Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall

The new Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall will foster team building and personal growth, improve physical conditioning and technical ability, and enable Notre Dame Research to partner with Athletics in the study of human performance, sports science, medicine and nutrition.

Additional contributors to the facility include Pat and Jana Eilers, Dave and Clare Butler and other substantial donors who wish to remain anonymous. Pat Eilers is a former Notre Dame safety. Dave Butler played linebacker for the Irish.

Also recognized for their generous leadership and support are Pat Kramer, a former Notre Dame defensive lineman, and Tom Carter, a former Irish cornerback. Kramer and Carter are close friends of the Shieldses.

Together, these five former Notre Dame student-athletes are giving back to a program that has transformed their lives, wanting to extend that same opportunity to future generations.

The new facility will be located along Courtney Lane on the east side of campus and is set to open in the fall of 2026, allowing for future renovation of the Gug to advance the performance of student-athletes across Notre Dame’s 26 varsity sports.

The project will support as many as 150 construction jobs, contributing millions in wages and taxes to the local economy. It will support a number of permanent jobs in Athletics and other areas after construction.

At 150,000 square feet, the new facility will offer a nearly 50 percent increase in space over the Gug, which opened in 2005.

The facility will include an advanced training room; a stand-alone sports medicine facility; an equipment facility with body scanning and fabrication technology; a new and expanded locker room; meeting rooms, including a two-level, all-team auditorium and an augmented reality walkthrough room; media innovation spaces, including recording studios and photo studios; academic support spaces; and a new player nutrition area designed to foster community between teams and model healthy eating.

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