Most of Notre Dame’s best sporting accomplishments have come on the football field, but the Fighting Irish also have an iconic basketball program. Less than 10 schools can claim to have more NCAA Tournament appearances than the Irish, which is why cheap Notre Dame basketball tickets are hard to come by year after year. After nearly a century of being a successful independent, the Fighting Irish have spent the last quarter-century playing in two of the best basketball conferences in the country. No matter the opponent, there’s always a high demand for last-minute Notre Dame basketball tickets.

The Early Days

George Keogan was the first head coach to put Notre Dame basketball on the map. He coached the Fighting Irish for 20 years before his premature death during the 1943 season. During that time, Notre Dame never had a losing season while the Hall of Famer led the Irish to a 333-98 record, including two national championships that the school claims.

Dig This Guy

After Keogan’s success at Notre Dame, the program had some ups and downs before finding stability during the 1970s and 80s under Digger Phelps. Like Keogan, Phelps coached the Irish for 20 seasons, winning nearly 400 games taking Notre Dame to the NCAA Tournament 14 times. That time includes seven Sweet 16 appearances and the first Final Four in program history in 1978.

21st-Century Success

Since 2000, Mike Bray has been the head coach of the Fighting Irish. He took a program that struggled early in its tenure in the Big East and made Notre Dame a regular in the NCAA Tournament. Bray has overseen a dozen trips to the Big Dance, the Irish’s transition to the ACC, and the first conference tournament championship in program history during Notre Dame’s second season in the ACC. More than anything, Bray has established the Fighting Irish as a college basketball program that deserves to be taken seriously and is set up for long-term success.