Thursday, October 20, 2011
Associated Press
NEW YORK
The basketball coaches of all 16 Big East schools were in one building, ready to talk about their teams and the prospects of a season that starts in just about three weeks.
However, this media day was different. A lot of the talk on Wednesday was about conference expansion, a significant topic since Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced they’re leaving to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“Without the Big East, I would never had a chance to win three national championships,” said Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun, whose team was picked as co-favorites with Syracuse in the coaches’ preseason poll. “If we were to stay in the Big East, it would be a great thing and that’s what I would like. But if we aren’t able to, I’m sure our leadership will find a suitable location for us.”
There has been plenty of talk — some by the governor of the state — that UConn would be interested in also going to the ACC, but it has said they are set with 14 members right now.