2015 Notre Dame Postseason Football Media Guide - Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Media Information The media is invited to attend the official team arrivals at Sky Harbor International Airport. Media escorts will be provided by airport operations staff beginning 60 minutes prior to the arrivals. To gain access to the airfield and arriving charter aircraft, satellite trucks should report to Security Gate 144, located just east of 24th Street off Buckeye Road near the Park-n-Ride Annex. All other media should park in the special events parking lot just south of the Lincoln J. Ragsdale Executive Terminal. FIESTA BOWL MEDIA DAY Media Day will be held on December 30 at the Camelback Inn in the Arizona Ballroom. Head coaches and all starters – in jerseys without pads - will be available for photos and interviews. Notre Dame will be available from 9-10 a.m., and Ohio State will be available from 10:30-11:30 a.m. FIELD ACCESS FREQUENCY COORDINATION HELP DESK A media information table will be set up on the main concourse adjacent to the press box elevator. Fiesta Bowl volunteers will assist media members with questions and help you find your seats. Seating assignments will be posted in all media areas for your convenience. INTERNET SERVICE/TELEPHONES PARKING Satellite trucks may park on December 31 between 4-6 p.m. or on game day (January 1) beginning at 5 a.m. Parking spaces will be reserved for only those media agencies that requested a pass and completed the Power ENG Requirements for Broadcast Trucks form. Vehicle parking for media will be located on the west side of University of Phoenix Stadium. Form and parking requests are on the credential request website. PHOTO REGISTRATION Complimentary wireless and high-speed internet access will be available in all designated media work areas. Telephones will be available in the press box. To order exclusive service on game day, contact Mike Ramsthaler with TSE/GES Exposition Services at (602) 569-1016 and indicate your request for the Fiesta Bowl on January 1. Photographers and videographers must register and secure proper field identification at the beginning of the game at the Digital Media Room. Each photographer will be issued a vest that must be worn in plain sight at all times. LIVE TELECASTS POST-GAME CEREMONIES On game day, non-originating telecasters may originate live programming from the field until 10:15 a.m. Live programming may resume after ESPN has discontinued its live coverage after the game. Television stations or networks may use a maximum of three minutes of taped footage on news programs only after ESPN has discontinued its live coverage after the game. The graphic “Courtesy ESPN” must accompany all highlights. The winning head coach and the entire team will remain on the field at the conclusion of the game for award ceremonies. Presentation of the winning team trophy and the outstanding player trophies will be made immediately following the conclusion of the game and broadcast by ESPN. MEDIA OPERATIONS ASSISTANCE Fiesta Bowl staff and volunteers will stay in all media areas at the conclusion of the game to assist the media. The press box will remain open until the last person has left. MESSENGERS Messengers will be issued credentials and color-coded vests that will allow them access to the field for pick-ups and deliveries. Messengers must stand against stadium wall next to the seating areas. Messengers will not be allowed to stand in the photographers’ area on the field. POST-GAME INTERVIEWS The head coaches and a minimum of two starters from each team will be available in the Press Conference Room (located on the northwest side of University of Phoenix Stadium on the field level) after a brief cooling-off period. The head coach and starters from the runner-up team will be escorted into the Press Conference Room after a 10- minute coolingoff period, which begins when the head coach enters the locker room. The head coach and starters from the winning team will be escorted into the Press Conference Room after a 20-minute cooling-off period, which begins after the conclusion of the trophy presentation. The format for each team is as follows: The head coach and starters will be positioned at the main table. The head coach will make opening comments and answer questions from the media. The players will not make opening comments; they only will answer questions from the media. The post-game press conference will be available on the video monitors in the press box to assist media with tight deadlines. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS To minimize the possibility of interference during the Fiesta Bowl, all wireless microphones, intercoms, wireless video cameras and IFBs must be frequency coordinated (preferably in advance) and tagged (game day) before they can be used at the Fiesta Bowl. Cellular telephones and pagers are exempt from frequency coordination. Frequency coordinators Karl Voss and Jim Cole will be stationed outside the Digital Media Room (field level, north end) prior to the game to screen all necessary equipment and affix tags. Only cameras displaying the appropriate colored tags will be allowed to operate. A pre-designated media panel will name the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Game. The recipients will be announced at the conclusion of the game. BOWL HISTORY Media members are allowed on the field with five minutes or less remaining in the game. The press elevator will initially leave with seven minutes remaining in the game. Media outlets that do not utilize the pre-coordination option should obtain a Frequency Coordination Form at the Media Center at the Camelback Inn and must initiate the same approval process on game day at the Digital Media Room. 2015 SEASON REVIEW DIGITAL MEDIA ROOM Located on the northwest corner on field level, the Digital Media Room will provide space for photographers and print media and have televisions to monitor game action. The room offers high-speed internet, wireless internet, phones and power. OUTSTANDING PLAYERS COACHES & STAFF HEAD COACHES PRESS CONFERENCE The head coaches’ press conference on December 31 will be held at the Camelback Inn in the Arizona Ballroom. Each coach will be positioned at the main stage, make opening comments and answer questions from the media. They will be available for a joint photo opportunity between press conferences (approximately 8:25 a.m.). GAME DAY COORDINATION THE FIGHTING IRISH Press conferences that involve offensive and defensive coordinators and players will be held in the Arizona Ballroom at the Camelback Inn. The coordinators and players will be positioned at individual tables. It is the media's responsibility to move around the room for interviews. Each team's coordinators and five players will be available for approximately 45 minutes. Both locker rooms are located on the west side, field level. Locker rooms will be open to the media for 30 minutes following the cooling-off period provided media are present the entire time. There will be a 10-minute cooling-off period for the runner-up team and a 20-minute cooling-off period for the winning team, which will begin after the conclusion of the trophy presentation. GAME NOTES PLAYER PRESS CONFERENCES OPEN LOCKER ROOMS Media members should pre-coordinate their wireless devices online by December 31. Complete the online Frequency Coordination Form by visiting www.fiestabowl.org and clicking “Media Room,” then “Frequency Coordination.” Following submission, the requesting media outlet will receive a confirmation email to print and bring to the stadium on game day when the process is completed by turning on the device, checking the approved frequency and tagging it at the frequency coordination location. MEDIA INFORMATION ARRIVAL PRESS CONFERENCES Michael Bertsch John Heisler Leigh Torbin Director of Football Senior Associate AD Assistant Director Media Relations jheisler@nd.edu ltorbin@nd.edu mbertsc1@nd.edu Lizzie Mikes Media Services Coordinator emikes@nd.edu Bernie Cafarelli Chris Masters Dan Colleran Assistant AD Associate Director Associate Director bcafarel@nd.edu cmaster1@nd.edu dcollera@nd.edu Russell Dorn Assistant Director rdorn@nd.edu THIS IS NOTRE DAME Athletic Communications Staff Ashley Albertson Assistant Director aalberts@nd.edu Tony Jones Communications Assistant ajones25@nd.edu Joanne Norell Communications Assistant jnorell@nd.edu Carol Copley Senior Staff Assistant ccopley1@nd.edu 3 99 Percent Graduation Rate 45 College Football Hall of Famers 6 Hall of Fame Coaches 1-4MediaInformation.indd 3 12/18/15 11:30 AM

Game Facts POST-GAME WORKING AREAS Media may return to their seats or utilize the digital media room at the conclusion of the game to file stories. PRESS BOX Located in the southwest corner, the press box accommodates approximately 165 working media members. There is also a national television broadcast booth, a home coaches booth, a visiting coaches booth, an officials booth, a scoreboard and PA control booth, a stats booth and four radio booths. SEATING Media seating will be available in the Press Box and the Digital Media Room. SHUTTLE – GAME DAY Media members are encouraged to use the motor coaches that will depart from the Camelback Inn to University of Phoenix Stadium under police escort. Shuttles will be available throughout the day as well. Return shuttles will run continuously following the game until the last person has left the stadium. The media drop-off and pick-up area will be near the Media Entrance at the stadium. SIDELINE RESTRICTION Photographers with sideline access are not permitted within the Team Bench Area (inside the 25-yard lines) at any time and must remain behind the 12-foot restraining line surrounding the field. This policy will be strictly enforced. STADIUM AVAILABILITY Limited media access to University of Phoenix Stadium will be available prior to game day. Media must coordinate in advance through Fiesta Bowl Media Relations. Per NCAA regulations, the stadium will be closed to media on December 31 for team walkthroughs. On game day, the stadium will be open to the media beginning at 8 a.m. Media may enter the stadium at the Media Entrance located just south of Gate 1 or at the satellite dock in Lot A. STATISTIC SERVICE A professional statistical services company will provide all statistical information. Statistical books, consisting of a scoring summary, individual stats, team stats, quarter stats, descriptive play-by-play, drive charts, defensive stats, coaches and players quotes and new game records will be available as quickly as possible in the press box and digital media room. A play-by-play account of down and distance will be provided verbally over the press box public address system and over a hard line for television and radio. ASAP Sports Reporting will transcribe all quotes. Quick quotes from coaches and players attending the post-game press conference and quick stats will be distributed as soon as possible in the press box and Digital Media Room. 4 1-4MediaInformation.indd 4 GENERAL INFORMATION GENERAL INFORMATION Location. Notre Dame, Ind. Founded.1842 Enrollment.8,448 (undergraduate) / 12,179 (total) Nickname. Fighting Irish Conference.Independent Colors.Blue and Gold Stadium.Notre Dame Stadium Capacity.80,795 Year Opened.1930 Surface. FieldTurf President. Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. (Notre Dame ’76) Athletics Director.Jack Swarbrick (Notre Dame ‘76) Location.Columbus, Ohio Founded.1870 Enrollment.51,759 (undergraduate) / 65,184 (total) Nickname.Buckeyes Conference.Big Ten Colors. Scarlet

The 2016 Notre Dame Fiesta Bowl Media Guide is a copyright production of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish Media, Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556. This publication was compiled, written and edited by director of football media relations Michael Bertsch, assistant athletic communications director Leigh Torbin,