Saturday's football game against Michigan State University brought a victory for both the team and the game day personnel coordinating the influx of visitors to campus over the weekend.
Director of Game Day Operations Mike Seamon said, overall, it was a "very successful" home game weekend with approximately 100,000 people on campus Saturday and 81,000 in the stadium.
"The weekend unfolded very smoothly," he said. "We were anticipating it to be a much busier home weekend compared to the Temple game. The noticeably cooler weather was a welcome change, as we had fewer heat and humidity-related medical calls."
Phil Johnson, chief of police for Notre Dame Security Police (NDSP), said his staff made two arrests at the stadium on Saturday.
"One man was arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct. Another man was arrested for trespassing," Johnson said. "It was a quiet day and everything ran smoothly."
Indiana State Excise Police officers arrested 36 adults and six minors in the area around campus this weekend, according to an Excise police report.
"The charges of those who were arrested included Illegal Consumption or Possession of an Alcoholic Beverage, Driving While Suspended Prior, Invasion of Privacy, Fleeing Law Enforcement, Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated and various drug related offenses," the report stated.
Seamon said an increase in traffic volume surrounding campus was a "significant difference" from the first home game weekend.
"[The increased traffic volume] was due to all of the Michigan State fans travelling down from East Lansing," Seamon said. "Both the White Field parking lot along the new Douglas Road and the Burke Golf Course experienced noticeable increases in traffic."
On Friday, 3,890 people toured the tunnel in Notre Dame Stadium compared to approximately 5,000 on Temple weekend. Additionally, 7,000 attended the Michigan State pep rally compared to nearly 12,000 for the home opener.
Despite these lowered numbers, Seamon said the weekend overall was "busier across the board."
"We are anticipating that we will continue to see even larger numbers in the next two games, [Oklahoma University] and [University of Southern California]," he said.
