Villanova, Notre Dame to Open Season in Rome

Pope Leo XIV welcomed the Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball teams to the Vatican ahead of their season-opening doubleheader in Rome, attended by about 7,000 players, coaches, fans and family members. Leo, a Villanova graduate, joked that he must remain neutral as pope, while playfully acknowledging both schools. The Eternal City Tip-Off, organized in honor of the first American-born pope, will feature the men’s game followed by the women’s game at Rome’s Palazzo dello Sport. Leo held the audience while recovering from lung cancer surgery earlier in October. The games bring the Catholic universities together for a first-of-its-kind international season-opening doubleheader.