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Notre Dame AD Wants 'Traditional Game-Day Experience' Upon COVID-19 Return

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Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said he does not want the school to play games without fans, even if college football receives approval from the medical community to play games.

"I don't see a model where we play, at least any extended number of games, in facilities where we don't have fans," Swarbrick told ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "College football is about the cheerleaders and the band and the campus environment on game day. We're interested in solutions that allow us to have a traditional game-day experience."

Swarbrick did not say Notre Dame would outright refuse to play fan-less games, but his comment ranks among the strongest rebukes of the idea since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.