Notre Dame and UCLA, who have five combined Sweet 16 appearances since 2014, have agreed to a home-and-home series. The Bruins and Fighting Irish will play in 2018 and 2019, with UCLA hosting first, on Dec. 18, 2018.
These two schools have a history; Notre Dame famously ended UCLA's record 88-game winning streak on Jan. 19, 1974, at the height of the Bruins' dominance under Hall of Famer John Wooden.
"The Notre Dame-UCLA basketball series is synonymous with college basketball," Irish coach Mike Brey said. "We will get to play in front of our great southern California fan base, take Rex Pflueger back to the Mater Dei area during his senior year with us and bring a historic rival back onto our schedule."
The series puts two prominent programs in position for their 50th meeting. Game No. 49 will be when UCLA hosts, then No. 50 comes in 2019. UCLA holds a 28-20 edge. From 1966-84, the Irish and Bruins met every year. Per Notre Dame's communication department, "Only twice in that 30-game run was neither team ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll."
Entering this season, UCLA and Notre Dame are ranked in the CBS Sport Top 25 (and one). UCLA has 1,849 wins in program history. Notre Dame sits at 1,845.
"We're excited to add a big-time home-and-home series with Notre Dame to our future schedules," UCLA coach Steve Alford said. "These schools have been playing each other for decades, so it's always great to match up with Notre Dame. I have a ton of respect for Mike Brey and the fantastic job that he's done with the Fighting Irish, and I know that one year from now, this is certainly a game our fans will be excited to watch. It's great for our sport to have two tradition-rich programs taking center stage."
The schools last met on Dec. 19, 2009. Notre Dame won at home 84-73.
