Conference realignment has a way of realigning any college event’s agenda. Thursday’s gathering of two of the D.C. area’s three new college basketball coaches, Maryland’s Mark Turgeon and George Washington’s Mike Longeran, along with Notre Dame coach and Colonials alum Mike Brey, hardly got past the subject despite coming together at a bank branch on K Street to talk about December’s BB&T Classic.
Brey said he had the over/under for realignment as the third question. Instead, he was asked right away about TCU’s decision to leave the Big East before it ever got there and join the Big 12.
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“I don’t think anybody’s shocked by that with the status of the Big East right now,” he said. “TCU leaving is a blow, no question.”
Even though he knows realignment is driven by football, Brey has been kept in the loop about what could happen to the Fighting Irish.
“At the end of the day, we love independent football and love playing Big East basketball,” he said. “I hope we can do that, but I think we have to have an open mind that if this thing gets bad, we have a place to go. … The only thing that gets me to sleep is someone’s going to want us.”
Brey did talk about the mentor role he has played for Lonergan — who went to Vermont in 2005 in part thanks to Brey’s advice — but only after Lonergan himself was asked whether realignment would impact the Atlantic 10.
“I hope not,” Lonergan said. “America East was a nice conference, but it’s a one-bid league, and [the A-10 had] three.”
– Craig Stouffer
