​We interrupt your regular-scheduled NFL Sunday on the first day of November for some college basketball. From Rome. Rome, Italy. Notre Dame and Villanova tip off the 2026-27 college basketball regular season with an early start (9:30 a.m. Eastern time, Fox) from Palazzo dello Sport (capacity 11,200) in downtown Rome. The game is a collaboration among On Location, Players Era, which runs the annual in-season tournament in Las Vegas in November and Fox Sports. More: Notre Dame women’s basketball excited for ‘life-changing’ season opener in RomeWhy Notre Dame and Villanova basketball are playing in RomeSunday’s basketball doubleheader was inspired by the May 2025 election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope. Pope Leo was born Robert Franics Prevost in 1955, raised in Chicago and is a 1977 graduate of Villanova. The doubleheader was announced in April 2026. Notre Dame finished 13-18 last season, its third under head coach Micah Shrewsberry. Villanova went 24-9 and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022 in its first season under head coach Kevin Willard. The second half of Sunday’s doubleheader features a game between the women’s programs from both schools. The four programs needed special waivers from the NCAA since November 2 is the “official” start of the college basketball season for men and women.Notre Dame, Villanova basketball making historySunday’s men’s game is believed to be the first time in college basketball history that a contest is played outside the United States to open the season. The Notre Dame men’s program last played a regular-season game outside the United States in 2007 with an in-season tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Notre Dame women’s program opened the 2023-24 season, guard Hannah Hidalgo’s first game, in Paris against South Carolina. “I never thought I’d be playing a basketball game in Rome,” said Notre Dame graduate transfer guard Ethan Roberts, a Catholic kid who grew up in suburban Chicago a Notre Dame fan. “It’s super cool.” The Notre Dame and Villanova men have met 36 times in a series that dates to 1970. Villanova leads the all-time series 19-17, including 13-7 as Big East colleagues (1995-2013). The Wildcats won the only neutral-site game between the teams, also was the last time the teams met – December 10, 2016, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Then-No. 1 Villanova beat No. 23 Notre Dame, 74-66, in the Never Forget Tribute Classic honoring victims of 9/11. The Notre Dame basketball traveling parties left Wednesday on a commercial flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Rome in advance of the game. A Papal audience happened Saturday. It was unclear whether the pontiff would attend Sunday’s games. An unforgettable experience🇻🇦☘️@NDmbb and @ndwbb had the honor of meeting Pope Leo after attending Mass at the Vatican#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/HylwWWlS85— The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) October 31, 2026