The Sun's Arizin: Big East announces freshman symposium

Happy GAAAAAAAAAMEDAAAAAAAY! Villanova takes on UConn tonight, but what I found most exciting was the Big East's announcement that they will host freshman basketball players in New York City to help them adjust to the transition to being a college athlete. Former Wildcat Randy Foye is participating in the event, and I would expect all three Villanova freshmen to attend.

Many pro leagues do this sort of thing for the rookies to help them *hopefully* not do anything stupid, and it's about time this happened at the college level. Better yet, this seems like a very new idea that the Big East is first to execute, so that's a nice piece of press for the league.

And now, the "news."

BIG EAST To Host Inaugural Freshmen Fundamentals Program | bigeast.com
Think of this as something very similar to the rookie symposiums in the professional leagues. It's a very good and novel idea by the Big East.

Men's basketball coaches fear separation of Power 5 | ESPN
Some non-Power 5 coaches polled by ESPN fear a change to the current format of the NCAA tournament that would leave their teams out. "It's no different than taxation without true representation."

James Burr named regional advisor for officiating | NCAA.com
FFS, when will it end?!

Villanova Should Test Huskies' Defense | Hartford Courant
Gee, ya think?

The most likely FCS over FBS upsets in week one | The Student Section
Guess which 7:30pm game made the list?

UConn Can't Afford to Be Shipwrecked With 0-2 Start | Today's U
Realignment will likely resume in the future but nobody knows exactly when or how soon. Long-time sources that I trust in the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 tell me UConn has never been mentioned in their previous realignment discussions. Never.

Villanova’s Prus thrilled he can save a life
Jake Prus was on the beach in Ocean City, Md. when the call came that would change his life and possibly save the life of a complete stranger.

Villanova's Jake Prus sacrifices playing time for good cause | Philly.com
The pre-med major knows that the recipient is 65 years old and has myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, in which blood-forming cells in the bone marrow are damaged.

Why Matt Szczur's up-and-down journey may pay off big | Philly.com
The first time, Matt Szczur said, it kind of catches you off guard. You make the big leagues out of spring training, but April is barely half over when you're called into the manager's office. The general manager is in there, too, they're telling you that they want you to get regular at-bats, that they're real happy with you, but that you're going back to triple A.

Phila. Electric suspending all sports in 2015-16 | City of Basketball Love
School athletic director Chris Clayton confirmed the news, but declined to otherwise comment.

Rutgers' Kyle Flood defied academic staff, emailed professor | SI.com
Rutgers coach Kyle Flood reportedly defied the orders of university staff in contacting a professor regarding a player's academic status.

Meet the All-CAA RB who will test Maryland's new defense | CSN Mid-Atlantic
He stands 6-2 and weighs 232 pounds. He has been named a preseason all-conference player. And he'll be the first to test Maryland's new defense in live action.

Paying stipends to college athletes remains a divisive issue | The Boston Globe
The NCAA’s "cost of attendance" provision is causing tremors throughout the college sports landscape.

Schnepf: NDSU should not join Coastal Carolina in moving up to the next level of football | INFORUM
What could happen is a separation between the $100-million programs of the Power 5 conferences (Big 12, Big Ten, Pac 12, SEC and ACC) and the not-so-wealthy FBS programs. Some think the Power 5 will eventually create its own division in football, thus creating a merger of the lower FBS programs like New Mexico State and the higher FCS programs like North Dakota State.

Nick Saban "seems miserable," But Would He Really Leave Alabama This Year? | The Big Lead
Nick Saban has always been ornery, but leading up to the 2015 season, he seems even more perturbed than normal. Maybe it's the unauthorized biography on him that came out this summer. Or that he got clown-suited by Tosh.0.

Ronda Rousey Agrees to Attend Marine Corps Ball With Lucky "Cute" Marine | The Big Lead
Ronda Rousey was asked to the Marine Corps Ball by Jarrod Haschert in a Facebook video that currently has over 5 million views. A camerman caught up with Rousey and asked her about it and she said yes! The only condition is that her friends need dates. Also, she’s not a first date type of girl which roughly translates to "no funny business."

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