Dec. 1, 2010

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse teams are collaborating with student government and a host of departments across the campus to sponsor the Playing for Peace 3v3 Basketball Tournament this Saturday. The tournament will be held all day in the Joyce Center Field House on the Notre Dame campus. The event is the University’s opportunity to raise awareness and to stand with Sudan for a just and lasting peace.

The tournament will break for the main event of the day, which is the Stand With Sudan Peace Rally at noon in the Joyce Center Field House. The rally is open to the public and to all students, faculty and staff regardless of whether or not they are participating in the tournament. The peace rally involves a unique collaboration of several different University offices; The Center for Social Concerns, Campus Ministry, The Ford Family Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity, Play Like A Champion and the Alliance for Catholic Education.

Both the tournament and rally are free. The tournament is limited to 128 teams made up of a minimum of three players per team. Registration is on a first come, first serve basis. The tournament is co-ed, but individual teams can be comprised of all men, all women or a combination of both. Each team will be guaranteed two games, however the event will be run in a single-elimination format throughout the day until a Playing for Peace 3v3 Tournament champion is crowned.

This event is important to raise awareness about Sudan because on January 9, 2011, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the Government of Sudan in 2005 will expire.

Guest speakers at the event include, former University of Notre Dame President Father Theodore Hesburgh, Notre Dame men’s basketball head coach Mike Brey, Irish men’s lacrosse head coach Kevin Corrigan, Ed Bona (the first African to play Division I basketball) and Joe Touomou (Cameroon native and former basketball captain at Georgetown University). The rally also will feature special talks from University representatives Mike Hebbeler (The Center for Social Concerns,) Jerry Powers (The Kroc Institute,) and Emmanuel Gore (Notre Dame student from Southern Sudan). There also will be special videos from Catholic Relief Services and NBA star Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls.

For additional information, log onto playing4peace.nd.edu.

The Fighting Irish men’s basketball team is off to an 8-0 start, the best start to a season for the program since going 12-0 in 1973-74. The Fighting Irish won the Old Spice Classic by capturing three victories in four days last week in Orlando, Fla.

The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team had a memorable run to title game of the 2010 NCAA Championship by defeating No. 6 Princeton (8-5), No. 3 Maryland (7-5) and No. 7 Cornell (12-7). The journey ended with a 6-5 overtime loss to No. 5 Duke at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. It was the first championship game appearance in program history.

— ND —