The selection of Brian Mason as Notre Dame's next special teams coordinator became official Thursday afternoon.

“In designing our staff, I want to surround our players with coaches who are excellent teachers, relentless recruiters and intentional in building relationships," Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said in a statement released by the university's athletic department. "I am excited to introduce Brian Mason as our special teams coordinator, as I know he will be a dynamic fit for our program.

"Brian is the best in his field, and has a proven track record of producing elite special teams units. We look forward to him bringing that edge to Notre Dame.”

Mason, 35, spent the last five seasons at Cincinnati. Freeman and Mason were on the same coaching staffs in three previous locations for a combined seven seasons: Cincinnati (4), Purdue (2) and Kent State (1).

For more on Mason's background, revisit our story from earlier this month.

Mason's hiring is the first new staff addition to be officially announced. That should allow Mason to start hitting the recruiting trail soon with a little more than a week left in the current contact period that ends Jan. 29.

The additions of offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey and defensive line coach Al Washington have not yet been announced. Freeman still needs to identify the next defensive coordinator and running backs coach for his staff.

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