The frustration level for Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry boiled over on Sunday following a 75-60 loss to Louisville in South Bend. The result was disappointing, but what bothered the former Purdue assistant coach more was the lack of fan support inside the Joyce Center.
Notre Dame has struggled in its first two seasons under Shrewsberry, posting just a 24-34 record dating back to the 2023-24 campaign. Following Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals, the Fighting Irish dropped to 5-9 in ACC play and 11-14 overall.
After the game, Shrewsberry addressed fans “giving up” on Notre Dame this season.
“I understand that a lot of people have quit on us, and it’s well deserved. If you hate me, absolutely. Great. If you think I suck, if you think I can’t coach, I’m with you. Good, good for you, because you’re allowed to have opinions,” Shrewsberry said. “If you think I should be fired, good for you. You’re allowed to have opinions, right? A lot of people have given up on this team, they’ve given up on me. I don’t really give a damn. I believe in myself and I believe in these guys. Don’t give up on these guys, don’t give up on these kids.”
Shrewsberry’s comments got more heated after that. Following those comments, he began talking about the lack of fan support inside the Joyce Center for Sunday’s game. By the end of his rant, he smacked the microphone and stormed out of the press conference.
“We’re going to get this thing rolling. I sat there and watched more Louisville fans in here than Notre Dame people, and that’s embarrassing. That’s embarrassing for me, because I’m the head coach here,” Shrewsberry said. “And yes, I got us in this predicament. But don’t come back when we’re winning, because we’re turning this around. You better believe that. Everybody who gave up on me, believe it. Write this date down and believe it, because we’re going to get this thing rolling. I don’t care if you gave up (on me) or not.”
Micah Shrewsberry goes OFF:
“I watched more Louisville fans in here than Notre Dame fans. And that’s EMBARRASSING… And yes, I got us in this predicament. But don’t come back when we’re winning. Everybody that gave up on me, write this date down”
pic.twitter.com/DgWvZbNE8l
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 17, 2025
Prior to his arrival at Notre Dame, Shrewsberry was the coach at Penn State for two seasons. He was able to turn that program around quickly, taking the Nittany Lions from a 14-17 team in the 2021-22 season to the Big Ten Tournament championship game and the second round of the NCAA Tournament the following year.
He hasn’t enjoyed that same quick turnaround in his first two seasons at Notre Dame. But, as you could tell by his comments, he still fully believes he’ll get things rolling in South Bend.
An Indianapolis native, Shrewsberry worked on Matt Painter’s staff at Purdue in two separate stints. He was in West Lafayette from 2011-13 and again from 2019-21.
BOILER BANTER: Foul trouble has hindered Purdue over the past two weeks. Is that actually the biggest concern moving forward as the Boilermakers chase a Big Ten title? CLICK HERE
WISCONSIN HAS HISTORIC DAY: Wisconsin did something offensively that no other team has done in college basketball in 15 years, and the Badgers did it against Purdue in Mackey Arena. CLICK HERE
GARD’S RESPECT FOR PAINTER, PURDUE: After Wisconsin’s 94-84 win over Purdue at Mackey Arena, coach Greg Gard talked about the “great respect” he has for the Purdue program and coach Matt Painter. CLICK HERE
