Commissioner Val Ackerman
By Richard Finn
Special to BIG EAST.com
NEW YORK – Last season the BIG EAST reached the highest of heights in college basketball when Villanova claimed the national title with a magical March run that ended with a storybook 77-74 win over North Carolina in the championship game.
But, BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman declared that the Wildcats’ triumph was not the culmination of the conference reclaiming its spot as one of the premier leagues in the game, but more the beginning of a new era of glory for the conference in both men’s and women’s basketball.
“There was great satisfaction that we did it and it did not take long. We knew that the naysayers thought we were doomed, now hopefully if they didn’t know before, they know now that the BIG EAST is back and for real, ” said Ackerman at the conference’s annual basketball media day on Tuesday on the floor of Madison Square Garden where next March the conference will host its men’s league championship tournament for the 35
th consecutive year.
“We are very optimistic, our schools are very committed, they are well resourced, we have great TV and to be able to finish off here at the world’s most famous arena is probably one of our great assets gives me confidence that we can keep this great run going. “ said Ackerman.
“We are clearly here to stay and confidant that we will be a force to reckon with for many, many years,“ declared Ackerman.
Coming off a 2015-16 season full of superlatives the facts support Ackerman’s optimism:
- Villanova’s national championship was the Wildcats’ second after winning in 1985 and eighth for the BIG EAST.
- Villanova (No. 1) and Xavier (No. 10) finished the season ranked in the top 10.
- Villanova coach Jay Wright was named Naismith Coach of the Year and Xavier coach Chris Mack was selected Coach of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, CBS Sports and Basketball Times.
- For the second consecutive year, six of the 10 BIG EAST teams played in the postseason. Five – Villanova, Xavier, Seton Hall, Providence and Butler – went to the NCAAs and Creighton played in the NIT. The BIG EAST has averaged five NCAA bids in the last three years.
- The BIG EAST Tournament championship game won by Seton Hall over the Wildcats ranked among the great ones in the storied history of the tournament.
- In its 14th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, DePaul women’s team made the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year. The Blue Demons were one of three BIG EAST teams in the NCAA Tournament. Three other teams played in the WNIT.
The carryover glow of Villanova’s win and Ackerman’s optimism was shared wherever you looked on the Garden floor.
“We have always known that Villanova is the gold standard of the league, “ said Xavier coach Chris Mack. “What happened on a national stage did not surprise anybody in the BIG EAST. “
What it did was make an emphatic statement to the nation of the high quality of play in the conference according to Mack.
“It gives a little bit more credence to those people who don’t understand the brand and quality of basketball in the BIG EAST,” said Mack.
Said Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard: “As coaches, we knew how good the league is, night in and night out. Villanova wining championship just three years into the new league just solidifies what we all have been saying. It just opened everybody’s eyes, all the question marks were gone that the BIG EAST is the BIG EAST.”
The coming season holds the promise of more BIG EAST highlights:
- 34 of the projected 50 starters are returning in men’s play. Last year only 21 returned.
- Villanova senior Josh Hart, an All-BIG EAST first time selection and NCAA All-Final Four Team member was selected Preseason Player of the Year.
- Every BIG EAST school will participate in one or more prestigious in-season tournament including the Wooden Legacy (Providence), 2K Classic (Georgetown) and Maui Invitational (St. John’s)
- The Fox Sports family of networks will once again be the BIG EAST home featuring the BIG EAST Marathon of five games on MLK Day Jan. 16 and the tournament.
“BIG EAST basketball is here to stay,” said Mack
That carryover will help as well with the continued development of the women’s league as it starts the 35
th year of play according to Ackerman.
“The old BIG EAST was powerhouse with UConn and Rutgers, we are not there yet, we working to get back to that, and the men help,” said Ackerman. “Hopefully we can accelerate on the women’s side, things are happening, the best years are ahead for women’s basketball in the BIG EAST.”
Said veteran DePaul coach Doug Bruno: “People have no idea how great of a league this is. This is going to be from top to bottom a really strong league. We are getting stronger.”
Today’s program opened with a salute to the 35-year relationship with the Garden as host of the tournament featuring league-coaching giants Jim Calhoun, P.J. Carlesimo, and Hall of Fame legend and St. John’s coach Chris Mullin sharing their tournament memories with host Bill Raftery.
Mullin was struck by a sense of déjà vu entering the season.
“As this conference has reestablished itself, I feel that it is back to where it needs to be,“ he said.
“It feels like the BIG EAST.”