Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED F riday, Jan. 20 was supposed to be all about Mike Brey; let's call it Mike Brey's day. This was the day that Brey chose to announce that he was retiring as Notre Dame men's basketball coach at the end of this season. This was the day that provided Brey a chance to bask and reflect on the great triumphs and successes he enjoyed during his 23 years coaching basketball at a football- first school. It was also an opportunity for Brey to gloat about his 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, his 2015 ACC Tournament championship and the back-to-back Elite Eight teams he guided under tough facil- ity and academic constraints. This was Brey's day, at least to everybody other than Brey. Instead of celebrating himself or his fine coaching career during the press gathering, he wanted to talk about the 72 players who moved through his program, won a lot of big games, made a lot of memories, and left with their degrees. "That's like 72 sons. These relation- ships are the key," Brey said in apprecia- tion, with many of his current players in attendance. "The kind of young men, the makeup of the young people that you get to work with here, just unbeliev- able young people to work with." So, while Brey wasn't willing to cel- ebrate himself, Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick did it for him. In a statement outlining Brey's time on campus and his on-court successes, Swarbrick added. "[Brey's] greater legacy, however, lies in his achievements as an educator and mentor of the young men who played for him," shared Swarbrick, who's in his 13th year on the job in South Bend. "In that sense, he represents this university as well as any coach I have worked with during my time at Notre Dame." POLARIZING FIGURE A victim of his own success, Brey earning a NCAA Tournament berth 12 times in the 17 seasons from 2000-17 became not enough for the masses through the years. Never satisfied with a coach who took over a lifeless program in 2000 that hadn't made an NCAA Tournament appear- ance in 10 seasons, legions of Irish "fans" jumped at every opportunity to drive Brey out of town throughout his career. While at the same, Brey ran arguably the best basketball program in the coun- try from 2006-17, when measured by both on-court and in-classroom success. During those 11 seasons, Notre Dame won at least 20 games 10 times. It ap- peared in the NCAA Tournament nine times and it made two Elite Eights. It also won that 2015 ACC Tournament championship as only a second-year league member by beating Duke and North Carolina on consecutive nights in their home state. And, lest we forget, Brey graduated 100 percent of his players. Brey's program had reached its apex the night of Nov. 22, 2017, after it beat No. 6 Wichita State to claim the Maui Invitational championship, lifting the Irish to an 11-3 record and No. 5 in the country. Everything changed eight games and about five weeks later, when star forward Bonzie Col- son was sidelined with a broken foot. Notre Dame lost 12 of its next 22 games after Colson's injury and failed to make the NCAA Tourna- ment that season for only the sec- ond time in eight years. Now, fast forward a little more than six years from the date of Colson's injury: Brey's program has won at only a .556 clip overall (88-70), at just a .423 clip (44-60) in its ACC games and has made only one NCAA Tournament (2022) since Colson's impactful injury. So, as March began to provide more misses than Madness in re- cent years, the good-bye-to-Brey calls became amplified. "As I looked at the big picture and looked moving forward, I just thought a new voice is needed," Brey said, graciously vowing to as- sist in his replacement search in any way he's asked. Not surprisingly, Brey handled his re- tirement announcement in the only way he knows how — drama free, and with class and consideration. "It's time for a new person," he said. "And again, I'm kind of excited about my next chapter. I have no idea what the hell it's going to be. But I'm excited about that." While Brey spent most of his 20-min- ute retirement gathering thanking his players, peers and his bosses, he finally did take a moment to celebrate himself. "You're the Notre Dame basketball coach," he said, "and that's a hell of an honor for 23 years, to be identified like that." And we're all the better for it, Coach Brey. Thank you for the memories, and the kindness. ✦ Mike Brey spent most of the 20-minute press conference to announce he was stepping down thanking his players, peers and bosses. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Gracious And Good, Brey Steps Aside With Class UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com