Kelly hired to coach at Notre Dame

Kelly, who has been a collegiate head coach for 19 years, will leave the University of Cincinnati after guiding the Bearcats to a 12-0 regular-season record and a berth in the Sugar Bowl against Florida.

Notre Dame officials said a news conference would be held Friday to introduce Kelly.

"I am very pleased that a thorough and extensive search has led us to a new head coach in Brian Kelly, who I am confident will help us accomplish our goal of competing for national championships," Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement released by the school.

Kelly will not coach Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl game.

The announcement ended an awkward week for Kelly, who attended the school's football banquet in Cincinnati Thursday night and who was also named the national coach of the year during an award's banquet in Connecticut.

Kelly refused to allow members of the media to attend the dinner in Cincinnati.
The Notre Dame statement said Kelly had signed a five-year contract to lead the Fighting Irish, who dismissed Coach Charlie Weis after his team stumbled to a 6-6 season.

Kelly spent three seasons at Cincinnati, coaching his teams to a 34-6 record and two consecutive Big East Conference titles.

In the three seasons before his tenure at Cincinnati, Kelly coached Central Michigan to a 19-16 mark. That included a 9-4 record in 2006 and a Mid-American Conference championship. Kelly also coached 13 seasons at Grand Valley State, where he won NCAA Division II national championships in 2002 and 2003.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.