Army, Notre Dame to play football at Yankee Stadium
See the new Yankee Stadium
Yankees 2009 season, game by game
Yankees vs. Orioles
Notre Dame and Army played some of the legendary football games at the old Yankee Stadium. Now, the tradition-rich schools will play the first football game at the new Yankee Stadium, on Nov. 20, 2010.
That was good news for a former Northwestern and Purdue assistant coach named George Steinbrenner.
"My dad, like many of us, is a great fan of college football,'' Yankees managing partner Hal Steinbrenner said Monday. "And when we first floated this idea past him and told him Notre Dame and Army were interested, he was ecstatic.
"[George] has reminded me of a couple things over the last few months: 22 of the [49] games between the two schools took place right across the street at the old Stadium. We're excited to bring that tradition across the street."
The football field will stretch from behind home plate, diagonally, out to centerfield, a different configuration than when football was played in the old Yankee Stadium.
Notre Dame and Army last played at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 11, 1969, and the last college game there was between Central State (Ohio) and Grambling on Sept. 12, 1987.
"This is a very special moment for me," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said. "I was one of those guys sitting in the left-centerfield bleachers, watching Giants games as a kid. I was one of those guys watching the Yankees in the old Yankee Stadium, when the pillars were right in front of your face before they renovated it. This is a special moment for me, coming here."
Neither program is close to where it once was. Weis' Irish are coming off a 7-6 season, and Army is on its fifth coach in the last seven seasons with Rich Ellerson.
But Army, which played 38 games at Yankee Stadium from 1925-69, is set to announce Wednesday a series of games at the new Stadium.
