Feb. 4, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey celebrates on the bench in the second half against the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 76-59. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE

Sources told The Chicago Tribune that the length of the contract is 10 years. Financials of the contract have not been released.

One would imagine that this move will keep Brey through the end of his coaching career. He has been coaching the Irish for 12 years now.

The 3-time Big East Coach-of-the-Year has brought back ND basketball since taking over. Compiling a 124-75 record in league play, Mike Brey has surely risen this program to the next level.

Although the Irish were knocked out of the 1st round of the March Madness Tournament, Notre Dame earned its 6th straight 20-win season. Brey returns all five starters from last season while adding transfer center Garrick Sherman and top 50 freshman Cameron Biedscheid to a squad that will be among the Big East favorites next season.

Rumors of Mike Brey leaving became louder when Gary William’s left Maryland. Being a Maryland himself, it made sense if Brey left. But he stayed in South Bend and is committed to getting this team to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2003

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Image from und.com

He was under hospice care due a chronic heart condition.

At Notre Dame, Orlando played on the 1978 team that went to the Final Four. He was only a freshman at the time. As a senior, the star forward averaged 14.4 points and 6.0 rebounds. He was even awarded 3rd team All-American by the United Press International.

Woolridge helped the Irish to a four-year total mark of 92-26 and 4 appearances in the March Madness Tournament. He also helped the Irish defeated 4, #1 ranked teams in the country: Marquette (1977-1978), DePaul (1979-1980), Kentucky (1980-1981), Virginia (1980-1981).

In the 1981 NBA Draft, Woolridge was selected 6th overall by the Chicago Bulls. He played there from 1981-1985. From 1986-1993, Wollridge played for New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers. He finished his NBA career averaging 16.0 points (13,623 career points), 4.3 rebounds (3,696) and 1.9 assists.

Woolridge also played in Italy in 1994-95 and 1995-96 and finished his playing career there.

He graduated from Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters in 1981 with a degree in economics.

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Mar. 25, 2009; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Luke Harangody (44) shoots in the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats in the third round National Invitation Tournament game at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame won 77-67. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE

Here’s the list of games played during this event.

Day 1-

Kentucky at Notre Dame

Marquette at Florida

 Seton Hall at LSU

South Carolina at St. John’s

Day 2

Syracuse plays at Arkansas

DePaul at Auburn

Tennessee at Georgetown

Georgia at South Florida

Day 3

Alabama at Cincinnati

Rutgers at Mississippi

Mississippi State at Providence

Villanova at Vanderbilt

**All games will be shown live on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, or ESPN3.com**

All of these games are interesting and should be fun to watch. From a Notre Dame standpoint, how can one not be excited to see the Irish take one of the best teams in the country. They took down #1 Syracuse last year, why not do it again against Kentucky?

It will be an early test for Mike Brey’s team, but he’s excited for the matchup already.

“I’m thrilled about this matchup and the opportunity to play Kentucky,” Brey says.  “These two schools have a long tradition of playing each other and we’ve been exploring options for renewing the rivalry.  With all five of our starters returning next year, this is going to be a great early non-conference test for us.  I’m excited that our fans will have the chance to be a part of such a powerful and meaningful game so early on in our season.” -und.com

It will be the 61st time the Wildcats and Irish face each other. KU historically owns the Irish. The Wildcats are 42-18 when playing the boys from South Bend. However, Notre Dame beat them the last time they played each other in 2009 during the NIT Tournament, 77-67.

This should be a great test for Notre Dame, hopefully one that they are ready for. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS SEC?BIG EAST GAME?

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