March 9, 2007
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The University of Notre Dame received a $10,000 check designated for its general scholarship fund Thursday night from OppenheimerFunds, Inc., as a result of the OppenheimerFunds/BIG EAST Coach of the Year award won Tuesday by Irish head men’s basketball coach Mike Brey.
John V. Murphy, president, chairman and chief executive officer of OppenheimerFunds, Inc., made the check presentation in Brey’s name Thursday evening to Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White during a timeout of the Louisville-West Virginia BIG EAST Championship quarterfinal game at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Brey has guided Notre Dame to a 24-6 overall record and an 11-5 BIG EAST mark after his team was picked to be in the bottom half of the league by most college basketball pundits. The Irish were placed 11th in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll. They finished in fourth place, earned a first-round bye in The BIG EAST Championship Presented By Aeropostale – then defeated Syracuse 89-83 Thursday afternoon in quarterfinal action to move into a Friday night semifinal matchup against top-seeded Georgetown, the BIG EAST regular-season champion.
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