ROME - Villanova and Notre Dame are taking on each other in men's and women's basketball in Rome, NPR's report on the matchups said. The report describes Villanova as Pope Leo's alum and says the international play is a first in season openers for these American Catholic schools.
The NPR story was written by Gabriel J. Sánchez. Its summary does not give a game date, a score, or the venue within Rome, and it does not name the coaches or players.
CBS News reported separately that the Pope met the Villanova and Notre Dame basketball teams at the Vatican. In a CBS News report on the visit, the outlet said the teams are in Rome for the U.S. college basketball season opener, an event dubbed the "Eternal City Tip-Off" and created to honor the U.S.-born pope.
Both outlets place the teams in Rome and tie the event to the pope, but they differ in emphasis. NPR focused on Villanova's connection to Pope Leo and on the international scheduling, while CBS News focused on the pope's meeting with the teams and on the name of the event. Neither summary reports the result of any game.
The CBS News listing did not name an author. The reports were published on October 30 and October 31, 2026.
The account relies on the headlines and summaries of the two reports, and the full texts were not available for this story. Where those summaries are silent, this story does not fill the gap.
Sources: NPR: Pope Leo's alum Villanova takes on Notre Dame in men's and women's basketball in Rome; CBS News: Pope meets Villanova and Notre Dame basketball teams at the Vatican.