Coach Brian Kelly and his Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28. (Joe Raymond/AP)
The University of Notre Dame has accepted an invitation to play in the 2013 New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 28.
The Fighting Irish's opponent for the expected noon ET kickoff has yet to be determined. There will be a news conference with the Pinstripe Bowl participants and officials on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, with further details regarding the bowl game set to be provided in the near future.
"We are thrilled to welcome Notre Dame and its student-athletes, alumni and devoted fan base back to New York City and Yankee Stadium to play in the 2013 New Era Pinstripe Bowl," Mark Holtzman, executive director of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, said in a statement. "No two organizations in the history of American sport are more closely intertwined -- with such a rich and wonderful history -- as the New York Yankees and Notre Dame."
Notre Dame went 8-4 this season and has put together a combined 20-5 record over the past two years. This will be the second time the Irish have played at the current Yankee Stadium, as they defeated Army, 27-3, on Nov. 20, 2010, in the first football game ever played at the venue.
"Quite simply, we are thrilled to bring our football program to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said in a statement. "We were privileged to play in New York City and Yankee Stadium in 2010. The treatment our university received from the Steinbrenner family, the New York Yankees and the entire organization was unlike anything we've experienced in my tenure at Notre Dame."
Overall, Notre Dame has gone 16-6-3 in Yankee Stadium games. Notre Dame beat Army, 12-6, in 1928 at the original Yankee Stadium -- a game best known for coach Knute Rockne's famous "win one for the Gipper" speech.
This year's game will be nationally televised by ESPN. Last year's Pinstripe Bowl, in which Syracuse beat West Virginia, drew a record crowd of 41,203. Prior to the game, participating players, coaches and university staff will take part in a variety of events around the New York metropolitan area.
Tickets for the game go on sale Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET at pinstripebowl.com.