For most of the past 17 years, Brian Gregory has devoted his life to being a college basketball head coach. He has coached the past three years at USF, leading the program to the most recent CBI championship. Before that, he coached Georgia Tech for five seasons, which came after an eight-year tenure at Dayton, which included the 2010 NIT title. With 296 career wins, he’ll reach that coveted 300 mark next season, whenever that comes.
Though he’s built a solid resume, one opponent Gregory never will defeat is time. On Wednesday, he came to terms with that further when he moved his daughter, Isabella, into Notre Dame for her freshman year. Yes, in spite of her father being a major conference coach, she made the decision in March to continue her education in South Bend, which her dad was perfectly fine with:
So proud of Bella and her decision to attend the University of Notre Dame. Her courage, intelligence, kindness, passion, beauty & resiliency amazes me everyday. Her light shines bright-Thank you God for blessing YG and me with this incredible daughter. #GirlDad #Blessed&Committed pic.twitter.com/Cs9Lr6EZFX
— Coach Brian Gregory (@CoachBGregory) March 30, 2020
The day before moving his daughter in, Gregory toured the campus. And if this tweet is any indication, he wasn’t able to fight back tears when it was time to let go:
Yesterday was my first campus tour at Notre Dame – I am so proud of Bella and happy I made it through without much trouble. However, today is Move-In Day, I’m going to be a mess! pic.twitter.com/jfeed0bN7g
— Coach Brian Gregory (@CoachBGregory) August 5, 2020
Sooner than they would like, all parents have to send their child off on their own. And whether you’re on the giving or receiving end of it, emotions almost always are there. But don’t worry, Coach. Your daughter and her future are in good hands.