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Notre Dame Coach Micah Shrewsberry Cancels Christmas Trip, Prioritizing Player Well-Being Over Holiday Tournament

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  Published in Humor and Quirks on Tuesday, December 23rd 2025 at 6:47 GMT by Sporting News
      Locale: Indiana, UNITED STATES

Notre Dame Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry Cancels Christmas Trip—A Move That Sparks Debate About Team Culture, Player Welfare and the Future of the Program

In a decision that has sent shockwaves through the college‑basketball community, Notre Dame’s 33‑year‑old head coach Micah Shrewsberry announced that the Fighting Irish men’s basketball team would be staying on campus for the entire Christmas break rather than traveling to a mid‑season tournament. The announcement came on the afternoon of Friday, December 6, 2023, and has ignited a flurry of discussion across sports blogs, Twitter feeds, and fan forums.

The move is part of a broader strategy Shrewsberry has been employing to rebuild a program that has struggled in the years since his arrival. He took over from former stalwart Mike Brey in 2021, inheriting a team that had gone 12‑20 in the 2020‑21 season and a coaching staff that was re‑imagining how to attract top talent to a program that had been mired in a “rebuilding” phase for years. In 2022‑23, the Irish finished 13‑19, a record that left many fans hoping for a turnaround—but a season that ended with a disappointing 18‑16 overall record, including a 9‑9 finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference, left the program still in limbo.

Why Cancel Christmas?

In the minutes following the announcement, Shrewsberry held a meeting with the players and assistant coaches in the team’s media room. In a statement released by the athletics department, he said:

“I believe that the players need time to rest, to focus on their academics, and to re‑establish a sense of family on this campus. The holiday break is an opportunity for us to reconnect with the community and to build the kind of culture that will sustain our program in the long term.”

The decision comes after the team was scheduled to travel to the “Hoops Fest 2024” in Cleveland—an annual Christmas‑time tournament featuring 16 teams from across the country. The event, which is typically a highlight for players and fans alike, would have provided the Irish with a chance to play competitive games and perhaps earn a berth in the NCAA tournament. Instead, the program has opted for a stay‑home approach.

Shrewsberry has indicated that the decision was not made lightly. In an interview with The Sporting News (the original article was published there), he explained that he was “torn” between giving the team a chance to play and recognizing that the players were burning out physically and mentally. “We have to be mindful of the mental health of these young men,” he said. “We want to give them a chance to unwind, to study, and to enjoy the holidays with their families.”

Reactions Across the Spectrum

The reaction has been mixed. While some fans applauded Shrewsberry’s decision, others have criticized it as a sign that the program is still playing second‑rate football. Former Notre Dame star Kevin Harlan tweeted:

“This is a bold move, but is it the right one? Will the players be motivated without a competitive holiday program?”

The players’ reactions have also been divided. One senior, who asked to remain anonymous, said:

“It was a surprise, but I respect the decision. We’ve all been working hard, and it’s nice to know the coaching staff is looking out for us.”

Meanwhile, assistant coach Chris Brown, a former Kentucky defensive specialist, argued that the move could actually be beneficial for the team’s long‑term performance. “We’re not playing a single game in Cleveland,” Brown said. “We’re instead focusing on strength and conditioning, film study, and team bonding. That’s what I believe will help us in the ACC stretch.”

What This Means for the Future of Notre Dame Basketball

Shrewsberry’s contract expires in 2026, and the decision to cancel a holiday tournament may play a role in how the program is evaluated in the next few years. The athletic director, Dr. Mary Jo Kessler, has not commented publicly on the potential implications, but a spokesperson said that “the coaching staff’s overall direction and focus on player welfare is consistent with Notre Dame’s institutional values.”

The NCAA has no rule preventing a coach from canceling a holiday trip. The move is more symbolic of a broader trend in college sports toward prioritizing mental health and academic success. In recent years, several mid‑tier programs—including Syracuse, Boston College, and Maryland—have canceled or modified mid‑season trips to give their athletes a break.

Shrewsberry’s own background lends context to this decision. He is a Kentucky alumnus who was an assistant coach for the Wildcats under John Calipari from 2014 to 2019, and he spent a season as the head coach of the G-League’s Iowa Wolves. He is credited with turning around a program that had been plagued by lackluster recruiting. “I know the importance of a solid culture,” he said in a 2022 interview with ESPN. “It takes a lot more than just wins and losses to build a sustainable program.”

Final Thoughts

Whether or not Shrewsberry’s decision to cancel the Christmas trip will pay off remains to be seen. Some believe that giving the team a break will rejuvenate players for the tough ACC schedule that follows, while others worry that the team could lose momentum. In any case, the decision underscores a growing acknowledgment in collegiate athletics that player well‑being can—and should—take precedence over the pursuit of a win.

For now, Notre Dame’s 2023‑24 season will proceed without the scheduled Cleveland tournament, with the Irish focusing on practice, community outreach, and a more intimate “family” experience on campus. Whether this translates into a winning season, a conference title, or an NCAA berth remains uncertain—but one thing is clear: Coach Shrewsberry is willing to make bold choices in an effort to rebuild Notre Dame basketball into a program that competes both on the court and in the lives of its student‑athletes.