GREEN BAY – Growing up 10 minutes from Lambeau Field in Green Bay, James Flanigan said he went to four or five games per season for as long as he remembers liking football.

Now, as a member of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Flanigan – who helped the Tritons win a WIAA Division 3 state title in 2024 – gets to live out another childhood dream.

Flanigan, a 6-foot-6-inch, 253-pound tight end, and his Notre Dame teammates travel to Lambeau Field to play Wisconsin on Sunday, Sept. 6.

“It means a lot and is very special,” Flanigan said, whose dad, Jim Flanigan Jr., was a defensive tackle at Notre Dame and played 10 seasons in the NFL. “What are the odds I get to play for Notre Dame – where my dad played – and by chance, we get to play at Lambeau. I have a ton of family and friends coming to the game, so I’m really pumped to get back home and play in front of my town.”

The matchup, originally scheduled for Oct. 3, 2020, was rescheduled for 2026 after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the 2020 football season.

“It seemed like I was always going to Lambeau,” Flanigan said. “I went to other events there and participated in the Packers halftime quarterback challenge a few times. Obviously, Lambeau Field is a big part of the identity of Green Bay, so it’s very special I get to play there.”

Wisconsin took on Notre Dame at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2021 as part of the Shamrock Series, the neutral-site nonconference series between the two programs.

Notre Dame claimed the first game of the series on Sept. 25, 2021, 41-13.

“I think we were probably going to go watch [the originally scheduled] game at Lambeau as fans in 2020, but the change obviously worked out for me – now I get to play at Lambeau,” Flanigan said.

Wisconsin last played at Lambeau Field in 2016 and scored a 16-14 win over No. 5 LSU.

“This is a huge game for both of us,” Flanigan said. “Wisconsin is definitely coming in looking to get a win, just as we are. Being a Lambeau kid makes the game bigger and more special, but I need to also make sure it doesn’t take away from me getting my job done.”

Though a “business trip,” Flanigan said he’ll get to spend some time with his family prior to the game.
“We always have visitation leading up to the game where family gets to come visit and hang out for one or two hours,” he said. “I’m excited to see them, but I think there’s also a certain point where I turn to business mode. I try to be relaxed the whole week leading up to a game because I feel like I tense up and worry about every little thing – but when it’s game time, I lock in.”

With Lambeau Field being unique in the fact that it sits smack dab in the middle of a residential area, Flanigan said his Notre Dame teammates have been asking him what it’s like to be inside the iconic stadium.
“Everyone is aware that it’s a unique setting in a smaller city, so I’m really excited for my teammates to also see what it’s like,” he said. “I think they’re going to be blown away by how special it is. Lambeau actually feels a lot like Notre Dame. I feel like they have similar stadium styles, and the history and everything is very similar.”

As a Wisconsin kid, Flanigan said he grew up rooting for both the Badgers and Fighting Irish.

With his dad playing at Notre Dame, he said his mom’s side of the family also has ties to the university.

“My two favorite teams growing up were definitely Notre Dame and Wisconsin,” Flanigan said. “My mom actually went to Notre Dame, and so did a bunch of my mom’s side of the family. My grandpa also taught there.”

The game is also a homecoming of sorts for several Northeastern Wisconsin players now playing for the Badgers, including Landon Gauthier and Aiden Dirksen from Bay Port and Langdon Nordgaard from West De Pere.

Other Flanigan tidbits:

Played in four games as a freshman for the Irish… made collegiate debut at Arkansas

Won WIAA Division 2 state title in discus as a sophomore in high school

Won WIAA Division 2 state title in shot put as a junior in high school

Won WIAA Division 1 state hockey championships in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 while playing at Notre Dame Academy

Dad was a defensive tackle at Notre Dame, played 10 seasons in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Packers, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles and was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2000