Post by elp525 on Nov 3, 2011 4:58:23 GMT -5
11/02/2011
Frank Giardina
WVU Sports
On Tuesday, the Big 12 finally came to Morgantown. Amidst a mini-pep rally type of atmosphere, Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas came to the WVU campus to school officials their official membership invitation to the re-grouping conference.
Allow me to read the minds of WVU fans out there. Here are some things that you should be looking forward to about the new conference home for the Mountaineers.
1. IMPROVED HOME FOOTBALL SCHEDULES--This is the most obvious benefit. It is much more exciting to be playing a possible home schedule of Texas, Oklahoma State and TCU than Rutgers, U Conn and South Florida.
2. NAME COACHES ON THE OPPOSING SIDELINES--College coaches are major celebrities. The Big East was a stepping stone league for coaches like Kelly, Dantonio, RichRod, and Edsal. That won't be the case in the Big 12. It makes for a much better event to have future Hall of Fame caliber coaches such as Bob Stoops, Tommy Tuberville, Mack Brown, Mike Gundy and Bill Snyder coming into your stadium.
3. PHOG ALLEN FIELDHOUSE--I know this move is not about basketball. But, if you can, plan a basketball trip to a Mountaineer road game at Kansas. Phog Allen Fieldhouse is one of the two best basketball arenas in the country. Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke is the other.
4. NO MORE WORRIES ABOUT BCS---Fans no longer have to worry if their conference will lose their BCS AQ bid. It was a constant source of discussion in the Big East. It is no longer a worry in the Big 12.
5. NO MORE WORRIES ABOUT STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE--WVU administrators no longer have to build credibility for the football schedule by scheduling "tougher" non-conference series. I am not sure what will happen with intersectional games such as Florida State, Michigan State and others, but it no longer really matters.
6. YOU CAN JUMP ON MY BANDWAGON--I have argued with fans in this state for many years now that the Big East was a league doomed to failure with the football and the non-football schools. You have heard me say many times, "what do Providence and WVU have in common as an athletic program?" Now that the Mountaineers are leaving, you are finally admitting I was right. What took you so long?
7. AUSTIN, TEXAS---A road trip to Austin, Texas is a must. Not so much for the football game. The stadium experience at Texas actually can be a little disappointing. But, you should go for the city itself. It is one of the great up and coming cities in America.
8. KIM MULKEY---You don't know the name of the Baylor women's basketball coach? You should. She is actually Kim Mulkey Robertson. Mulkey, a former La. Tech and Olympic star, is the next Pat Summitt, the next coaching legend in the women's game. She is a very "big" and dynamic personality. She will bring powerhouse women's teams to the Coliseum when her Baylor Bears come rolling in. County music star Trace Adkins recently admitted a secret crush on Mulkey and has a hit country song about her.
9. TEXAS BASEBALL---Can't wait for Texas baseball coaching legend Augie Garrido to bring his Longhorns baseball team to Morgantown to play. I can hear the snickers from Longhorn players now when they walk into Hawley Field for the first time. Someone, no doubt, will say "okay this is a good place for batting practice but where do we actually play the game?'
10. ON CAMPUS ARENAS---College basketball is a much better game when played on campus. No more basketball games in city and pro arenas at places like Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence, DePaul, and Marquette.
Frank Giardina
WVU Sports
On Tuesday, the Big 12 finally came to Morgantown. Amidst a mini-pep rally type of atmosphere, Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas came to the WVU campus to school officials their official membership invitation to the re-grouping conference.
Allow me to read the minds of WVU fans out there. Here are some things that you should be looking forward to about the new conference home for the Mountaineers.
1. IMPROVED HOME FOOTBALL SCHEDULES--This is the most obvious benefit. It is much more exciting to be playing a possible home schedule of Texas, Oklahoma State and TCU than Rutgers, U Conn and South Florida.
2. NAME COACHES ON THE OPPOSING SIDELINES--College coaches are major celebrities. The Big East was a stepping stone league for coaches like Kelly, Dantonio, RichRod, and Edsal. That won't be the case in the Big 12. It makes for a much better event to have future Hall of Fame caliber coaches such as Bob Stoops, Tommy Tuberville, Mack Brown, Mike Gundy and Bill Snyder coming into your stadium.
3. PHOG ALLEN FIELDHOUSE--I know this move is not about basketball. But, if you can, plan a basketball trip to a Mountaineer road game at Kansas. Phog Allen Fieldhouse is one of the two best basketball arenas in the country. Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke is the other.
4. NO MORE WORRIES ABOUT BCS---Fans no longer have to worry if their conference will lose their BCS AQ bid. It was a constant source of discussion in the Big East. It is no longer a worry in the Big 12.
5. NO MORE WORRIES ABOUT STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE--WVU administrators no longer have to build credibility for the football schedule by scheduling "tougher" non-conference series. I am not sure what will happen with intersectional games such as Florida State, Michigan State and others, but it no longer really matters.
6. YOU CAN JUMP ON MY BANDWAGON--I have argued with fans in this state for many years now that the Big East was a league doomed to failure with the football and the non-football schools. You have heard me say many times, "what do Providence and WVU have in common as an athletic program?" Now that the Mountaineers are leaving, you are finally admitting I was right. What took you so long?
7. AUSTIN, TEXAS---A road trip to Austin, Texas is a must. Not so much for the football game. The stadium experience at Texas actually can be a little disappointing. But, you should go for the city itself. It is one of the great up and coming cities in America.
8. KIM MULKEY---You don't know the name of the Baylor women's basketball coach? You should. She is actually Kim Mulkey Robertson. Mulkey, a former La. Tech and Olympic star, is the next Pat Summitt, the next coaching legend in the women's game. She is a very "big" and dynamic personality. She will bring powerhouse women's teams to the Coliseum when her Baylor Bears come rolling in. County music star Trace Adkins recently admitted a secret crush on Mulkey and has a hit country song about her.
9. TEXAS BASEBALL---Can't wait for Texas baseball coaching legend Augie Garrido to bring his Longhorns baseball team to Morgantown to play. I can hear the snickers from Longhorn players now when they walk into Hawley Field for the first time. Someone, no doubt, will say "okay this is a good place for batting practice but where do we actually play the game?'
10. ON CAMPUS ARENAS---College basketball is a much better game when played on campus. No more basketball games in city and pro arenas at places like Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence, DePaul, and Marquette.
