Notre Dame is leaning all the way into its Packers connection for the Shamrock Series, and the result is a throwback look that reaches back more than a century.
For the Sept. 6 game against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, the Fighting Irish will wear blue and gold uniforms that echo the jerseys the Packers used in their Acme Packers days in the early 1920s. The matchup is technically a Wisconsin home game, but Notre Dame clearly sees the setting as a chance to tap into a shared piece of football history.
The link between the programs goes beyond colors. Paul Hornung starred at Notre Dame before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 1957 NFL Draft by the Packers. He won the Heisman Trophy with the Irish and later a Super Bowl in Green Bay, giving Notre Dame a built-in bridge to the franchise it is paying homage to.
In the promotional video announcing the uniforms, head coach Marcus Freeman framed the connection as part of a larger tradition.
"For a century, our stories have been stitched together - from the 'Golden Boy' Paul Hornung winning titles in both colors to the Notre Dame box formation that defined the early days of Green Bay," head coach Marcus Freeman said in the promotional video (h/t ESPN). "We are the outliers.
The small-town legends. The independent spirits who believe tradition isn't just something you remember.
It's something you wear."
The school also highlighted the relationship with a line of its own: “Two legacies. One field. Woven from the same cloth.”
Not everyone in Wisconsin is likely to love the idea of Notre Dame borrowing Packers history for the weekend, especially with the Badgers serving as the home team. But the Irish have plenty of confidence heading into the game. They are undefeated in Shamrock Series games, and Freeman’s team is being talked about as a national championship contender entering 2026.
Wisconsin, meanwhile, comes in with Luke Fickell entering his fourth full season as head coach under pressure. He is 17-21 overall and 11-20 in Big Ten play. Not exactly the kind of backdrop that suggests the Badgers are ready to spoil Notre Dame’s celebration.
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