And keep the Big East name. And maybe the Garden. Meanwhile, Rutgers will be stuck in the Schlubby Schlub Schlub Conference for a year... and maybe not even have a conference tournament. Maybe they can find a way into the B1G next year.

Mike Rice is still the head coach of Rutgers basketball. Most expect him to still be that coach next year, but that doesn't stop the rumblings from starting. An editorial out of Providence speculated the URI coach is on his way to the banks after this season is over.

Yesterday was the Big East conference call. Mike Rice participated and updated everyone on Eli Carter. So far, Carter's fibula is healing as expected and surgery doesn't appear necessary. Carter will be checked weekly to make sure he's still progressing.

The Prince/Cohen news is old at this point, although now they're official. Prince doesn't get a position group. What's more interesting is that Campanile replaces Dinkins as not only TE coach, but also becomes WR coach as well, which is rather strange. Dinkins is a decent recruiter, but you obviously need to get Camp on staff as a full-time NJ recruiter.

Is Rutgers not finished with its 2013 recruiting class? One report has Rutgers looking at a transfer CB. No one has any OL falling out of the sky, but it likes like a punter may have. Nick Marsh has played intermittently for Utah over the past few seasons, so expectations probably won't be too high, but it's only a year gamble. If the staff was willing to do that, why not go after the Albany transfer who went to Temple?

Eli Carter fractured his right fibula against DePaul yesterday and will miss the remainder of the season. Now, a team that was already offensively challenged is without its best scorer. Villanova, who just beat UConn, is next on the schedule Monday night.

Norman and I talk Lavin, Carter and Pernetti. And Twitter.

As a Rutgers fan, this is a welcome development. The team's scheduling model has changed. Not only is there not necessarily the ironclad need for 7 home games every year (though it would be nice), but more conference revenue coming in lessens the need for a paycheck game against a poor opponent. Ideally now if there are going to be 9 conference games, Rutgers would schedule one other "good" OOC opponent a year (UCLA, Miami, etc...), and then buy two other home games.

There are a lot of rumors right now floating around regarding the Rutgers coaching staff (like Ron Prince interviewing for the RB coach job with the Saints), but it is always important to wait before things are fully finalized. One case in point is the Wilson hire; a week ago it was being reported that GA Anthony Campanile was being promoted to DB coach, and now comes word that Wilson (who spent 1999 on Terry Shea's staff before leaving for Wisconsin and then Iowa) is returning to Rutgers. Wilson, the former head coach at Wilson High in Camden, has a reputation as a top South Jersey recruiter. With Rutgers beating him a bit in recent years, he's had some success moving into Maryland; with Rutgers to sell instead of Iowa though, Rutgers should be doing a great job with prospects from the likes of Winslow and Timber Creek. This hire should help recruiting significantly, and credit has to go to Kyle Flood and the athletic department for making it happen. This helps Rutgers, and not only weakens a future league opponent, but also helps stem the flow of good prospects out of state even further. So if Wilson's coming, what happens to Campanile? There is a lot of value in making him a full assistant with the idea that he could be a good North/Central Jersey recruiter, as opposed to the current committee approach there. One other note: Devin Fitzsimmons doesn't seem to be listed as a GA anymore on scarletknights.com for what that's worth.

It's been several seasons now since the Rutgers women's basketball team was consistently competing at an elite level. Indeed, 2012-2013 has brought new indignities to the squad, such as losing to Big East doormat Seton Hall. Given the downward trend and her hefty salary, C. Vivian Stringer is starting to face a lot of criticism locally. If anything, she probably just poured gasoline on the fire with her combative response to critics the other day. Getting defensive absolutely was not the right move here.