This week on The IX Sports Podcast Basketball Edition, Howard Megdal brings you a special dispatch from the world of college basketball, live from Big East Media Day.
Megdal sat down with coaches and players from every team in the Big East Thursday to find out their goals and aspirations going into the 2026-27 season.
The first guests were Geno Auriemma and Sarah Strong from the University of Connecticut. Strong said that she’s focusing on confidence as a measure of growth and improvement this season.
“I think every year, I’ve gotten more confident in myself and my abilities as a player, growing in my leadership and just other skills on and off the court, and just, I don’t know, having fun while I’m doing it,” Strong said.
Auriemma said that at UConn, student athletes are judged on whether they are winning national championships.
“That doesn’t mean you’re going to win it every year. The goal is to make sure you’re in the position to have a chance to win it every single year,” he explained.
Megdal also had a chance to sit down with new Big East Commissioner Tim Brosnan, who assumed the role Sept. 1. Brosnan emphasized that “the universities in the Big East are committed to women’s sports as much as men’s.”
“Where the Big East needs to lean in — and we will lean in — is generating kind of commercial support for women’s sports in the Big East,” Brosnan continued. “So much has happened over the years that you know men’s basketball is the beast that needs to get fed. I think that we will spend our time trying to figure out where there are mostly commercial opportunities for women’s sports in the Big East.”
Brosnan said he plans to visit every Big East school before Nov. 1 — 11 schools in one month.
To hear exclusive interviews with representatives from every team in the Big East, tune in to Part 1 and Part 2 of this very special edition of The IX Sports Podcast!
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