Caridi addressed Boys & Girls Club

WVU play-by-play announcer, Tony Caridi, addressed friends of the Boys and Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle at the Country Inn in Berkeley Springs last Friday night.

Caridi entertained the large audience in attendance with WVU athletic anecdotes, his thoughts on both the WVU football and basketball programs, as well as his candid take on the state of the Big East Conference.

Caridi began with a discussion of the Mountaineer football program. He said that in his opinion, WVU coach Bill Stewart has had the hardest ascension to the head coaching position. Expectations were high when Stewart took over, and that in his (Caridi's) opinion, Stewart has done a great job, saying, "19 wins is one heck of a start in the first two years (plus the Fiesta Bowl victory) of a coaching career."

Caridi is optimistic about the upcoming football season and believes the Mountaineers can compete for the Big East title. However, he said that WVU's ultimate success could hinge upon the development of quarterback Geno Smith.

"When will Geno Smith's light bulb come on," asked Caridi. “It will turn on at some point, we just don't know when."

He also reminded those in attendance that it is not always the most talented teams that win, but those that play the best and stay healthy, suggesting that the Mountaineers need good fortune, as well as cohesiveness, to win a championship.

Caridi then turned his attention to the Mountaineer basketball program saying, "That last year was an interesting, fun season." He said that they went into the year with great expectations, but that there was always a bit of apprehension. "We would win games, but there just seemed to be something missing," said Caridi, who credited maturity, an incredible desire to win and Coach Bob Huggins "tough love" as the key factors that led to the Mountaineers Final Four appearance.

Caridi also feels that West Virginia University gets the best return on investment of any athletic program in the nation, given the number of Division 1 athletes that are produced annually in the Mountain State.
He went on to say that much of West Virginia's success in recent years is because WVU's recruits have been disrespected. Often, according to Caridi, Mountaineer recruits are told, "who were not" and that this inspires them to prove the critics wrong. He cited several ex-players including Jeff Hostetler, who was told he couldn't quarterback at Penn State, and Steve Slaton, who had his scholarship offer pulled by Maryland, as examples.

He also gave a candid assessment about the instability of the Big East Conference, saying, "I don't think we are safe; we are as vulnerable today as we were before (a reference to the recent expansion of other conferences)." He said that in his opinion, the best way to protect the Big East was to make it bigger, for the sake of "self-preservation". Caridi is also in favor of conference members competing in all sports. And, when asked by a member of the audience, "Why doesn't the Big East tell Notre Dame to get in or get out," Caridi said that if it were up to him he would "cut" them, but that he didn't think that would happen.

Caridi also drew a parallel between the benefit of college athletics and the benefits of The Boys and Girls Club, saying there have been many former players lives changed for the better because of the support and guidance they received from the University, and that the Boys and Girls Clubs make the same impact, "even though we don't always know of the change."

After thanking the Country Inn, and other sponsors, Gail Shade, who organized the fund raising benefit for the Boys and Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle, thanked Caridi and invited him to return again next year.