LOOK: Notre Dame basketball honors South Bend with new alternate jerseys

Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball released new alternate uniforms for the 2025-26 season on Thursday, featuring a tribute to their home city.

The Irish will wear black jerseys with gold lettering that read “The Bend” in bold, cursive font and the “ND” logo on the back. Both teams will wear the new getups during the first week in the season; the men’s team will wear them against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 7, while the women’s team will wear them against Chicago State on Nov. 9.

Here’s your first look at the new uniforms, with a photo photos provided by Notre Dame athletics:

Each choice in the design was chosen carefully, according to the Irish. Here are four decisions they made, according to Thursday’s press release.

• The script font on the front was inspired by the “South Bend” mural on the side of Madison Oyster Bar in downtown South Bend.

• The numbers were inspired by the tailgates of Studebaker pick-up trucks, which were founded in South Bend.

• The lines on the side of the shorts are pulled from the South Bend flag, which references the St. Joseph river. The city is called South Bend because it’s located on the south bend of the river.

• That flag is also located on the waistband of the shorts.

Notre Dame will debut its new jerseys on Friday night during “Irish Jam,” the programs’ preseason showcase at the Eddy Street Commons. The program runs from 6-8 p.m. ET.

More on Notre Dame basketball: Details for first annual Irish Jam showcase

From Blue & Gold‘s Tyler Horka:

The first weekend of October won’t be all about football in South Bend. Notre Dame is making it about basketball, too. 

The university announced Wednesday morning it will host the first ever “Irish Jam” on Friday, Oct. 3, the night before the Fighting Irish host the Boise State Broncos at Notre Dame Stadium. It’s an event at Eddy Street Commons put on by both basketball programs with intent of getting Irish fans excited about the upcoming hoops season. Think “Midnight Madness” at Rupp Arena in Kentucky or “Tipoff at Toomer’s” at Auburn.

Eddy Street is a road directly across from Notre Dame’s campus that is home to many of the go-to restaurants in town, from O’Rourke’s Public House to Bru Burger to Brothers Bar and Grill. There will be a court set up on the street itself with fans encouraged to gather around it on the street and sidewalk to take in the festivities.

Both Notre Dame basketball coaches, Micah Schrewsberry of the men’s team and Niele Ivey of the women’s team, will take to the microphone to address the crowd before their rosters are announced as if it was pregame inside Purcell Pavilion. Two captains, elected by fans prior to the event, will draft co-ed teams that will take part in a 3-point contest, a skills challenge and a shooting stars challenge.

Irish Jam is supported by Under Armour and Visit South Bend Mishawaka. There will be games and prizes at a fan fest to keep goers engaged. Notre Dame has a link that answers frequently asked questions about the event. That can be found here.