"He told us we would be the first to know," UC quarterback Tony Pike said after 5pm Thursday after news was already out that Brian Kelly was the next head coach at Notre Dame.

As it turned out, the Bearcat players---at least the full team---were the last to know.

Kelly waited until after the closed Cincinnati football banquet took place to inform his play he was accepting the head coaching job at Notre Dame.

The reaction wasn't good.

In fact, his star receiver and team MVP, Mardy Gilyard walked out of the meeting just 15 seconds into what Kelly had to say.

"I heard everything I needed to know--that he accepted the Notre Dame job" Gilyard told reporters just seconds after learning the news. "So I just left."

"What bothered me was that he let it last so long. Everyone and their mama knew what was going on and for him to let it last so long, I feel like he was doing our team an injustice."

"Hopefully he packs his things up and gets to South Bend in a hurry," Gilyard concluded.

Kelly will be introduced as Notre Dame's 29th football coach at a press conference on Friday at 1:30 in South Bend.

He will not coach in Cincinnati's bowl game against Florida on New Year's Day in the Sugar Bowl.

"To have come this far this whole season with all the work we put in with this coaching staff, to have him walk out on us here at the end is very disappointing," tight end Ben Giudugli said.