|
Audio: Brian Bailey
Show |
|
 |
|
  The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30
p.m. Brian's guests this week
were AAC commissioner Mike
Aresco, ECU coach Scottie
Montgomery
 and
ECU players DaShaun Amos and Zay
Jones:
Replay
show... |
|
View Pirate Radio
1250 Programming
Lineup |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FOOTBALL |
|
Aresco leads off |
|
 |
|
NEWPORT, RI �
American
Athletic Conference
commissioner Mike Aresco led
off the league's football
media day and felt obliged
during the course of his
remarks to address possible
Big 12 expansion that could
impact his league. ...
More
from Al Myatt... |
|
Pictured:
Commissioner Mike
Aresco delivers a
state of the
conference address
on Tuesday to open
the final day of the
AAC media days in
Newport, RI. (Photo
by W.A. Myatt) |
|
|
|
|
|
FOOTBALL |
|
AAC plays before
interview day |
|
 |
|
NEWPORT,
RI �
The American
Athletic Conference doesn't neglect
having fun when it gathers for its
annual football media days. There
was a golf outing at Wanumetonomy
Golf and Country Club in nearby
Middletown on Monday afternoon and
that was followed by the annual
clambake on Goat Island overlooking
Narragansett Bay.
...
More
from Al Myatt...
|
|
Pictured: Monday
featured casual
activities at the
AAC Summer Kickoff
in Newport, RI. As
the day came to a
close, players,
coaches and other
attendees at a New
England clambake
gathered around the
fire pit as the tarp
was removed for the
food to be
transported. Two
Memphis players
participated in a
ceremonial dance
around the fire.
(Photo by W.A.
Myatt) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
|
Vines snatched up hometown
offer |
|
When
you�re playing alongside a major
college recruit and one of the most
productive high school receivers in
the state you can be easily
overshadowed. But that situation
only served as motivation for
Mydreon Vines last season at
Greenville�s Rose High School.
...
More
from Sammy Batten...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ECU icon Robert
Morgan passes |
|
 Robert
Morgan confided in a
2007 interview that
he went to East
Carolina because his
family couldn't
afford for him to go
to nearby Campbell.
Morgan, who
succumbed Saturday
at age 90 after a
lengthy career in
political service
and private law
practice, was one of
six children who
grew up in house
that didn't have
running water or
electricity. ...
More from Al
Myatt... |
|
|
Flashback: The
Battle for ECU |
|
(From the archives
of Bonesville The
Magazine) |
|
Football coaches
sometimes say, �It�s
not the size of the
dog in the fight,
but the size of the
fight in the dog,�
when describing the
value of heart and
perseverance in
adverse
circumstances. �I
was always too small
to play any ball,�
said former United
States Senator
Robert Morgan, who
graduated from East
Carolina when it was
a vastly different
center of higher
learning. ...
More from Al
Myatt (from the 2007
Bonesville the
Magazine)... |
|
Flashback: Don't
take the chip
lightly |
|
(From the archives
of Bonesville.net) |
Did you ever wonder
about the genuine
origin of that
collective chip on
the shoulder that is
associated with East
Carolina partisans?
Even among those of
us who matriculated
at ECU in the
'sixties and
'seventies, there
are many who
misguidedly think of
the chip's history
in relation to
athletics. ...
More from Danny
Whitford (from
Bonesville.net in
2007)... |
|
|
|
|
By
Brian Bailey
�2016 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE
ALPHA VERSION OF THIS PAGE
Mike Aresco has been here before.
Conference realignment is once again on the front
burner with news that the Big 12 wants to expand.
Aresco knows that the American Athletic Conference
has several attractive options, and he�s ready to take a punch or two.
The AAC's commissioner has already moved his league
into the top tier of the �Group of Five.� His ultimate goal is to move
the American into the still-a-pipe-dream �Power Six.�
�Our ambition and commitment to be a Power 6
conference will always remain strong,� said Aresco during this week's
annual kickoff event in Newport, RI. �That moniker is not a function of
a legislative autonomy arrangement, it represents achievement and
competitiveness on the field and court and we have excelled
competitively.�
Aresco is certainly the great communicator. He is
passionate about his role and will talk about his dream for his league
to anyone and everyone.
He talked live on television with me on Monday night
and then again
on my radio show right after
that. He has a message, and he�s hoping that the more he talks the more
the right people might listen.
�And although perception of our conference may change
somewhat as a result of further realignment, that will be temporary, as
I can assure you that our success will continue,� he said. �Regardless
of what may happen, we will return most of our membership and our
schools have been high-achieving and have made incredible progress.
"This progress will not be interrupted. We will get
right back to work building the league. Three years ago, there was
skepticism, and look what we have accomplished, even under the shadow of
near constant realignment speculation.�
That�s the trick Aresco faces now. He may lose a
school or two or even three. Someway, somehow he has to figure out a way
to keep the American in that role at the top of the �Group of Five� with
sights set on the �Power Six.�
I asked Aresco if he was upset that some schools,
including East Carolina, had gone public with their intentions to apply
for membership in the Big 12.
�I know the athletic directors have pressure on
them,� Aresco explained. �We understand that and just want the very best
for our schools. We are all friends, basically working for the same
cause.�
ECU Director of Athletics Jeff Compher said he
thought Aresco handled media day with class and dignity.
�I thought he did it right,� said Compher. �He
addressed the issue, without taking away from the coaches and players in
our league.�
The American is coming off of a banner season. Still,
this league could look much different next year.
In fact, if the Big 12 does announce its intentions
before the football season, that change could come very soon.
Mike Aresco is ready.
The American will survive but it could very well have
a much different look next year.
BB
