Notre Dame to take on St. Bonaventure in the Gotham Classic

Notre Dame to take on St. Bonaventure in the Gotham Classic

March 8, 2022

Princeton, NJ – The Gotham Classic will move to the brand new UBS Arena in Belmont Park, N.Y. as Notre Dame takes on St. Bonaventure in the Showcase Game on November 25.

This will mark the eighth time these two programs will meet but just the first time since 1994. The Fighting Irish hold a 5-2 series lead.

“UBS Arena is a beautiful venue and we are proud to bring the 2022 Gotham Classic to Belmont Park,” says Gazelle Group president Rick Giles. “There is no question that the New York basketball fan will enjoy the atmosphere, architecture, and amenities UBS Arena offers, as well as some really good basketball.”

Notre Dame, which enters this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference tournament as the No. 2 seed with a 22-9 record, is under the direction of head coach Mike Brey, who is in his 22nd season at the helm of the Fighting Irish program and is the school’s all-time winningest coach with 470 wins. He has guided Notre Dame to 17 postseason appearances in that span, which includes three NCAA Sweet 16s and two Elite Eights.

The Fighting Irish are led in scoring by freshman guard Blake Wesley, who averages 14.8 ppg and ranks second on the team with 78 assists to earn a spot on the second-team All-ACC squad as well as the All-Rookie team.. Senior guard Dane Goodwin, a third-team All-ACC pick, is right behind Wesley at 14.0 ppg. Classmate Nate Laszewski is second on the team with a 6.5 rpg average and nets 9.1 ppg.

Notre Dame is making its third appearance in the Gotham Classic, 2013 and 2018.

Now in his 15th season at St. Bonaventure, head coach Mark Schmidt has led the Bonnies to heights not seen in quite some time. A year ago, St. Bonaventure won the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, marking the first time ever that they won both crowns in the same season. This year they will enter the A-10 tournament with a 20-8 mark. He has led the Bonnies to 10 or more Atlantic 10 wins each of the last eight seasons – the only team in the league to accomplish that feat. His 141 A-10 wins place him fifth all-time in that category.

Next season, the Bonnies return seven players from this year’s roster, led by Pittsburgh transfer, redshirt sophomore forward Abdoul Karim Coulibaly, and Wake Forest transfer, redshirt freshman guard Quadry Adams.

Tickets for the Gotham Classic will go on sale at a later date. The remaining schedule for Gotham Classic at UBS Arena will also be announced at a later date.

UBS Arena at Belmont Park is New York’s newest premier entertainment and sports venue and home of the New York Islanders is developed in partnership with Oak View Group, the New York Islanders and Jeff Wilpon. Providing a significant boost to the regional economy, especially when economic activity has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world-class entertainment venue, with its timeless and classic design, bridges its iconic past with today’s advanced technology and amenities.

The $1.1 billion multi-purpose, state of the art arena opened in November 2021 with a celebration that included the Islanders first home games in the building and a sold out Harry Styles concert. The venue will host more than 150 major events annually while delivering an unmatched live entertainment experience including clear sightlines and premier acoustics. UBS Arena is designed to accommodate 19,000 people for concerts and 17,255 for NHL games. In an effort to build a greener future, UBS Arena intends on being carbon neutral for operations before 2024, which will make it the first arena to do so on the eastern United States seaboard.

In the 2021 Gotham Classic, Jamarius Burton’s runner with 0.4 seconds remaining broke a 57-57 tie and gave Pittsburgh a 59-57 win over St. John’s.

About the Gazelle Group
The Gotham Classic is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. In addition to the Gotham Classic, Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized college basketball events, such as the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, the Legends Classic, the Sunshine Slam, and the College Basketball Invitational, as well as the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off hockey tournament. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit www.gazellegroup.com.

About the Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is the sponsoring conference of the Gotham Classic. Now in its 41st season, the NEC is a NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. For more information on the NEC, visit the official website at www.northeastconference.org or follow on Twitter @NECsports.

About UBS Arena
UBS Arena at Belmont Park is made for music and built for hockey. New York’s newest premier entertainment and sports venue and home of the New York Islanders is developed in partnership with Oak View Group, the New York Islanders, and Jeff Wilpon. The state of the art arena opened in November 2021 with a sold out Harry Styles concert. The venue will host more than 150 major events annually, while delivering an unmatched live entertainment experience including clear sightlines and premier acoustics. In an effort to build a greener future, UBS Arena intends on being carbon neutral for operations by 2024.

Located on the historic grounds of Belmont Park, UBS Arena is located seven miles from JFK International Airport and is accessible via car and ride share at exits 26A, 26B, and 26D off the Cross Island Parkway.  For guests using the Long Island Rail Road, UBS Arena is accessible to East and Westbound travelers at the Queens Village LIRR station, Eastbound travelers at the brand new Elmont-UBS Arena Station (accessible Westbound in Fall 2022), and via the Belmont spur station, operating from Jamaica on event days. In addition to the Long Island Rail Road, the arena is also accessible via MTA Bus Routes Q2 and Q110 and the Nassau County Inter-Express N6 bus service.

For additional information, please visit UBSArena.com or @UBSArena on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.