Sporting News gives Big East Props

[Mama_Bull]

Good times will get better for Big East

July 16, 2007

Greg Schiano is just hanging out in front of The Hotel Viking, cooling down after an early-morning jog around the gilded mansions of Newport, R.I.

Schiano probably could afford one of the palaces that are lined with black, wrought-iron fences and high, arching gates. And check out the massive trees that canopy the storybook streets.

Yeah, life is REALLY good at this very moment if you're the head coach of Rutgers, one of the fastest-rising programs in the nation.

Heck, life is good if you're any ol' coach in the Big East, which is experiencing a gilded age of its own. Having Big East media days in Newport makes sense, when you think about.

"Pretty nice, isn't it?" says Schiano, wiping sweat from his brow. "You have to check out The Cliff Walk."

No doubt, this isn't Piscataway, N.J., or New Brunswick, N.J., for that matter.

The little league that couldn't has a right to puff out its chest about following up a 2006 season that branded the Big East a legit BCS big boy.

Who could forget all of the great theatre? There was West Virginia 41, Rutgers 39, in triple OT ... Rutgers 28, Louisville 25 ... Louisville 44, West Virginia 34 ... South Florida 24, West Virginia 19.

Expect an encore this fall. Yeah. My Top 25 features four Big East teams: West Virginia, Louisville, Rutgers and South Florida.

Schiano smiles and nods his head. He knows he has it good.

So does UConn coach Randy Edsall, who invites me to breakfast before the coaches have a quick confab and afternoon of golf.

"I think we turned some heads last year as a league," Edsall says. "And we're gonna be improved this year. We have some exciting things going on at UConn."

Edsall outlines topics the coaches are discussing: an early signing period; five years of eligibility; text messaging; elimination of scouting combines on campuses.

"We'll share our thoughts with our athletic directors," Edsall says.

As I leave breakfast, my cell phone rings: It's West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez. He wants to meet up tonight.

"You doing this golf thing, Tom?" Coach Rod asks.

It's time to go. But I'll tell you what Rodriguez has to say -- and more -- in a follow-up.

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