Notre Dame Unveils Packers-Inspired Shamrock Series Uniforms
- Alex Madsen
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
The special uniforms feature nods to the Green Bay Packers, Acme Packers, Paul Hornung, and America's 250th birthday.
Photo by Notre Dame Athletics
Notre Dame has released the 13th edition of the Shamrock Series uniform for the Fighting Irish's opening game against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field.
The reveal comes after a teaser trailer was released on Notre Dame football's social media pages, prior to the official reveal. The trailer featured old film reels of Green Bay Packers highlights alongside a 1900s-era football helmet with the caption, "For a century, our stories have been stitched together..." With this video and the appearance of the 2026 Shamrock Series uniforms, it appears that Notre Dame and Under Armour have taken inspiration from the storied history shared between both the Irish and the Packers as the main focus for this year’s Shamrock Series matchup.
The Shamrock Series game will kick off the Irish’s season and will be held at the legendary venue of Lambeau Field. Curly Lambeau, the stadium's namesake, started his football career playing fullback at Notre Dame under legendary head coach Knute Rockne in 1917. An illness forced the freshman to return to his hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Lambeau founded the Green Bay Packers the following year. Lambeau both played and coached for the Packers, where it was clear his old coach had left an impression on the young man.
The Professional Football Hall of Fame claims that Lambeau was the first pass-minded coach in professional football. Rockne is often cited as the pioneer of the pass in collegiate athletics. Lambeau and his passing setup brought six NFL Championships home to Green Bay before a backhanded scheme by league higher-ups forced him to resign in 1950. Throughout Lambeau’s career, the Notre Dame influence is more than prevalent.
Since the 2009 founding, the Shamrock Series has become an anticipated aspect of every Notre Dame Football season. Back when Notre Dame was first emerging as a national powerhouse under coach Knute Rockne, hardly any Midwestern teams were willing to play the Irish. A large reason for this was rampant anti-Catholicism gripping the Midwest in the early 1900s. Furthermore, the Fighting Irish would have to compete against teams exceedingly far away, which the Irish traveled to on subways. This allowed Notre Dame Football to be featured in front of largely immigrant-based Catholics, who otherwise wouldn’t have come into contact with Notre Dame. Thus, the Subway Alumni phenomenon and the largest brand in college football were born.
The Shamrock Showcase is traditionally a marquee game for the Irish and is always played at a neutral site. It has allowed Notre Dame to play at legendary venues such as Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Soldier Field. Each year, the Irish compete in a unique uniform representing an aspect of Notre Dame Football.
Recently, fans speculated that the jersey revealed would be the same one leaked earlier this week. This would later be confirmed to be the case following the announcement post by Notre Dame socials. The jersey is reportedly a spin-off of the 1923 Green Bay Packers jerseys, with shamrocks woven into the back thread. A key component of the match-up is the mesh design in the gold lining of the numbers. Thread was traditionally used for jerseys before more practical materials became available. Notre Dame is representing that shared vintage look between the two programs, as well as a testament to the longevity between the Irish and the Packers.
The Jersey features an array of iconic additions specifically tailored to this year's edition of the Shamrock Showcase.
Nameplate
The nameplate is typically only reserved for playoff games, but is featured on this year's jersey.
Striping
A direct throwback to the iconic Green Bay Packers jersey striping.
Flag Patch
The all-gold American flag patch is in commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary.
Paul Hornung
The numbers are inspired by the PAUL HORNUNG era and are a nod to the Notre Dame Heisman winner and legendary Green Bay Packers.
11 Golden Shamrocks
Notre Dame’s eleven claimed National Championships are represented in the eleven golden shamrocks running across the collar of the jersey.
Here is a closer look at the uniforms:
Photos via Notre Dame Athletics
The uniqueness of the iconic Shamrock Series jerseys has typically been a hot/cold affair between Irish fans. Some years, fans welcome the refreshing new twist to the classic Notre Dame uniforms; other years, fans widely reject the new iteration of the jersey, and thank the Lord it was only for one game. As always, the pure traditionalists are totally against the idea of changing the iconic blue and gold that Notre Dame sports game after game. In the hours leading up to the reveal, a post showing the leaked jersey was widely circulated in the Notre Dame subreddit. Fans shared various opinions on the jersey.
“If it is those awful leaked uniforms, I’m going to be very upset.“
- (via Reddit/ErasetheDoubt)
“Excited to see them! We are the home team, so dark navy as the primary top?”
- (via Reddit/God_Country_ND)
(via X/nd_unitracker)
This image has appeared all over social media for the past week as the leaked Shamrock Series jersey.
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