Brey eyeing ND extension despite Maryland opening

Maryland already has reached out to representatives for Notre Dame coach Mike Brey about its basketball coaching vacancy, but Brey has a contract extension in the works to remain with the Irish, a source told the Tribune.

Although Gary Williams’ retirement after 22 years on the Terrapins sideline has been official for only a few hours, Brey’s deep ties to the Maryland area and his success in breathing life into the Irish program apparently caught the eye of athletic director Kevin Anderson.

But after a 27-win season that at one point featured a top-five national ranking, Brey and Notre Dame are working on a contract extension, the source said. That may preempt any advances from the ACC school in the Irish coach’s home state.

Brey was traveling to the Kentucky Derby, according to a Notre Dame spokeswoman, and wasn’t immediately available for comment Thursday. Still, the Irish coach’s ties to the Maryland area and the ACC run profoundly deep.

He was born in Bethesda, Md., and his father was a high school athletics director in Maryland. Brey attended DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., graduated from George Washington and eventually returned to DeMatha as an assistant coach for five seasons under the legendary Morgan Wootten.

Brey was an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke for eight seasons before taking over at Delaware, the job he held when Notre Dame wooed him away in 2000. Brey also still has a vacation home in Delaware.

Brey has a 238-120 record in 11 seasons at Notre Dame and led the Irish to a surprising 14-4 finish in the Big East last season, earning a top 5 ranking along the way. But Notre Dame flamed out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, meaning that Brey has but one Sweet 16 appearance -- in 2003 -- during his tenure in South Bend.

bchamilton@tribune.com

Twitter @ChiTribHamilton