What Would You Fight For? 20 Years of Storytelling

To commemorate two decades of the iconic What Would You Fight For? series, the University of Notre Dame recently hosted a panel discussion centered on the University Forum theme, “Cultivating Hope.” NBC Sports play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico moderated the panel discussion, which featured Rob Hyland, coordinating producer of NBC Sunday Night Football; Notre Dame 2011 alumna Lindsay Schanzer, supervising producer of NBC Sports; Meenal Datta, the Jane Schoelch DeFlorio Collegiate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Notre Dame; and Notre Dame undergraduate Lauren Eglite, a chemical engineering major. Led by Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., the event underscored the strategic importance of the 20-year partnership between Notre Dame and NBC Sports. This collaboration utilizes the high-visibility platform of collegiate athletics to bridge the gap between stadium excitement and Notre Dame’s profound academic mission. It is a strategic alignment of brand values that welcomes a global viewership of millions into the heart of Notre Dame’s research and service.

“The campus community’s foundation is the faculty, professors and staff, and to be able to share their stories, not just of what it means in the Notre Dame community, but what it means globally — that’s the power of Notre Dame,” Tirico said. “And what better place to share that for the last two decades than the ultimate front porch of the University? Because athletics is the front porch. … When you can marry those two vehicles, now it’s more than just a football team and a little commercial during the game. It’s a story of what an institution is all about.”

To read a recap of the event, click here.

Since its establishment in 2005, each year the Notre Dame Forum invites campus-wide dialogue about issues of importance to the University, the nation, and the larger world.

This year’s theme is Cultivating Hope. In a world where hope is too often in short supply, our goal is to invite reflection about how each of us can be “seekers of truth, sustainers of hope, and builders of bridges.”

To learn more about the Notre Dame Forum 2025-26, please visit the Forum website.