9/21/2017 football Edit

Report: Notre Dame To Host Western Michigan In 2020

Director of athletics Jack Swabrbrick, with head coach Brian Kelly, has put Western Michigan on the 2020 schedule. (Photo by Bill Panzica)

Lou Somogyi • InsideNDSports

Senior Editor

According to a tweet from Brandon Folsom of the Detroit Free-Press, the University of Notre Dame will host Western Michigan on Sept. 19, 2020 to round out its football schedule that season.

The Fighting Irish were originally slated to play at Purdue on that date, but with the Shamrock Series game arranged earlier this season between Wisconsin in 2020 at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field and in 2021 at Chicago’s Soldier Field, it would have meant that Notre Dame would have had only five home games in 2020.

Thus, the Purdue series was rearranged into a six-year deal from 2021-28, leaving the Sept. 19, 2020 slot vacated. That has now been filled by the Broncos, who last played the Irish in 2010 and who last season were 13-0 under head coach P.J. Fleck (now at Minnesota) before losing 24-16 in the Cotton Bowl to Wisconsin.

Like in 2010, it will be a one-game series with the Broncos, who according to Folsom will receive $1.175 million for the game. Folsom added that Notre Dame must pay Western Michigan $500,000 if it cancels at least one year in advance, and $1.1 million if less than that time. The Broncos from nearby Kalamazoo, Mich., will receive 4,000 tickets to sell to fans.

Hosting a Mid-American Conference opponent in the first half of the season is becoming a part of Notre Dame’s annual schedule because it won't require a return date for the Irish to the opponent's home field. In addition to Miami (Ohio) visiting this Sept. 30, the Irish will also welcome Ball State in 2018, Bowling Green in 2019, Western Michigan in 2020 and Toledo in 2021.

Here is the tentative look of the 12-game 2020 schedule with eight dates confirmed:

Sept. 5 vs. Navy (at East Rutherford, N.J.)

Sept. 12 Arkansas

Sept. 19 Western Michigan

Sept. 26 vs. Wake Forest (Charlotte)

Oct. 3 vs. Wisconsin (Lambeau Field)

Oct. 10 Stanford

Nov. 14 at Georgia Tech

Nov. 28 at USC

The other four ACC games with dates still to be slotted are a road game versus Pitt and home games against Clemson, Duke and Louisville.