Villanova Holds BIG EAST Banner In National Championship Spotlight
Cayleigh Griffin
The Villanova Wildcats are the 2016 Men’s Basketball National Champions. This is the second national title for the program and they now become the first Catholic school to win the title since…Villanova in 1985.
This title means so much to so many. The players, the coaches, their families, the university, and the fans. It is also a monumental moment for the BIG EAST as the ultimate basketball event was won by a team from the conference with basketball so deeply rooted at its core.
Since the realignment of the conference in 2013, the BIG EAST has been fighting for that defining moment as the nation’s premiere basketball-only conference. As the confetti rained down onto the floor in Houston, the BIG EAST grasped that moment.
Commissioner Val Ackerman spoke to it’s importance, saying, “For the conference, this is sort of everything that we dreamed. When this thing all came together a couple years ago. It’s an amazing experience for all of us.”
The conference Dave Gavitt built, with basketball domination in mind, is back on top. Gavitt believed that a league with a singular basketball focus would lead to national relevance and national titles. The leadership of the BIG EAST Conference through realignment believed that line of thinking still rang true, and a National Championship from the Villanova Wildcats has helped deliver on that faith.
There is a sense of pride in the BIG EAST Conference that is uniquely its own. The hashtag, #BE4Nova, was widely used among fans, teams and players from schools across the conference in support of Villanova making a tournament run. Fans around the conference know how good the programs are, and realize that their collective success increases prominence across the board.
On my flight home from Houston, I sat next to a Creighton fan, who went down with a few buddies. We got to talking and he told me that his group was rooting hard for Villanova to take it home. He also mentioned that they ran into Georgetown and Seton Hall fans, all who were rooting for the Wildcats. It’s not often that fans who root so hard against each other during the season, can all band together come NCAA Tournament time for one cause — support of the conference. It’s just one of the things that makes the BIG EAST so special.
The Villanova locker room was quite hectic after Monday night’s win. Reporters swarmed the student-athletes, looking for that raw emotion that you can only find after a buzzer-beating three to win a national championship. The smiles on the players’ faces said it all. But, even these guys have a sense of pride in the conference that they play for. We had a chance to talk with Ryan Arcidiacono, the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, and the first thing he did was put out his fist to us for a bump, and said, “BIG EAST.”
BIG EAST. It’s a family of sorts. The players and coaches have so much respect for each other and want each other to do well, so that the conference can continue to earn respect as it grows.
Daniel Ochefu also signed off his interview, thanking the fans, saying, “BIG EAST, this is for y’all. Philadelphia, this is for y’all. Villanova, this is especially for y’all.” It’s not often that a player acknowledges his conference after taking home the title, but it’s something that sets the BIG EAST apart from everyone else.
Villanova’s performance in the 2016 NCAA Tournament proved that the BIG EAST can compete with the best of them. On their way to the title Villanova defeated Iowa, Miami, Kansas, Oklahoma, and UNC – all members of power-football conferences.
Coach Wright said it best in Monday night’s press conference, echoing the feelings of so many BIG EAST fans:
“I’m really, really happy for the BIG EAST. I’m really proud of them…We’re a new entity that college basketball is trying to figure out and I just hope that the Power 5 sees a value in us as a part of all of this in basketball. I hope this gives us a place at the table, because basketball is really important to all these schools and I think, I hope, that the Power 5 folks can see that we’re important to college basketball.”