Notre Dame's Mike Brey throws one back after coaching final home game with team
Brey is stepping down as Notre Dame's head coach at the season's end
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey wrapped up his final home game with the Fighting Irish on Wednesday night and secured an 88-81 upset victory over Pittsburgh.
Brey will guide Notre Dame against Clemson before the ACC Tournament starts. The Fighting Irish are 11-19 overall this season and would need to win out to secure an automatic bid in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament later this month.
After the game, Brey was spotted at a bar in South Bend. He said on Tuesday he would be partying after the game win or lose.
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Head coach Mike Brey of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts during their game against the NC State Wolfpack at PNC Arena on Jan. 24, 2023, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Lance King/Getty Images)
"We're closing that sucker," he said in a video recorded at the Linebacker Lounge, according to ESPN. "There ain't no curfew."
Brey took over the head coaching job at Notre Dame for Matt Doherty in 2000. He led the Fighting Irish to a regular season Big East Championship and an NCAA Tournament in his first year. Notre Dame made the tournament 13 times under Brey.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He announced in January he would retire following the end of the season but didn’t quite shut the door on coaching altogether.
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey looks on during the Syracuse game at JMA Wireless Dome on Jan. 14, 2023, in Syracuse, New York. (Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
"Definitely not done coaching," Brey told Stadium last month.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Notre Dame and Brey announced in January that the coach of 23 years in South Bend, Indiana, would be leaving the program after the season.
"It has been a great run for me and our program over the past two decades, but it is time for a new voice to lead this group into the future," Brey said in a release. "I want to thank our student-athletes, assistant coaches and support staff who have played such a key role in the culture we have created."
Brey is the all-time winningest coach in the history of the program.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Mike (Brey) and I have talked often in recent years about a future transition in the program’s leadership and during our most recent conversation we reached the mutual conclusion that the end of this season represented the right time," said University Vice President and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick in January.
Head coach Mike Brey watches his Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Duke Blue Devils game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb 14, 2023, in Durham, North Carolina. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
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"That Mike (Brey) is the winningest coach in the 119-year history of Notre Dame men’s basketball speaks to his skill as a teacher of the game. His even greater legacy, however, lies in his achievements as an educator and mentor of the young men who played for him. In that sense, he represents this university as well as any coach I have worked with during my time at Notre Dame. And for that reason, I look forward to working with Mike to define his future role within Notre Dame Athletics."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Joe Morgan contributed to this report.