Notre Dame Record Holding Coach Takes Aim at ACC

The record holding former Notre Dame head coach didn't hold back in calling out the ACC

Nick Shepkowski | Sep 16, 2024

Dec 21, 2022; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey talks to team members during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at Donald L. Tucker Center. / Glenn Beil-Imagn Images

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This past weekend saw a return of college football's Backyard Brawl game between Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The rivalry game came down to the final moments with Pitt ultimately winning 38-35 despite some questionable calls going against them.

After the game, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi didn't hold back on the officiating in an interview with ESPN after the game.

“Some of the calls we got…the late hit out of bounds, they catch a ball with a hand to the face…I’ve never seen anything like it. You know? Wow. I mean, we beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl, and we beat the officials too in one game.

As a result, the ACC handed down a $5,000 fine on Narduzzi for those comments, stating that he violated the conference's sportsmanship policy.

Former Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey Chimes In

Shortly after the announcement, former Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey chimed in, calling into question the decision making of the ACC.

Pitt fball coach gets 5000$ fine from ACC for talking about the refs…mine was 20k!?!? https://t.co/bhaGaAX8m6
— Mike Brey (@CoachMikeBrey) September 16, 2024

Brey was referencing his $20,000 fine from the conference that came after he unloaded following a controversial ending at Florida State in January of 2020.

When you compare the two, I'd be rather ticked if I was Mike Brey, too.

And that's before you consider that $20,000 in January of 2020 went as far as $24,326.26 goes today, making it almost a $20,000 difference in fines between Brey's and Narduzzi's.