Notre Dame and Stanford will square off Saturday in their annual college football matchup. Yet this year, the rivalry game will include a new wrinkle for the Fighting Irish faithful as fans will be able to experience highlights in virtual reality.
NextVR, a virtual reality broadcasting company which produced the first NBA games with the new technology, is teaming up with Notre Dame around the primetime game on NBC.
“We are pleased to be working with NextVR, in conjunction with our long time media partner NBC Sports, to pilot new fan experiences that bring them closer to the action,” Dan Skendzel, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Media and Branding, said in a statement.
Multiple virtual reality cameras will surround Notre Dame Stadium to provide fans different viewing angles as they experience football in a different format. Various highlight packages will be released throughout the game and specifically after each quarter, with Notre Dame alumnus and 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown providing audio commentary along with NBC announcers.
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“Our mission is to seek partnerships that will provide fans with unprecedented access,” Brad Allen, Executive Chairman of NextVR, said in a statement. “Notre Dame fans are among the most passionate in sports, making this relationship a significant milestone for Notre Dame and collegiate football fans.”
Notre Dame fans will also be able to experience exclusive content from Brown in addition to behind-the-scenes virtual reality game day experiences and Fighting Irish traditions, which will be available in a month.
To experience the highlights in virtual reality, fans will have to access the free NextVR platform for Samsung Gear VR, which is available in the Oculus app store. As of now, the NextVR virtual reality experience requires a Samsung Gear VR headset and a Samsung smartphone.