Irish coach Brey to step down at end of season

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey plans to step down at the end of the season, topping a 23-year run in South Bend in which he has become the winningest coach in the males’s basketball program’s history.

“It has actually been a fantastic run for me and our program over the past 20 years, but it is time for a brand-new voice to lead this group into the future,” Brey stated in a statement on Thursday. “I wish to thank our student-athletes, assistant coaches and support personnel who have actually played such a key function in the culture we have created.”

Brey, one of the most popular members of the coaching fraternity, led Notre Dame to 13 NCAA tournaments, including back-to-back Elite 8 appearances in 2015 and 2016. The Battling Irish won a minimum of one NCAA competition game in each of his first three seasons at the helm, consisting of a Sweet 16 run in 2003.

After a four-year hiatus, Brey, 63, assisted Notre Dame back to the tournament last season, beating Rutgers in the First 4 and Alabama in the first round prior to being up to Texas Tech. The Irish finished 24-11 last season, 15-5 in the ACC– one game back of Duke for the ACC regular-season title.Entering the season,

Brey was 472-259 while at Notre Dame, making 3 Big East Coach of the Year awards and leading the Battling Irish to the 2015 ACC tournament champion. He led the program to 16 20-win seasons.” Mike and I have actually talked typically in recent years about a future shift in the program’s leadership and throughout our latest conversation we reached the shared conclusion that completion of this season represented the right time,”athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a declaration.” That Mike is the winningest coach in the 119-year history of Notre Dame males’s basketball talks to his ability as an instructor of the game. His even greater legacy, nevertheless, lies in his achievements as a teacher and mentor of the young men who played for him. Because sense, he represents this University in addition to any coach I have actually dealt with throughout my time at Notre Dame. And for that reason, I eagerly anticipate working with Mike to define his future function within Notre Dame Sports.”The Fighting Irish are in the midst of their worst season under Brey, beginning 1-7 in ACC play and 9-10 overall after Tuesday’s home loss to Florida State.Following the Seminoles defeat, Brey talked about the battles of this year’s group.”I defer to our leadership and

our captains,” Brey told reporters.”They do have ownership of themselves, but I certainly have not had the ability to help them much. I just informed them, I’ve done a terrible job with you, fellas. I believed we would be more ready to complete there. That’s in charge’responsibility. Completely responsible. “Prior to being employed by Notre Dame in 2000, Brey was the head coach at Delaware for five seasons, leading the Fightin’Blue Hens to two NCAA competition appearances and two America East regular-season titles.The Maryland native started his college coaching profession as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1987 to 1995. He also hung out as an assistant under legendary high school Morgan Wooten at DeMatha Catholic High School (Maryland), where he played his high school ball.