In an effort to maximize the national reach, the date has changed for the 2016 matchup of two of college football's all-time victory leaders. Texas (No. 3/886 wins) and Notre Dame (No. 2/892 wins) will now meet on Sunday, Sept. 4, in Austin. The game has been moved from its originally scheduled date of Saturday, Sept. 3, and will be an exclusive Sunday highlight of the Labor Day weekend. Though the game time will be an evening kickoff, the official time and broadcast entity have not yet been confirmed.



"When you hear Texas Longhorns and Notre Dame Fighting Irish it grabs everyone's attention," Texas Men's Athletics Director Mike Perrin said. "That's a historic sporting event that fans worldwide want to see. This schedule provides a wonderful opportunity to play the game in an exclusive window so everyone can see it. We discussed it quite a bit and took into account all of the factors in making the decision. Now we are thrilled to take part in this showcase opportunity for both of the schools, our teams and passionate fans. In a weekend full of key college football match-ups across the country, these great institutions and storied programs will meet at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in a stand-alone spot on the college football calendar. That is tremendously exciting for all of us involved."

Texas and Notre Dame have combined to win over 72 percent of their games in their histories and have met in football 11 times dating back to 1913 with the Fighting Irish holding a 9-2 advantage. The last meeting in Austin pitted No. 6 Texas vs. No. 9 Notre Dame in 1996. That game came down to the wire as the Fighting Irish kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired in a 27-24 victory. Charlie Strong was a Notre Dame assistant coach at the time.

"Having worked in both programs, I have a deep appreciation of the great football pride, tradition and passion at Texas and Notre Dame," Strong said. "This is a game we're obviously very excited about and really looking forward to. I think moving it to Sunday with no NFL games when it can really be in the spotlight will make it that much more special."



Another of the more notable meetings came when the Longhorns knocked off the Fighting Irish, 21-17, in the Cotton Bowl to cap their 1969 National Championship season. That was Notre Dame's first bowl since 1925. Despite a long stretch of not playing in bowl games for the Fighting Irish, the teams have still combined for 44 all-time bowl victories.