Rutgers reaches out to young talent

Source: Big East Football Blog

Rutgers is moving to the Big Ten next season. One of the Scarlet Knights' first commitments in the 2014 recruiting class is a quarterback from Michigan. Coincidence? Well, yes, actually. Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said not to expect a run on players from the traditional Big Ten states. Quarterback is a position Flood will look at nationally, and verbal pledge Tyler Wiegers just happens to be from Detroit Country Day in Beverly Hills, Mich. "Our recruiting footprint has not changed," Flood said.

Most important game: SMU

Source: Big East Football Blog

Next up is SMU, one of the more intriguing of the conference newcomers in 2013. To see previous entries, click here. SMU Most important game: Oct. 5 versus Rutgers Why: SMU has a very challenging nonconference slate. The Mustangs open their season Friday, Aug. 30 against Texas Tech and new coach Kliff Kingsbury. Two games later they travel to College Station, Texas, where they will face either an Aggie team coming off the high of beating defending national Alabama for the second year in a row or an Aggie team hungry after suffering a tough loss to the nation's best.

Big East lunchtime links

Source: Big East Football Blog

Enjoy the long weekend, everyone. Former Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart has received a favorable call on his lawsuit against EA Sports, Ted Sherman writes in the (Newark) Star-Ledger. Former SMU end Margus Hunt has signed with the Bengals, Joe Reedy writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Temple has hired Pat Kraft as its deputy athletic director. UCF coach George O'Leary talks about summer progress and recruiting with the Orlando Sentinel's Paul Tenorio.

How Good is Shabazz Napier?

Source: The UConn Blog by G. Bluth

Lost in the distraction of the tournament ban and conference realignment, Shabazz Napier quietly (very quietly) put together an exceptional Junior season. You might not have noticed (the national media certainly did not), but it was right up there with some of the best seasons by a PG in UConn history.

Let’s compare his numbers to other recent top UConn PGs in their final seasons in a husky uniform.

Mins

FG%

FGA

3P%

FT%

Baseball. Never Say Die For These Huskies

Source: UConnHuskies.com

Many believed that the Huskies would come into the final BIG EAST tournament and be one of the first teams eliminated.

Davison living dream after giving back to US

Source: Big East Football Blog

Gearing up for his graduation from Washington (Ind.) High in 2004, Kelly Davison was cognizant of what was going on in the world around him -- the war on terror was underway in the wake of terrorist attacks, and something was gnawing at the two-way lineman with multiple Division II scholarship offers. "It's kind of a calling -- I know that sounds cliché, but it's true," Davison said. "Like you just feel like you need to go and serve something more than yourself.

Jeremy Lamb On Playing in the D-League

Source: UConn Huskies Basketball by David Gillett

W. Track. Lasnicki Shatters School Record En Route to Stamping Ticket to Oregon

Source: UConnHuskies.com

Allison Lasnicki stamped her ticket to Oregon for the NCAA Championships in two weeks at the NCAA East Regionals in North Carolina on Thursday evening when she clocked in at 33:36.11 in the 10,000 meter run. Her time shattered UConn's previous school record of 33.48.48 held by teammate Lauren Sara. Sara finished Thursday's race in 34:31.03.

Baseball. Comeback Kids! Huskies Top USF 8-7

Source: UConnHuskies.com

Stanley Paul scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning on a wild pitch as UConn came back from a 7-0 deficit.

Mohegan Sun Wants Regional Basketball Tourneys, But NCAA Says 'Not So Fast'

Source: Hartford Courant NCAAW

The Mohegan Sun Arena looks to be getting the American Athletic Conference women's basketball championships in 2014, but its hopes of getting some NCAA Tournament games were delivered a blow Thursday.

Mohegan Sun Wants Regional Tourneys, But NCAA Says 'Not So Fast'

Source: Hartford Courant NCAAW

The Mohegan Sun Arena looks to be getting the American Athletic Conference women's basketball championships in 2014, but its hopes of getting some NCAA Tournament games were delivered a blow Thursday.

Most important game: Rutgers

Source: Big East Football Blog

Our series continues today with Rutgers, one of four schools to share the conference title last season. To see previous entries, click here. Rutgers Most important game: Nov. 16 vs. Cincinnati Why: Rutgers' final win of 2012 was arguably its most important. The Scarlet Knights, behind the running of Savon Huggins and a lethal defense, went into Nippert Stadium and beat a Bearcats team that itself ended up sharing the conference crown with the Scarlet Knights and two others.

Kara Lawson - Player, Committee Member, Commentator - High On Stewart, KML

Source: Hartford Courant NCAAW

The very busy Kara Lawson is involved now in just about every level of women’s basketball as a Connecticut Sun guard, ESPN analyst and USA Basketball committee member.

Charles Sims won't return to Houston

Source: Big East Football Blog

Running back Charles Sims' career at Houston appears to be over. The rising fifth-year senior, with his family, released a statement to CougarsDen.com saying he will not return to the team for his final season and will explore his options, be it at another school or possibly in the NFL supplemental draft. The reason for his departure is unknown. "It is with regret and deep humbling that I am ending my playing career at the University of Houston," Sims' statement read.

Video: If the season started tomorrow

Source: Big East Football Blog

If the season started tomorrow the Cincinnati Bearcats would continue to fly under the radar despite claiming a share of the conference title in 4 of the last 5 seasons.

Big East lunchtime links

Source: Big East Football Blog

Paging Roy Hibbert ... UCF AD Todd Stansbury tells the Orlando Sentinel's Paul Tenorio that the Big East exit fee/postseason credit split is about 60-40 in favor of the schools previously in the conference. The late Mal Moore of Alabama beat out Louisville's Tom Jurich and others for AD of the year. Late Memphis football legend Harry Schuh is remembered as a great athlete and a true friend, Bryan Brasher writes in the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Steven Bench to transfer to USF

Source: Big East Football Blog

Former Penn State quarterback Steven Bench will transfer to the University of South Florida and is eligible to compete for the starting position this year. "I want to get my face in the playbook and get ready to go," Bench said. "Coach [Willie] Taggart is a real confident guy. He will play anybody anywhere anytime." Bench said USF will operate a San Francisco 49ers-type offense, using the tight ends and also allowing the QB to run. To read Joe Schad's full story, click here.

UConn Women's Coach Geno Auriemma, Rick Pitino: Mutual Admiration

Source: Hartford Courant NCAAW

Championship Coaches Receive Winged Foot Awards

Geno Auriemma and Rick Pitino posed with their latest trophies, the crystal Winged Foot Award given annually to the coaches of Division I national championship basketball teams.

UConn offers Tennessee lineman - Connecticut [$$] (Rivals)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAF

Four from Big East on Rimington watch list

Source: Big East Football Blog

Watch List season means we're one step closer to the actual college football season. The latest watch list to be released is for the Rimington Trophy, which is given each year to the best center in the nation. The Big East has four players on the 44-man list, which is led by nine SEC players and five each from the Pac-12 and the Mountain West Conference. Houston's Bryce Redman, Rutgers' Betim Bujari, SMU's Taylor Lasecki, USF's Austin Reiter make up the Big East contingent.

Lasan Kromah Leads GW over James Madison

Source: UConn Huskies Basketball by David Gillett

Baseball. Huskies Show Heart In Big Wins

Source: UConnHuskies.com

The UConn baseball team displayed one of the gutsiest and most complete performances of the 2013 season on Wednesday night.

Baseball. Huskies Upset Top-Seed Louisville In 12 Innings

Source: UConnHuskies.com

Senior Billy Ferriter hit an RBI single in the top of the 12th inning that scored Eric Yavarone to lead the No. 8-seed UConn baseball team to a 3-2 win over top-seed Louisville in the first round of the BIG EAST tournament

Auriemma & Pitino: Mutual Admiration As They Receive Winged Foot Awards

Source: Hartford Courant NCAAW

Championship Coaches Receive Winged Foot Awards

Geno Auriemma and Rick Pitino posed with their latest trophies, the crystal Winged Foot Award given annually to the coaches of Division I national championship basketball teams.

Auriemma & Pitino: Mutual Admiration

Source: Hartford Courant NCAAW

Championship Coaches Receive Winged Foot Awards

Geno Auriemma and Rick Pitino posed with their latest trophies, the crystal Winged Foot Award given annually to the coaches of Division I national championship basketball teams.

Most important game: Memphis Tigers

Source: Big East Football Blog

Our series continues today with a conference newcomer, Memphis. To see previous entries, click here. Memphis Most important game: Oct. 12 at Houston Why: Second-year coach Justin Fuente has his Memphis squad feeling a little confident after finishing the 2012 season on a three-game winning streak. Regardless of the competition, that is a good sign for a program that won just five total games in its three previous seasons. Now comes a step up in competition, one that may be a bit premature for a program that is still developing.

Q&A with commissioner Mike Aresco

Source: Big East Football Blog

The American Athletic Conference wrapped up its first spring meetings Wednesday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The three-day session also marked Mike Aresco's first spring meetings as the conference's commissioner. Aresco chatted with ESPN.com by phone Wednesday afternoon following the meetings. Here is that conversation. How would you characterize the tone of the meetings? Mike Aresco: I don't think there's any question: Upbeat and optimistic. Upbeat and optimistic.

Bridgewater stiff-arms Heisman campaign

Source: Big East Football Blog

Teddy Bridgewater joined Twitter on Monday. So you cannot say that he is completely shying away from the spotlight that will accompany him this fall. But the Louisville quarterback is doing what he can to minimize the individual attention that is expected to follow him during a 2013 season which will likely begin with the Cardinals in the top 10. Bridgewater has requested that his school not start a Heisman Trophy campaign for him this season, asking head coach Charlie Strong and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson for any publicity to include the team as a whole, WDRB's Eric Crawford reported this week.

2013-14 bowl schedule released

Source: Big East Football Blog

The Football Bowl Association released the dates, times and television stations for each bowl game this upcoming season. Three will be played on the same day, with the Pinstripe, Belk and Russell Athletic Bowls all kicking off on Dec. 28. Here is the full lineup of when and where the bowls with Big East affiliations will air. Beef O'Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg (vs. C-USA): Mon. Dec. 23, 2 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. (ESPN) New Era Pinstripe Bowl (vs.

Big East lunchtime links

Source: Big East Football Blog

Tony Allen for best actor. Miss any of our 100-days-to-kickoff content? Mark Schlabach says the season can't get here soon enough. ESPN Stats and Info provides 100 numbers to know entering the season. You can re-live our chat here. Rutgers didn't care about making history when it hired Julie Hermann as its new AD, Tom Luicci writes in the (Newark) Star-Ledger. The Orlando Sentinel's Paul Tenorio talks with USF coach Willie Taggart at the spring meetings.

M. Basketball. Purvis Invited To USA Basketball U19 Camp

Source: UConnHuskies.com

Rodney Purvis (Raleigh, N.C.), who has transferred into the University of Connecticut men's basketball program, is one of 24 players who have accepted invitations to attend the 2013 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team training camp.

GWU Coach on Lasan Kromah: 'He Has a Very Instinctive Ability to Get to the Rim'

Source: New Haven Register

Spoke (very) briefly to Lasan Kromah by phone today. He said his transfer to UConn isn't official yet, but it's what he's hoping to do.

It seems Kromah's decision to transfer had as much to do with the fact that, under NCAA guidelines, he can do so without having to sit out a year as it does anything else. Obviously, he was recruited by current UConn assistant Karl Hobbs and played for Hobbs his first two years (though he sat out his sophomore season with an injury), so that figured to be an attraction.

GWU assistant coach Pete Strickland said that he hasn't been made aware of where

A Proud Day For UConn Football

Source: The UConn Blog by BILL-eive

EDITORS NOTE: I wrote this article a few weeks ago as my "tryout" to become lead blogger for The UConn Blog. Please pretend this was posted in a more timely manner, like 3 weeks ago.

The NFL Draft wrapped up with the Indianapolis Colts taking South Carolina Tight End Justice Cunningham with the 254th overall pick. Avid NFL fans beamed about the fresh influx of talent on their favorite teams and SEC fans had the pleasure of bragging rights over the record 63 players taken from the NCAA’s most dominant conference.

With all the hysteria of being caught with our pants down throughout this whole conference re-alignment movement, none of Husky Nation seems to be noticing that slowly but surely we are

Q&A: New Rutgers AD Julie Hermann

Source: Big East Football Blog

Needing to clean up the mess left behind by the abuse scandal involving basketball coach Mike Rice, Rutgers made a bold move. The school hired Julie Hermann as its new athletic director, making her just the third active woman AD at a major-conference school. In 2014, Hermann will become just the second woman athletic director in Big Ten history, following Michigan State's Merrily Dean Baker (1992-95). Hermann has impeccable credentials, having served as the No.

M. Soccer. Blake Named To Jamaican National Team Pool

Source: UConnHuskies.com

UConn men's soccer junior goalkeeper Andre Blake has been named to a pool of players for the Jamaican National Team for three upcoming CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches.

Hope springs in the Big East

Source: Big East Football Blog

This fall will mark the final college football season that concludes with a BCS title game. The era has had its ups and downs for all, so here we will take a look at the best and worst of the past 15 years in the Big East: BEST 1. BCS bowl performances: For all of the heat that this conference gets, it will likely exit the BCS era with no worse than a .500 record in BCS bowls. The Big East is 8-7 in BCS bowls during the past 15 years, winning its past two (Louisville over Florida in the 2013 Sugar, West Virginia over Clemson in the 2012 Orange.

UConn ends Wolf's suspension, returns as walk-on (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAB

STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut center Enosch Wolf has been reinstated to the team following a decision last month by prosecutors to drop charges in a domestic violence case.

AAC Commissoner Mike Aresco On New Conference

Source: UConn Huskies Basketball by David Gillett

Baseball. Mazzilli, Cross Earn All-BIG EAST Honors

Source: UConnHuskies.com

Senior second baseman LJ Mazzilli was named to the 2013 All-BIG EAST Conference First Team while sophomore Carson Cross was named to the Second Team.

GW Guard Lasan Kromah Transfers to UConn

Source: The UConn Blog by BILL-eive

In a move that adds depth to our vaunted guard lineup, sources are saying that Lasan Kromah will be transferring to UConn this year and begin playing immediately. You can get the full scoop here.

Depth is nice, but as a friend of mine said, this seems like R.J. Evans part II. He'll be behind Shabazz, Boatright, Calhoun in an experienced and talented backcourt. So hold up on buying those Final Four tickets.

Report: Lasan Kromah Transferring to UConn from George Washington University

Source: New Haven Register

According to multiple reports, Lasan Kromah, a fifth-year senior-to-be, is transferring from George Washington University. He'll be able to play immediately.

Kromah missed his entire sophomore season due to a left foot sprain, hence the year of eligibility. He was second on the Colonials in scoring last year at 10.1 points per game.
Kromah would take the scholarship of Enosch Wolf, whose suspension is over and has been invited back to the team -- as a non-scholarship player.
Not sure if I like that. I guess you could say UConn is still giving Wolf the chance to play, and that he made his own bed by

Enosch Wolf Suspension Over, Can Return to UConn as Non-Scholarship Player

Source: New Haven Register

Enosch Wolf's suspension is over and he can return to the Huskies team -- as a non-scholarship player. Interesting.

Here's UConn's press release:


Junior Enosch Wolf’s suspension from the University of Connecticut men’s basketball program has ended and he is eligible to return to the team for the 2013-14 season as a non-scholarship player.Wolf, a 7-1 center from Goettingen, Germany, played in 22 games for the Huskies last season, starting three, and averaged 3.4 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 59.0 percent, in 13.7 minutes per game. His highest-scoring games of the season were 12-point efforts against Wake Forest and North Carolina State.Wolf had been suspended from the program on Feb. 11, 2013, and

Most important game: Louisville

Source: Big East Football Blog

Our series continues today with the conference favorite, Louisville. To see previous entries, click here. Louisville Most important game: Dec. 5 at Cincinnati Why: Mark Stoops has been a hit in Lexington, Ky., since taking over the Wildcats program. But if we learned anything from last year's season-opener — in which Teddy Bridgewater completed 19 of 21 passes — it's that the Cardinals still have much more talent, especially since they bring back a majority of their playmakers from last year's Sugar Bowl-winning squad.

M. Track. Six Huskies Prepare for NCAA East Regionals

Source: UConnHuskies.com

The UConn men's track and field team is sending six Huskies to this weekend's NCAA East Preliminary Round hosted by North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. at the Irwin Belk Track inside of Aggie Stadium. The preliminary regional rounds feature the top-48 student-athletes in each event with the top-12 advancing to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. on June 5-8. Connecticut will begin competition on Thursday with the first Husky kicking off the weekend at 10 a.m. with the meet running through Saturday evening.

Jake Golic heading to Cincinnati

Source: Big East Football Blog

Former Notre Dame tight end Jake Golic is heading to Cincinnati to play his fifth year of college ball, his father, Mike, announced Tuesday morning on his radio show, "Mike & Mike in the Morning." Jake Golic has an industrial design degree from Notre Dame and will be eligible to play for the Bearcats right away. The West Hartford, Conn., native appeared in five games during his Irish career. His brother, Mike Jr., was the team's starting right guard this past fall.

Big East lunchtime links

Source: Big East Football Blog

Welcome to Twitter, Teddy. Colleague Ted Miller says that college football spring prognosticators turn into fun fodder. Former Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt has not visited Louisville yet, but is sincerely considering Illinois, colleague Joe Schad reports. Schad also reports that former Penn State quarterback Steven Bench's options are USF and Mississippi State. The AAC has a plan for an exit fee distribution, Greg Auman writes in the Tampa Bay Times.

Live chat: 100 days until kickoff

Source: Big East Football Blog

We're 100 days away from the start of the college football season, so what better time to check in with our conference bloggers on the state of their teams heading into the summer? Join us at 1 p.m. ET as we go conference-by-conference taking your questions until 3 p.m. See you there.

W. Track. Women's Track & Field Heads to NCAA East Regionals

Source: UConnHuskies.com

The UConn women's track and field team is sending 12 Huskies to the 2013 NCAA East Preliminary Round hosted by North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. at the Irwin Belk Track inside of Aggie Stadium. The preliminary regional rounds feature the top-48 student-athletes in each event with the top-12 advancing to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. on June 5-8. Connecticut will begin competition on Thursday with the first Husky kicking off the weekend at 6 pm with the meet running through Saturday evening. UConn has set a program-high with 12 Huskies heading to the East Regionals.

Taliek Brown on coaching Jasmine Nwajei

Source: UConn Huskies Basketball by David Gillett

100-day checklist: Big East

Source: Big East Football Blog

We have officially reached the 100-day mark until the college football regular season kicks off. There is still plenty of business to tend to until then -- much of which is being discussed this week at the Big East's spring meetings in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. -- so here is a checklist of five things that the conference needs to accomplish between now and Aug. 29, when three league teams (UConn, Rutgers and UCF) will be among the 34 to start their 2013 campaigns before everyone else.