According to a new report, Pope Leo XIV may get to see his alma mater’s basketball programs play in person to begin the 2026-27 college basketball season.

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reported Tuesday night that Villanova and Notre Dame have received special clearance from the NCAA and are in the final stages of scheduling a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader in Rome to kick off the next college hoops season.

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Pope Leo XIV: WGN’s Full Coverage

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago and raised in south suburban Dolton, is a 1977 alumnus of Villanova. And Notre Dame, of course, is perhaps the most prominent Catholic university in the world.

According to the report, the games would be played at the Palazzetto dello Sport, built in the lead-up to Rome’s hosting of the 1960 Olympic Games. The arena seats 3,500 people for basketball games, the report says, and is about 30 minutes from the Pope’s residence in Vatican City.

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The report also says, citing sources, that officials from both Villanova and Notre Dame have been in contact with the Pope and people around the Holy See, though it’s unclear if Pope Leo XIV has had any specific involvement.

Of course, Pope Leo XIV is well-known as a sports fan. He’s currently the most famous White Sox fan in the world, and not long after he was chosen as the new Pope, a video surfaced of him spotted on TV while attending Game 1 of the 2005 World Series against the Houston Astros.

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