Read/Write/Run

Hi! My name is Ken. I'm going to periodically write about running, writing, and a number of other topics. Please feel free to read my posts and provide your comments. If you have a question about any topic, leave a message and I'll try to help you get the information you're looking for. Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you again soon.



Tuesday, April 9, 2013

BIG EAST FAREWELL

If you look at the interests on my profile page, you'll discover that I'm a college basketball fan. As a UCONN alumnus, basketball has sustained us UCONN fans through winter into spring for a long time. The UCONN women have won seven national championships behind Geno Auriemma. The UCONN men have won three national championships under now retired Jim Calhoun. Despite these accolades, it's been about being part of something even bigger than any single team. It's been about being part of the Big East. With great coaches like Thompson, Massimino, Boeheim, and Calhoun, and exceptional players like Ewing, Allen, Hamilton, and Walker, it's made for a competitive college basketball season every year for over thirty years.

I challenge anyone who doubts that the Big East will go down as the greatest conference in the history of college basketball. Sure, UCLA won eleven NCAA Men's basketball championships and Kentucky won eight themselves. But from top to bottom, year in and year out, the Big East has rocked college basketball for a long time. A look at the men's national champions in the last decade reveals that of the ten championships, teams from the Big East won four times, UCONN in 2004 and 2011, Syracuse in 2003 and Louisville this year. The story's the same for the women's national champions, UCONN won five times.
 
Again, this year's men's and women's final four participants include five Big East teams, three on the women's side, Louisville, UCONN, and Notre Dame, and two on the men's side, Louisville and Syracuse. With one more game tonight, UCONN versus Louisville for the women's national championship, today marks the end of the Big East as we know it. There's no changing that fact, but for a moment think about all the fun and excitement that we've been able to experience as fans. It's been quite a ride. So farewell Big East. And GO UCONN!