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TechnoratiCNS, along with CatholicVote.com, has also gathered over 243,000 signatures at NotreDameScandal.com in a petition urging university president Jenkins to rescind the invitation.
Nearly two-thirds of rally participants had traveled from out of state, including Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, according to Daly.
He said the recent outpouring of statements from Catholic bishops denouncing the Obama invite have also greatly encouraged the coalition members.
"It's great to know that our reaction is mirrored by so many outside the community," Daly commented.
He added, however, that the student body as a whole considers the president's appearance an honor in spite of who he is and what he's done.
An overwhelming majority of seniors who have sent letters to the school newspaper, The Observer, support Obama as the commencement speaker, while letters from alumni have overwhelmingly opposed his appearance, the paper's editor told The New York Times.
Daly said the Seniors Commission of ND Response, a committee which will organize the methods of witness by Notre Dame seniors during commencement, are still debating on how the seniors will respond to the event.
"It's an emotionally-charged issue," he said.
In addition to Sunday's rally, ND Response is collecting empty red envelopes that are meant to represent a child lost by abortion. The coalition plans to collect and deliver the envelopes to Jenkins, asking him to personally hand them to Obama at the commencement ceremony.
Obama will be the ninth U.S. president to be awarded an honorary degree by the University of Notre Dame and the sixth to be the commencement speaker. Past commencement speakers include President George W. Bush, President Ronald Reagan and President John F. Kennedy.
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