Thanks to a development overnight, Brian Kelly‘s current employer now has a football date with one of his former bosses.
Both Cincinnati and Notre Dame confirmed Thursday that the two football programs have reached an agreement on a one-off game in 2021. Obviously, the game will be played at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, with the scheduled kickoff date currently set for Oct. 2 of that season.
The two schools have met once previously on the gridiron, way, way, way back in Oct. of 1900. As UC wrote in its release, "[w]hen the teams last met, it would be 14 years before Cincinnati became the Bearcats and 27 before Notre Dame was the Fighting Irish.”
“We recognize the importance of our institution’s presence on the national stage and this matchup fits our profile,” UC athletic director Mike Bohn said in a statement. “There are many ties between Cincinnati and Notre Dame constituents and we are excited to add these types of high-level games to our future football schedule that match the drive and competitiveness of the football program under Head Coach Luke Fickell.”
The 57-year-old Kelly has been the head coach at Notre Dame since 2010. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Cincinnati for four seasons.
The game with the Bearcats, incidentally, puts the finishing touches on the Fighting Irish’s 2021 schedule.
