#BE4Nova Embodies Bond At The Heart Of The BIG EAST Conference
Kim Adams
During their incredible run to the NCAA Championship game, the Villanova basketball team has received support not only from Nova Nation, but from people all across the BIG EAST Conference.
Players that battled the Wildcats on the court all conference season – Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett, Creighton’s Maurice Watson Jr. and Seton Hall’s Isaiah Whitehead – have all applauded Villanova’s performance in the tournament.
“The BIG EAST, you know, you have so much respect for everybody,” says Josh Hart. “Everybody wants a BIG EAST team to win it. So, when you’re going through that journey, you know, coaches, players reach out to you. Just encourage you, give you support. Hopefully we can get it for the conference.”
“We would do the same if they were in this position as well,” Phil Booth says. “The BIG EAST has our back even though all year we compete against each other and want to beat each other, but that shows the deep love we have for one another and they like to see us do well.”
Xavier coach Chris Mack, who spends hours each winter trying to figure out how to stop Villanova, has tweeted congratulations to Coach Jay Wright and his program several times.
Coach Wright has found it’s this camaraderie that will forever link the “old BIG EAST” with the “new BIG EAST.”
“When we play each other, I mean, we want to kill each other. We're going at it. But when it comes tournament time, we really do pull together. We talk to each other. We have texts going between all of us that were in the tournament.”
“We're in this new world of college athletics that's organized by football. We're just trying to find our place. We feel like we need each other. We all need to be good. We want each other to be good. We really do support each other. It's like the old school BIG EAST.”
The outpouring of support for Villanova doesn’t stop at opposing players and coaches. Through the social media campaign #BE4Nova, fans of the nine other BIG EAST schools have gotten behind the ‘Cats and pledged their unwavering support for the team.
It has been special to witness the BIG EAST teams and fans unite in support of Villanova. You truly don’t see that everywhere. The pride that the schools have for the conference and its overall success differentiates the BIG EAST from many other conferences.
Next winter nine other teams will be looking to dethrone the Wildcats, but for one last time on Monday night, they will all #BE4Nova.