The Navy-Notre Dame game will be played at Gillette Stadium for the first time in the 99-game history of the series in 2026, it was announced on Tuesday.
The game will be played on Oct. 31, 2026, at the home of the New England Patriots and Revolution. It will be the Fighting Irish’s first game at Gillette Stadium and the Midshipmen’s second after playing there in the 2023 Army-Navy Game.
Navy will be the home team and Notre Dame will be the visitor.
“The extraordinary effort put forth by the Kraft Group, the New England Patriots and the entire New England area for the 2023 Army-Navy Game made it logical to bring back another great rivalry, the 99th playing of the Navy-Notre Dame Game, to Gillette Stadium on Oct. 31, 2026,” Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk said in a news release. “The Boston area is a terrific place to visit in the fall and I have no doubt both Navy and Notre Dame fans will pack Gillette Stadium.”
“Massachusetts is the perfect host for the 2026 Navy-Notre Dame Game,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. “This is where our nation and our military traditions started, and Gillette Stadium has a strong record of successfully hosting large events from the Army-Navy Game to the upcoming FIFA World Cup. We are honored that the Navy chose Gillette Stadium to host this historic game and look forward to welcoming the Midshipmen, Fighting Irish and all of their fans to Massachusetts.”
The Navy-Notre Dame series began in 1927 and was college football’s longest continuous intersectional rivalry, with 93 consecutive years from 1927-2019 until COVID-19 canceled the 2020 game. The two teams played this season on Oct. 26 at MetLife Stadium.
“We are thrilled to host the 2026 Navy-Notre Dame Game and welcome these two historic programs and their passionate fanbases to Gillette Stadium for the first time in this storied, century-long rivalry,” Kraft Group chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said in the release. “We are honored that Navy has chosen Gillette Stadium and our region as the host for the 99th playing of this game steeped in tradition. New England has a deep appreciation for competition at the highest level and the sacrifices and cohesive teamwork that reaching such heights requires. The Midshipmen and Fighting Irish epitomize this, and we look forward to welcoming one of the gridiron’s greatest rivalries to Gillette Stadium in 2026.”
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
