Dame (9), marking the first time the Cavaliers have faced ranked opponents in the first two games of the season since 1989.
• Ironically UVa played Notre Dame during that 1989 stretch too. Notre Dame was No. 2 in the nation at the time of the game. The next week UVa traveled to State College and beat No. 12 Penn State, 14-6.

Current Links to the 1989 Notre Dame Game
• DE Mike Moore may not have been alive the last time Virginia and Notre Dame met in football, but his father Shawn was the Cavaliers’ starting quarterback.
• The former UVa All-American quarterback, Shawn Moore, only completed 10-of-22 passing for 85 yards, two interceptions and two touchdowns against the Irish. Shawn Moore went on to earn first-team All-ACC honors in 1989 and lead UVa to the Citrus Bowl.
• Former UVa defensive back, Tony Covington, currently is the color analyst on each football radio broadcast on the Virginia Sports Network. Covington played in the 1989 game and accounted for five tackles.

Virginia Coaches that Spent Time With the Irish
• Three of UVa’s assistant coaches spent at least one season on staff at Notre Dame over the years.
• UVa’s associate head coach for defense and defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the Irish. He was an assistant head coach and linebackers coach.
• Tenuta also served as the defensive coordinator in 2009 and helped the Irish defense improve in all defensive categories. That season he also coached 2012 Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Te’o to a freshman All-American season.
• UVa defensive line coach Jappy Oliver coached Notre Dame’s defensive line from 2005-08, working alongside Tenuta in 2008. Some of his prized pupils were Victor Abiamiri, Chris Frome, Derek Landri and Tevor Laws.
• UVa offensive line coach Dave Borbely spent the 1998-2001 seasons with the Irish as their offensive line coach. Some of his prized pupils were Jeff Faine and Mike Gandy.

Future Games with Notre Dame
• Because of Notre Dame’s scheduling agreement with the ACC, UVa and the Irish are slated to meet four times between 2015 and 2024.
• After Saturday’s game, UVa and Notre Dame will meet at Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 28, 2019.
• The Fighting Irish return to Charlottesville in 2021, while UVa makes another journey to Notre Dame, Ind., in 2024.

Welcome to the Commonwealth
• Saturday’s game is Notre Dame’s first football game in the
Commonwealth of Virginia.
• UVa, however, has played in the state of Indiana on two previous occasions. UVa played at then-No. 1 Purdue on Sept. 21, 1968. Most recently, UVa played at Indiana on Sept. 10, 2011.