‘He’s a true blue Villanovan’

But Pope Leo not expected to attend alma mater’s basketball games in Rome

Pope Leo XIV meets athletes from the Harlem Globetrotters at the Vatican in early April.

Rome — An hour after Robert Prevost was elected as the first American pope, Villanova’s athletic director texted sports travel expert John Anthony with the idea. “It just said, ‘Villanova-Notre Dame. Basketball game in Vatican City.’” Anthony said, recounting how he then responded to Eric Roedl a moment later with all caps, “YES, I’M SERIOUS. WE’RE GOING TO DO THIS.”

Now, a year and a half later, the idea is about to become reality: the Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s teams will meet in a doubleheader in Rome — not quite Vatican City, but close enough — on Nov. 1 that will mark the start of the college basketball season.

The Catholic universities are promoting the games as a celebration of their shared mission and heritage. The event has been dubbed the “Eternal City Tip-Off” and there will be a Vatican component: Villanova alumnus Pope Leo XIV is scheduled — health permitting — to hold a private audience Oct. 31 with all four teams and their fans.

The games will be played at the 11,000-seat Palazzo dello Sport, where Cassius Clay — before he became Muhammad Ali — boxed to a gold medal during the 1960 Rome Olympics. While the arena is only about a half-hour drive from the Vatican, the pope is not expected to attend the games.

The Associated Press