Notre Dame's scheduled Sept. 12 home game against Arkansas will no longer be its first game on American soil.
The Fighting Irish's Aug. 29 game against Navy has been moved to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Dublin but was moved from Ireland due to complications related to covid-19.
According to a statement, the schools intend to play the game either Sept. 5 or Sept. 6. It will be the first time the Fighting Irish will play at Navy-Marines Memorial Stadium.
In 2012, Navy and Notre Dame played their season opener in Dublin's Aviva Stadium and drew more than 35,000 fans from the U.S. According to The Associated Press, more than 40,000 Americans were planning to travel to this year's game.
The season opener is the only of Notre Dame's games to be affected by coronavirus at this time. Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said last week the Razorbacks were planning to play their game at Notre Dame as scheduled.
Yurachek said a halt has been put on the sale of single-game football tickets to Arkansas' home and away games, and Notre Dame leaders have said they anticipate allowing attendance at less than their stadium's 80,795-seat capacity.