Mike Brey is planning on coaching in the ACC next season.
That’s what he told Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune following Notre Dame’s 73-57 loss at Louisville Saturday.
“Yes,” Brey told the paper. “Nobody’s told me what it’s going to entail but I’m fully expecting to play in the ACC.”
The Catholic 7 have officially split from the Big East, and will take the conference name and the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden with them.
Had the Catholic 7 remained in the Big East for next season, Notre Dame would have been prepared to stay until 2014, when they were to leave for the ACC.
Instead, it appears that the Irish will head out a year earlier.
That would mean that Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame would all jump to the ACC from the Big East in 2013-14.
“That’s what we’ve talked about, that’s what we’ve talked about with our scheduling stuff now that we know we have direction,” Brey said. “We felt if it happened fast, the Catholic school split, we would have some options (with the ACC). It did happen fast. That’s what I’m assuming, and I think we’re all expecting that in the department.”
Notre Dame is the No. 6 seed in the Big East Tournament and opens play Wednesday night against the Rutgers/DePaul winner. The winner advances to Thursday’s quarterfinal against No. 3 Marquette.
