Villanova basketball embraces ties to alumnus Pope Leo

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 11:32 · Archive

Villanova University's men's and women's basketball teams will play Notre Dame in Rome on Sunday, capitalising on the school's connection to Pope Leo XIV, an alumnus who graduated in 1977.

Villanova University's men's and women's basketball teams will open their season in Rome on Sunday with the Eternal City Tip-Off, a doubleheader against Notre Dame played about 6 miles from the Vatican.

The university is deepening its connection to Pope Leo XIV, a Villanova alumnus who graduated in 1977 with a degree in mathematics. The pope belongs to the Augustinians, the religious order that founded Villanova near Philadelphia in 1842. Rev. Peter Donohue, the university's president, said Villanova now has 'a bigger footprint' in Rome and that 'people do know who we are, just because it's the pope's school'.

The basketball games come weeks after Villanova hosted a sustainability conference in Rome and awarded a cardinal with the inaugural Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal. Applications to the university jumped more than 10 per cent during the first admissions cycle after the pope's election, a boost the university credits to the 'Pope Leo effect'.

Villanova is the only American university with a pope as a graduate. The school has won the NCAA men's basketball championship three times, in 1985, 2016 and 2018.

How it is being reported

• Ahead of Rome tipoff, basketball powerhouse Villanova embraces 'Pope Leo effect'Villanova University is deepening its ties to the Vatican, thanks to its famous alumnus, Pope Leo.Clickorlando · 27 Oct, 11:02
• Ahead of Rome tipoff, basketball powerhouse Villanova embraces 'Pope Leo effect'Villanova University is deepening its ties to the Vatican, thanks to its famous alumnus, Pope Leo.News4Jax · 27 Oct, 11:02

In this story: Villanova University · Pope Leo XIV · Notre Dame · Rome · Vatican · Philadelphia · Peter Donohue · Augustinians

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