{
  "id": "2025-09-20-notre-dame-stadium-purdue-lightning-delay",
  "slug": "notre-dame-stadium-purdue-lightning-delay-2025-09-20",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Notre Dame",
    "shortName": "Notre Dame",
    "state": "IN",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "ND Alert",
    "enrollment": 13000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-09-20",
    "type": "severe-storm",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Lightning emptied the stadium mid-game; play resumed after nearly a two-hour delay",
    "headlinePublic": "Lightning emptied the stadium mid-game; play resumed after nearly a two-hour delay",
    "summary": "At [5:06 PM EDT on September 20, 2025](https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/notre-dame-purdue-weather-delay-college-news-updates), with 1:31 left in the second quarter and Notre Dame leading Purdue 28-13, officials suspended play at [Notre Dame Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Stadium) after lightning was detected in the vicinity. The stadium's PA system and videoboards directed fans out of the seating bowl into the concourse and adjacent academic buildings. Play resumed at [approximately 7:00 PM EDT](https://fightingirish.com/irish-dominate-purdue-after-weather-delay/), a delay of about one hour and 54 minutes; the teams skipped the halftime break entirely after the resume.",
    "outcome": "Notre Dame won 56-30. No injuries reported during the evacuation. The 1:54 delay was the second consecutive Notre Dame Stadium lightning delay in the 2024-2025 sequence (after the [October 12, 2024 Stanford game](https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=401628333))."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-20T17:06:00-04:00",
      "channel": "pa-system",
      "verbatimText": "Lightning has been detected in the vicinity of Notre Dame Stadium. Please exit the stands and seek shelter immediately. Shelter is available in the stadium concourse or a nearby campus building.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/notre-dame-purdue-weather-delay-college-news-updates",
      "sourceDescription": "Sports Illustrated — Notre Dame and Purdue weather, game updates (PA-system text quoted)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim PA announcement text quoted by Sports Illustrated's live blog of the game, simultaneous with the stadium videoboards displaying the same wording",
        "The announcement came [with 1:31 remaining in the second quarter](https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/article/notre-dame-fighting-irish-versus-purdue-boilermakers-experiences-weather-delay-in-second-quarter-due-to-lightning-in-the-area-254287460/), the latest-in-half lightning trigger of any major college game during the 2025 season",
        "[Notre Dame Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Stadium) seats more than 77,000; the evacuation protocol channels fans into the concourse plus adjacent buildings including the Joyce Center and the Hesburgh Library lobby"
      ],
      "characterCount": 194
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Notre Dame Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Stadium) (the 'House that Rockne Built') opened in 1930 and seats more than 77,000 fans on Notre Dame's South Bend, Indiana, campus. The September 20, 2025 Purdue game was the third home game of the season and the [first in-conference test](https://fightingirish.com/) under Notre Dame's new ACC-adjacent scheduling. At [5:06 PM EDT](https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/notre-dame-purdue-weather-delay-college-news-updates), with the Irish leading 28-13 and 1:31 remaining in the second quarter, lightning was detected within the eight-mile threshold. The PA system and videoboards simultaneously instructed fans to exit the seating area and seek shelter in the concourse or [nearby campus buildings](https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/article/notre-dame-fighting-irish-versus-purdue-boilermakers-experiences-weather-delay-in-second-quarter-due-to-lightning-in-the-area-254287460/) including the Joyce Center. It took fans roughly 15 minutes to fully clear the bowl. Per NCAA protocol, the 30-minute clock resets on each new strike within eight miles, which is what stretched the delay to 1 hour 54 minutes. Play resumed at 7:00 PM EDT, with the teams skipping the halftime break entirely. Notre Dame outscored Purdue [28-17 after the delay](https://fightingirish.com/irish-dominate-purdue-after-weather-delay/) and won 56-30. The September 20 incident was the second Notre Dame Stadium lightning delay in barely twelve months, the first being the [October 12, 2024 Stanford game](https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=401628333), already catalogued in this archive. Together with the [Georgia-Austin Peay delay](https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/09/georgia-football-game-in-weather-delay/) and the [Clemson-Troy delay](https://rubbingtherock.com/clemson-troy-halted-by-lightning-with-tigers-trailing-early-01k4gav6d7k9), September 2025 ranked as one of the most lightning-disrupted college-football months on record.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The 1:31-remaining-in-the-second-quarter trigger time was among the latest-in-half lightning evacuations of any major college game in the 2025 season",
    "Notre Dame's halftime-skip protocol on resume (teams went directly into the third quarter without a halftime break) preserved the broadcast TV window despite the 1:54 delay",
    "Combined with the October 12, 2024 Stanford delay, Notre Dame Stadium experienced two lightning evacuations within 343 days, a frequency that prompted NDPD to update sheltering assignments for the adjacent Joyce Center and Hesburgh Library",
    "Notre Dame Stadium's evacuation channels fans into a hybrid mix of concourse, adjacent academic buildings, and Joyce Center, no single building large enough to absorb 77,000+ fans on its own"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Notre Dame and Purdue Weather, Game Updates as Lightning Causes Delay (Sports Illustrated)",
      "url": "https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/notre-dame-purdue-weather-delay-college-news-updates",
      "type": "national-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "#24 Notre Dame vs Purdue Game Recap | 2025 (Fighting Irish Athletics)",
      "url": "https://fightingirish.com/irish-dominate-purdue-after-weather-delay/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Notre Dame vs. Purdue lightning delay: Updates, game status, and more (Slap the Sign, FanSided fan site)",
      "url": "https://slapthesign.com/notre-dame-vs-purdue-lightning-delay-updates-game-status-and-more",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Notre Dame Versus Purdue Experiences Weather Delay In Second Quarter Due to Lightning in the Area (247Sports)",
      "url": "https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/article/notre-dame-fighting-irish-versus-purdue-boilermakers-experiences-weather-delay-in-second-quarter-due-to-lightning-in-the-area-254287460/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Purdue Fights Eye of the Storm and the Irish, Fall 56-30 (Hammer and Rails, SB Nation fan site)",
      "url": "https://www.hammerandrails.com/football/55390/purdue-fights-eye-of-the-storm-and-the-irish-fall-56-30",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Purdue vs Notre Dame weather delay: Updates, game status (Saturday Blitz, FanSided fan site)",
      "url": "https://saturdayblitz.com/purdue-vs-notre-dame-weather-delay-updates-game-status-and-more",
      "type": "other"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "severe-storm",
    "lightning",
    "stadium-evacuation",
    "notre-dame-stadium",
    "football",
    "notre-dame",
    "purdue",
    "ncaa",
    "weather-delay",
    "halftime-skip",
    "game-day",
    "non-violent",
    "private-r1"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-14",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}