Pope Leo XIV hosted thousands of students, athletes, coaches, and families from Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame at the Vatican audience hall ahead of the historic college basketball season opener in Rome.
The doubleheader, dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off, features the men’s and women’s teams from both schools facing off at the Palazzo dello Sport. The event was organized to honor the pontiff, who is an alumnus of Villanova. Despite recently undergoing lung cancer surgery on October 13, the 71-year-old pope kept the appointment to greet the 7,000-strong crowd.
During the gathering, Leo joked about his allegiances, noting that while he maintains papal neutrality, his former identity as Robert Prevost might lean otherwise.
”Prevost has another opinion, but we won’t do that now,” he said to laughs.
Leo, a native of Chicago who graduated from Villanova with a mathematics degree in 1977, engaged playfully with both squads.
He dribbled a golden basketball presented by the Villanova women’s team, posed with a Notre Dame banner reading “Pope Leo, Play like a champion today,” and flashed the signature “V” hand sign with Villanova supporters.
”He is a true Villanovan. I said, ‘OK everyone: V’s up.’ And he immediately was in with it,” said Villanova women’s coach Denise Dillon.
In his prepared remarks, the pope encouraged athletes and fans to view sports through a spiritual lens, cautioning against excessive rivalries.
”No one is born a champion, just as no one is born a saint,” Leo said, adding that competitors are “certainly not enemies.”