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Don't go to South Bend without seeing the Fighting Irish take on any number of conference teams from around the country. Most of the school's teams compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with 14 other schools in the eastern half of the country. Football, the school's most famous sport, is an exception—it's independent (not in a conference), although it plays five games a year against ACC teams.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports, with its teams – except for football and men's ice hockey – competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The school colors are gold and blue and the mascot is the Leprechaun. The interscholastic sports program began on November 23, 1887, with football in Notre Dame, Indiana.
This convention center includes an art museum, several large banquet areas, an auditorium and theatre, an historic riverfront area and large patio over the former dam that ran South Bend's electrical supply, a skyway to the Doubletree Hotel over US 31, and a large lobby with high ceilings and windows that look out toward the river and the east side of town.
The third-largest of the eight IU campuses, IU South Bend has grown substantially and is worth seeing.
Though still somewhat polluted, the riverfront along South Bend is an interesting walk through the former dam system that used to power the city's electrical supply. This walk leads (or starts from) the Century Center, which is South Bend's convention center. The Mishawaka riverfront has also come a long way near its downtown. County parks along the river are popular destinations for fisherman, boaters, and nature-viewers.
Located across from the University of Notre Dame.
See the legendary campus for yourself. Guided tours are available through the Alumni Association. Notable attractions include the grotto, the Golden Dome, Notre Dame Stadium, the Hesburgh Library and The Word of Life mural (aka Touchdown Jesus) on its stadium-facing wall, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph and St. Mary's Lakes, the stations of the cross, and the Notre Dame Bookstore, which is the largest college bookstore in the country.
This beautiful downtown concert venue is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.