Anybody who’s spent an extended amount of time in South Bend is familiar with the local famous watering hole, Linebacker Lounge. Anybody, that is, except for Mike Brey.
The 63-year-old veteran coach is calling it a career after 23 seasons as Notre Dame’s men’s basketball coach. Following Wednesday night’s 88–81 win over Pittsburgh in the team’s home finale, Brey decided to celebrate in style and finally see what all the fuss was about.
It appears that he and everyone else at Linebacker Lounge had a great time.
Earlier in the week, Brey announced his plans to finally experience South Bend’s esteemed late-night haunt, indicating that he was not concerned about the trip’s impact on the following day’s practice schedule.
“We’re closing that sucker. There ain’t no curfew,” Brey said.
Brey and the Irish enter Saturday’s regular season finale at Clemson with an 11–19 record and a 3–16 mark in ACC play. In his Notre Dame tenure, Brey guided the program to nine NCAA tournament appearances, peaking with back-to-back runs to the Elite Eight in 2015 and ’16.
Now that retirement awaits, perhaps Brey can become a regular at Linebacker Lounge and other nightlife options around Notre Dame’s campus. If his first impression is any indication, he’s sure to be welcomed with open arms (and as many cold ones as he can handle).
