Big East Media Day tidbits

Well, folks, yours truly is back from his vacation of sand, sun, salt water, seagulls, and much more in Myrtle Beach, SC. After the jump are some, well, tidbits from Big East Media Day. No, we were not up there… plus, I’d much rather be in Myrtle Beach, SC than Newport, RI.

WVU picked to finish First Place in Big East Media Poll.

NEWPORT, R.I. – A year after winning a share of its sixth BIG EAST Championship, West Virginia has been tabbed as the favorite to win the 2011 title in the conference’s annual preseason media poll.

The Mountaineers received 21 of a possible 24 first-place votes and had 188 points in the preseason voting of media representatives from each of the eight BIG EAST markets.

Two first-place votes went to Pittsburgh, while the other went to USF.

West Virginia has proven to be a safe choice as the BIG EAST favorite. The Mountaineers have won or shared the BIG EAST title five times in the last eight years and have placed no lower than second in the standings in nine consecutive seasons. First-year head coach Dana Holgorsen takes on a program that is one of just four schools nationally (along with Boise State, Ohio State and Virginia Tech) that has won at least nine games in each of the last six years.

“It’s a tribute to where our program is at this point,” said Holgorsen. “We’ve had a lot of success in the past and this program is in good shape.

“Our recruiting is going well and from a facility standpoint, there are things being talked about that are going to help the program keep getting better and better,” Holgorsen added.

Holgorsen is armed with quarterback Geno Smith, who threw for 2,763 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2010. The defense is paced by defensive end Bruce Irvin, who registered a BIG EAST-leading 14 sacks and cornerback Keith Tandy, who led the conference with six interceptions.
Rank, Team (First-Place Votes), Pts.
1. West Virginia (21), 188
2. Pittsburgh (2), 162
3. USF (1), 151
4. Syracuse, 98
5. Cincinnati, 96
6. Connecticut, 76
7. Louisville, 60
8. Rutgers, 33

Pretty soon, HailWV.com will release their own BIG EAST TOP 8 poll!

According to our friend John Antonik @ MSNSportsNet, a HUGE TV deal is on the horizon for the Big East. [MSN] The only reason I’m not clipping quotes from it is because it is way too long to read, and that is an UGLY pic of Big East Commissioner John Marinatto on that page.

Also, TCU’s 2012 Big East Schedule has been released. I got this one from our friends at Big East Coast Bias. Here it is, as follows…

TCU will have an AWAY schedule of:

Pittsburgh

South Florida

Cincinnati

Syracuse

Their HOME schedule will consist of:

West Virginia

Connecticut

Louisville

Rutgers

This is how WVU’s 2012 Schedule should look (rough draft)

9/1/12- H- Marshall
9/8/12- A- Florida State
TBA- H- Maryland
TBA- N- JMU @ FedExField
TBA- A- TCU
TBA- H- Syracuse
TBA- H- Rutgers
TBA- H- USF
TBA- H- Cincinnati
TBA- A- Louisville
TBA- A- UConn
TBA- A- Pitt

Had to correct the schedule after I heard otherwise. Sorry for the short-term confusion folks. I was excited about 7 games next year. Drink anyway.