George Matysek goes behind the scenes of Notre Dame football with Holy Cross Father Nate Wills, the team’s chaplain and author of "Pray Like a Champion Today: Sacred Stories from the Sidelines of Notre Dame Football." Ordained in 2006, Father Wills is also an education professor at Notre Dame and a national speaker on artificial intelligence in Catholic education.

Father Wills discusses his ministry of accompanying players and coaches through both the highs and difficult moments of football, including injuries and personal struggles. He explains the century-old tradition of giving players saint medals before games, the spiritual meaning of the team’s victory walk and how Catholic traditions are welcomed by players of different faiths.

Father Wills also shares the meaning of the team’s “choose hard” philosophy and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and constant digital distractions. He offers practical reflections on prayer, attention, silence and faith, and discusses what nearly a decade with the team has taught him about simply showing up for others and living faith boldly.

Host: George Matysek Jr.

Guest: Holy Cross Father Nate Wills

Producer: Christopher Gunty

Copyright © 2026 Catholic Review Media

Welcome to Catholic Review Radio. I'm George Matysek Football season kicks off this week, and today we're going behind the scenes of one of the most storied programs in the country. Our guest is Holy Cross Father Nate Wills, chaplain of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and author of the new book "Pray Like a Champion Today," Sacred Stories from the Sidelines of Notre Dame Football. Ordained in 2006, Father Nate is also an education professor at Notre Dame.

and a national speaker on artificial intelligence in Catholic education. Father Nate, thanks so much for being here on Catholic Review Radio.

thanks so much for having me, George. I appreciate it.

So you've been Notre Dame's football chaplain since 2018. I think this is your ninth season now. So

Yeah.

can you explain what does a football chaplain do? What are what are some of your duties?

Yeah, it's

it's a great question. It's a question I get a lot. What exactly do you do? yeah, a lot of things and not a lot of things all at the same time. really my only responsibilities that I was given from the team were to just celebrate Mass before the team before the game, sorry, and and to to be around as a pastoral resource for our guys on the team and for our staff, our coaches, all those folks.

it's kinda grown a a bit beyond that role and it's been a really great opportunity to get to know some of our players outside their practice and games, to get to celebrate weddings and funerals, to be able to be involved across all of their lives and to really try to point them to Christ as best I can. but it's been a great responsibility and a and a great opportunity.

You must be with some of these players at some pretty intense times in their life or th be with them through injuries or other other getting cut from the team or things like that. Can you talk about that? How do you try to accompany them?

Yeah, I you're exactly right. Accompaniment's the right word. you know, in scary times, you know, football is tough and quick and injuries can happen in a split second. and you know, their parents are usually at the games and so my role is to be with parents, to be with them, to pray with them in moments. I remember a couple of years ago I sat with a player at at

halftime at the Purdue game who had a season- ending injury and he just cried. He just sat there and cried and I stayed with him and you know as well as I do that sometimes there's just no words. Sometimes just walking along with people and you know telling them that God is with them, even in those difficult moments, is the most important thing that we can do. And sometimes praying together when you know they might not have the words and and you know given the opportunity to pray together is i has been both a comfort

Comfort and a real grace for me too. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

You talk about that in your book about how you start each game with a Mass and then you you walk to

the from the basilica on campus to the stadium. Can you talk about that?

Yeah.

What does that mean to the players and to the wider community?

Yeah, it's a really incredible

practice. It's called they call the victory walk. And we walked from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame's campus. We have Mass all together in the Lady Chapel of the Basilica and then walk through that iconic door that says God, Country, Notre Dame above it. and the whole team walks and all the fans line the walk as we go to the stadium and they cheer and they shout things to them and I've been next to the offensive coordinator sometimes and people are really giving

you know, heartfelt advice that they really want the coach to implement but mostly it's just a great time to see, you know, for kids to see our student athletes up close and personal, for people to cheer on the Irish, for our fans to get our team excited and to just be part of the joy. Part of the beauty of Notre Dame football is that it's always been kind of America's Catholic team. that in many ways in the 1920s when Catholics were

you know, discriminated against in this country, this became a real source of pride for Catholics that Notre Dame was winning national championships and beating juggernaut teams. So a lot of people rallied around Notre Dame who weren't even, you know, Notre Dame grads or didn't have a connection. And to this day that's still the case.

One the things I love that I was not aware of this, but you have a tradition of giving out saint medals. Can you talk about that? Where did that it's a h goes back a hundred years, I think you said. Where did that tradition come from and how do you carry it out today?

Yeah, it's an incredible tradition. I'm so blessed to be able to continue it. So, the first time in recorded history that we gave out medals was October 13th, 1923, when Notre Dame played Army. and Army did this little, you know, publicity stunt and they had this Hollywood star do a ceremonial kickoff and one of the priests on campus, Father O'Hara, who then became the the storied Cardinal O'Hara, who's buried in the basilica.

said if they've got this Hollywood star on their side, we're gonna have St. Joan of Arc

Mm-hmm.

on our side. And so he gave out St. Joan of Arc medals to all of our student athletes and and told them about her inspiring life. And we've continued to do that for literally a hundred years, give our student athletes those prayer medals, those holy medals before each of the games. I get to tell them a little bit about the stories of the saints and their lives and the ways in which they all found their unique and wonderful path to Christ and a and a way to holiness and sanctification.

and then we get to give them out and you know it's really great. People love the tradition. I've really enjoyed picking out the saints. We're on a five year rotation so guys don't get repeats. Every year we introduce new saints and it's just it's it's a very joyful thing. And then I share the saints on my Instagram page, which is Pray Like a Champion today. And so people can see this is the medal that we gave to our student athletes this week. This is a little bit about the life of the saints.

How do

you pick which saint you're gonna give out for a given week?

Yeah, it's a good question. I would sometimes I try to line it up with their feast day if that happens to coincide. Sometimes I'll do something that's kind of more germane to the the game. Sometimes it's just a great saint and and somebody we have one medal of Mary usually every season and I usually try to put that on a big game so that you know, we get a little extra boost from Notre Dame Our Mother.

So what percentage of your team is Catholic would you say and how do all these traditions kind of meld with non Catholic? How do they receive those traditions?

Yeah, it's a great question. So about 83 percent of Notre Dame's overall student population of undergrads is Catholic. but on our team, I'd say about 50 percent are Catholic. That's an unscientific guess, but about that. and you know, the majority of our walk-ons would be part of that 83 percent. so i you know, a good number, a good number of our staff and coaches are are Catholic as well. But you know what I have to say, everybody's been very receptive and welcoming.

I know, you know, several of our guys are Muslim and they're like, Okay, yep, this is great. This is what we're doing. We're going to Mass. And you know, I think you know, everybody shows up, everybody participates where their level of comfort is. And I think a lot of the guys really appreciate some of the traditions there. it's an invitation,

to pray, to use the time well. I tell you don't have to, you know, do everything we do as Catholics. but at least use this time well to center yourself on God's presence, to grow in your faith, whatever it is, and and to really step back from the day-to-day pressures and the noise and all these things that just bombard them.

And center yourself on what is eternal. So I think that's the invitation. And you know, over the years we've had a a number of folks become Catholic as well. That's not why people go, you know, it's we have to tell people I think other teams have used that against Notre Dame as a you know, anti recruiting technique. They'll say, like, don't go to Notre Dame, you'll have to become Catholic,

Right, right.

and it's obviously not true, but we do want everybody, whatever their faith is, to grow.

And to to grow closer to God, to grow closer to their own faith tradition, to become not just smart and strong and good, but holy.

One

of those converts, and you talk about this in your book, was the coach. Marcus Freeman is a convert to Catholicism. How did that come to be? were you part of his journey into the to the Catholic faith?

Yeah, I did his OCIA process. You know, it's funny, I actually wrote a whole chapter about that, George, and I just I wrote it and then I stopped and then I scrapped it and then I wrote it again and then I stopped and I said, You know what? This isn't my my story to tell. and so I really didn't and and to this day I think coach is pretty private about his faith journey.

And so I'd I I'd leave that up to him and and I think he he's not talking much

Right, right.

about it. So you know it's it's a beautiful there might come a time in his life when he's he wants to, but I think it I think there it's been just a wonderful time and and I could tell you for certain he's he's a man of deep faith and and integrity.

Do you

find that rubs off on the players as much as his example as your your chaplaincy?

His example way more than mine.

yeah. No, I think and and you know the the beauty of our team as well is that I think

We've really seen through their leadership and through just the ways in which individual players have taken responsibility for their faith and for their leadership, people have been inspired by that. And they really have come to the Lord more deeply because a I mean, th they can listen to me preach all day long and whatever and the coaches tell them stuff. But what means I think probably the most to them is the witness of people who are their age, people who have experiencing things like they are.

And for somebody like that to to take you know, the the lead and I look at, you know, our quarterback a couple of years ago, Riley Leonard, was somebody who just constantly was drawing people to Christ and still to this day is very evangelical in his faith. And I think that's just beautiful and and that means a lot to them. I'll do my part, Coach will do his part and all of our our folks will encourage them to grow in their faith. But i I think it's really

the witness of each other and to be surrounded by that example that means the most.

Our

guest today is Holy Cross Father Nate Wills. He is the chaplain of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and author of a new book called Pray Like a Champion Today. Sacred Stories from the Sidelines of Notre Dame Football." I'm George Matysek. We're gonna take a little break and we'll be back in a moment.

Welcome back to Catholic Review Radio. I'm George Matysek. We're talking today with Holy Cross Father Nate Wills, chaplain of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, and author of a new book called Pray Like a Champion Today Sacred Stories from the Sidelines of Notre Dame Football." So Father, one of the things that

the coach often says and you write about this in your book is choose hard." What does that what does that mean? And and especially how it relates beyond football.

Yeah, it's a real rallying cry for our team. and it's been something that's really inspired me to think about, you know, what what is that what does that mean in my life? I just showed up one day to practice and the guys were all wearing T-shirts that said "choose hard" in huge letters on the back. And and and from that day forward, honestly, you'll see it all over our building. And we just built a brand new football building and there are huge signs and great

you know you know glowing signs that say choose hard." Some of it just says CH, right? as just a reminder for our guys to choose hard. And it's not just about football practice. It's a real like it's an invitation to a way of life. I think what that means is to choose, as Jesus calls, the narrow gate, right? The way that is, you know, not walked by many people.

And that means living with integrity. That means making the tough decision, laying down your life for one another. I think that's a really key piece of of things. And Coach Freeman's really big about talking about team glory. And that means not my individual glory, but looking at how can I do my best for the person standing next to me. And I think that really is g getting at the heart of who we are as Christians, laying down our life for the Lord.

looking out for one another, you know, loving our neighbor as ourself. I think that choosing hard is it's an invitation to a different way of living life and and I think it's a great one too. And I see the guys who take that really seriously as doing well not just in football but in life. And I think it's it's how you have a successful relationship with another person and you're in your for a lifetime, right? It's how you have great friendships and and I think it's how you can become a successful person.

in football and in life too.

I I think it's such a challenge

today with so many technological advancements with AI and and other things. I was thinking I was recently talking with a college professor, a writing professor here in Maryland and she estimated that more than 90 percent of her students are now using AI to produce their essays and and I'm sure this isn't uncommon at other colleges. Does that number surprise you and how do you see that choose the easy way out temptation showing up?

I think it's going to get just more and more tempting these days. I mean I I in my research and work in education I study AI and yeah I'm I talk to teachers all the time and they're like, Yeah, I I'm giving up on the you know, the traditional five paragraph essay and you know, I I think those things have served their purpose in education, but they no longer do. I mean I think we've gotta really encourage students to do things manually,

to work hard and and you know your brain isn't that different from the other muscles in your body that if you choose to offload all of these tasks they're gonna atrophy and you're not gonna become the you know smarter and and more capable and and filled with wisdom. And I think this is the case as well. I mean I'm I think choosing hard is an invitation for our attention as well.

You know as well as I do, we don't really have to be patient anymore. Like if you have a moment of downtime, I can't tell you the number of times that I and other people have done this. If you're at a stoplight and you flip open your phone, and like that is like three seconds where you could just, you know, take a breath, look around you, enjoy the beauty of God's creation, whatever it is. But no, we've gotta fill it. We've gotta fill it with with time and with distractions. And I think we've gotta really protect

our time and attention. We've got to protect silence in our world so that we don't get too far afield and lose track of God's presence in our life and the practice of of prayer and allowing the Lord to speak to us.

The title of your book is

called Pray Like a Champion Today. What what kind of advice would you have for people on how they can pray like a champion?

gosh. I don't know that I'm the right guy to ask about that one. I was more of in my book it's more of a play on the sign, you know, play like Jeremy. no, I honestly

The right way to pray is the way that makes sense to you, that the Lord is calling you. I think prayer is one of the great struggles of well of I'll speak for myself, of my life, to try to carve out the time, the attention, to cultivate an ear that listens to God and and really is trying to discern what is the voice of God and not just my own you know, musings and and wanting to reaffirm my beliefs.

I think we do this well in community. I think there's a real beauty in praying together in the liturgy and in the ways in which we can lift our hearts up to God in the rosary, in in other types of communal prayer. And for me it's important to have good friends in my religious community, the Congregation of Holy Cross, people who will call me out on stuff, and will will be able to reflect back to me, you know, I I think something's

a little off or I really see you coming alive in this moment. And to me that can be the voice of God as well. But I do think prayer is a discipline. Prayer is something where you've just got to really explore different types of prayer. There's never been more possibilities to learn more about prayer than right now. and so just pick up any resources at your parish or whatever and dig in. The the only wrong way to pray is not to pray.

You've been with

the team about 10 years now, almost a decade. what have you learned about your faith from working in this position?

Wow, it's a great question. I've learned the importance of just showing up, of really just being there for people. That I mean, I think amazing conversations have happened in the most unexpected times when I just said, you know, maybe I'll stop by the football building or maybe I'll stop by practice today. and just being there for people I think is so important.

I think I've I've realized that I can be timid about my faith, and sometimes even apologetic and not in like the explaining way, but like, you know, jeez, well this is just what I believe, you know, and and I think that's that's just

not what the Lord is calling us to. That I think in the times when I've been able to be bold about my faith and say, you know, this is what I believe in. People, you know, have felt a freedom from that, have said, Wow, that that's really great. And I I think we can be invitational without being judgmental. We can you know, open our hearts to God and open our hearts to others. and I think that's I don't know, that's that's been a really cool part of this and it's been neat to see too that

you know, as I I walk around to in very different and secular places with a Roman collar, the number of people who have come up to me and you know, will just tell me things or just bear their souls to me or or whatever. And and that's the beauty of the priesthood and I think it's an invitation to all of us to invite those kinds of conversations that can be really important.

does anybody on your team pray

to win? Like is that is that legal to pray to them?

I do.

Absolutely we do. No, I I think there's I I think there's you know, in a very cosmic sense, I don't think there's a you know the Lou Holtz line is a good one, you know. I think it was the priest from gosh, Southern Cal or something said, you know, God doesn't care who wins this game and and Coach Holtz said, you know, God might not

Right.

But his mother sure might. I'm murdering that quote right now. But you get the point. No, look, I think I I often will pray for our guys, pray for their their health and well being, for happiness, holiness, for them. And you know, I I I pray that their all their hard work pays off. Absolutely, I pray to win. I keep a rosary in my pocket. I think that's I think that's something we all do.

This broadcast will air

on the first day of the new season. do you have any new traditions in line for the coming year?

gosh. No new traditions. We have to be careful with traditions at

Right.

Notre Dame, because you do them once or twice and then they're set in stone. I don't think any new traditions, though you know, i it's never a a dull moment with football. They're always doing something new, something cool. and I'm excited. I think

it's been exciting for me to see the the the number of folks who've resonated with my book. Now there's an audiobook version for other folks. and they can really get a an inside view into some of the stories behind Notre Dame and and to really hopefully resonate with some of the the connections to our Lord and to Scripture as well. So I mean I guess that's a little different. it's only been out for a year. So yeah, I that's but other than that, we'll look out for some some new metals on my Instagram and

ones that might be particularly cool and inspiring.

And how can people get a copy of your book?

Yeah, they can get it anywhere books are sold. I mean, you can go to the the publisher, Ave Maria Press, or you can go to Amazon. And on Amazon you'll find the the book, the audiobook, and the ebook. I'd really recommend the actual physical book is pretty cool because there's a lot of like really great pictures and there's some QR codes in it as well, where you can can really just dig into you know some of the the full color imagery and and

watch some of the the media around it too, which is which is pretty cool. So there's a lot to enjoy in the book and the audiobook is pretty fun too. I I read the audiobook and Coach Freeman read his forward that he wrote.

Okay, cool. Well, our guest today has been

Holy Cross Father Nate Wills, Chaplain of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and author of the new book Pray Like a Champion Today Sacred Stories from the Sidelines of Notre Dame football. So Father Nate, thanks again so much for being here on Catholic Review Radio.

For Catholic Review Radio, I'm George Matysek.

Thanks so much, George. God bless you.

Thanks for listening.