Martin Ingelsby to Delaware: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens have finally found their new head basketball coach, hiring Notre Dame assistant Martin Ingelsby. 

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports first reported an agreement between Delaware and Ingelsby was expected soon. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports confirmed that Delaware hired Ingelsby. 

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey released a statement on the news, via Matt Fortuna of ESPN.com:

"

What a great fit for a great University. Martin is absolutely one of them most gifted young coaches in our profession and the Delaware community and players will love him and his family. It strikes a special chord in my heart to have one of my guys back at a place that got me started and is a big part of who I am today.

"

Ingelsby, who also played point guard at Notre Dame from 1997 to 2001, is taking his first head coaching position. He has been a rising star waiting for an opportunity since being named an assistant on Brey's staff in 2009. 

Brey told Tom Davis of the News Sentinel (via the Elkhart Truth) in March 2015 that Ingelsby's opportunity to lead his own program was going to come soon:

"

He’s one of the really great young ones in our profession. I think athletic directors and search firms know that. He’s been involved with some jobs. He’s due. I think there’s a good chance that I could lose him this year. I would hate to lose him, but he’s ready. He’s in a situation like I was at Duke. You don’t have to just run outta here. You can get a good job.

"

Ironically, Ingelsby is following a similar course to his now-former boss. Brey's first job as a head coach came at the University of Delaware in 1995 after spending eight seasons on Duke's bench as an assistant. 

Like Brey, Ingelsby is taking over a situation that needs a lot of work. Delaware has won 17 combined games the previous two seasons, prompting the school to fire Monte Ross in March. 

Before the Fightin' Blue Hens' struggles, Ross did have the program on the right track. The team won 25 games in 2013-14. It also won the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season and conference titles before losing to Michigan State in the NCAA tournament. 

Ingelsby is the right man to bring Delaware back after its two-year drop. He was born in Philadelphia, which Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune noted is just 44 miles from the Delaware campus. He's got a great pedigree as a longtime assistant under one of the most successful head coaches in the nation. 

Delaware undertook an extensive two-month search to find a new head coach, with Ingelsby ultimately getting the nod. This is a perfect marriage for a first-time head coach and rebuilding program looking to establish an identity.