UCLA had a basketball rivalry with Notre Dame that started when Digger Phelps was the Notre Dame coach and John Wooden was the UCLA coach.

This rivalry existed from the desire of the Notre Dame athletic department to schedule the top schools for intersectional competition, much as the Notre Dame–USC football rivalry.

UCLA and Notre Dame played 42 times between 1966 and 1995, and the height of the rivalry was when Notre Dame ended UCLA's consecutive game winning streak at 88 on January 19, 1974.

UCLA also broke a 60-game Notre Dame winning streak in South Bend.

[1] Former UCLA head coach Ben Howland had since scheduled Notre Dame four times: in 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2009.