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Inside the Huddle: Tony Caridi breaks down WVU sports for fans at fundraiser

By Kerry Patrick 7 min read

VIENNA -- The ever-changing landscape of conference re-alignment may be a blessing in disguise for West Virginia University athletics.

This message has merit coming from an individual who has 40 years of broadcasting experience bringing Mountaineer sports into people's homes.

Longtime WVU broadcaster Tony Caridi made his annual visit to the Mid-Ohio Valley for the Inside the Huddle event hosted at Buzzy Dils Park. The dinner, raffle, 50/50 drawing and Caridi's 35-minute take on Mountaineer athletics benefited the Boys and Girls Club of Parkersburg.

"Without this, we don't do what we do," said Lynn Reins, who is in her third year as chief executive officer of the Boys and Girls in Parkersburg. "We cannot fill in our mission without the support of our community. Since coming to Parkersburg, I have been astounded by how welcoming Parkersburg has been. The non-profit community has welcomed me with open arms and the community as a whole has just been phenomenal. We are doing big things at the club. We always want to grow and be better tomorrow.

"Tony Caridi only does three of these events in the state. One of them is for us and one is for another Boys and Girls Club -- our friends in the Eastern Panhandle. I've learned in my three years here people love their WVU, so this gives us an audience we might not get otherwise. We pull them out and are glad they are here. They may be here for Tony, but they leave love in the Boys and Girls Club, too."

Caridi touched on several topics which has WVU faithful curious about athletics going forward. He opened with the Pac-12 Conference essentially being dead and the creation of what he referred to as superconferences, the NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) in connection with the transfer portal and never again witnessing a run like WVU made in men's basketball with an Elite Eight appearance under coach John Beilein in 2005 as well as the extremely sad and extremely disappointing circumstances surrounding Bob Huggins during the summer and the hiring of assistant Josh Eilert as interim head men's basketball coach.

Caridi, who was accompanied by wife (Joan) of 35 years, also pointed to specific areas the football team needs to improve and keep WVU fans optimistic as it embarks for the season opener Sept. 2 at Penn State. He wrapped up his take on WVU sports with a conversation he had with the school's athletic director, Wren Baker, who took office in January of this year. Baker's debut has been greeted by a series of adventures in just seven months and change.

"Every time I see Wren, I tell him this, 'dude, trust me when I telling you this -- normally it is not that crazy around here," Caridi said. "Since he started, women's basketball coach out of nowhere departs. The basketball situation. The conference situation. Just on, and on, and on. It's been bizarre.

"(Baseball coach) Randy Mazey, obviously his decision was a lot smoother and pre-planned. It's just another thing. So Wren is getting his feet on the ground."

In terms of conference re-alignment, Caridi feels in the long run geography won't be such an issue as it stands now when Iowa State, located 700 miles from Morgantown, is the closest Big 12 school on the map. Now that the Big 12 consists of 16 schools, Caridi is figuring on a pod-like scenario where fans seeking to travel on the road won't rack up so many miles to watch the Mountaineers.

"If someone would have come to you 15 years ago, I bet you $100 that West Virginia University will be in the same conference as Arizona -- it's bizarre," Caridi said. "How did we get to where we are? In case studies and history lessons going forward they will look back and say it was unbelievable mismanagement.

"And the mismanagement belongs to college presidents. Everybody wants to point their finger at the NCAA. In college sports, the presidents make the rules. Human nature, the chancellors are saying what are our opportunities out there? Here comes the television networks. That's what started this. What we are experiencing began 20-plus years ago. Television networks went to the conferences and the conferences sold out."

The trickle down effect led to enormous signing bonuses and contracts for coaches and their coordinators. With all that money floating around and merchandise selling name, image and likeness of the players -- the athletes sought out their share. Thus NIL.

As Caridi explains, before everything went haywire someone could offer a player a bagel, but illigal to add cream cheese. NCAA infraction. No lie. Now players are out there landing at the school with the highest bidder.

"That is not how this was supposed to work," Caridi said. "How do you squeeze the toothpaste back into the tube right now? Super hard. Senator Manchin among others in Congress are trying to get legislation to try and get somebody to somehow control this. But once that genie is out of the bottle I don't know you are going to be able to do it.

"I don't think at some point in some form we are going to have these young men and young women, not in the classic sense, serve as employees. Until we start getting contracts with players, limit their ability or at least pay the money back they will roll. Things are crazy."

Caridi is constantly keeping tabs on the heartbeat of WVU sports, which is in a better place with the men's basketball program now that a depleted roster that slipped to as few as eight scholarship players now hovers around 14.

"Before everything happened this summer, the team was positioned to do this -- it was a legitimate contender for the Big 12 championship and a legitimate contender to make a run in March," Caridi said. "How far in the league and how far in the NCAA, we'll never know because guys have left.

"The move to bring Josh Eilert in as the interim head coach for this season was the most practical move. I don't have any trepidation about Josh Eilert or this staff. The magic that has to happen right now is you have to bring all these personalities together in a very, very quick time. It's the best situation for a bad situation."

As for the upcoming WVU football season and fifth-year coach Neal Brown, media day did the program no favors in terms of predicting the Mountaineers to finish last in conference.

However, Caridi doesn't feel the outlook is bleak at all. He looks at the quarterback position where coach Brown will finally have a player who has the legit ability to run the ball. The Mountaineers haven't had that threat under his current regime. Also, the offensive line, as well as the defensive line, are veterans.

WVU's success boils down to one thing -- minimizing turnovers.

"At a mininum, West Virginia needs to be in the top three in the conference in turnover margin," Caridi. "We cannot turn the ball over. Specifically our quarterbacks. If coach (Don) Nehlen was here he would remind us all, the only guaranteed 40-yard pass play in every single game is called a punt.

"The problem is that we have been giving the ball."

WVU fans are familiar with Caridi's call "It's a great day to be a Mountaineers wherever you may be" but he made quite the auctioneer following his talk while raffling off items later in the evening.

Also this summer, he also spent an evening in the same capacity in New Martinsburg in a gentleman's back yard along the Potomac River which benefits another Boys and Girls Club.

"There is a special place in me anytime when someone says can you help out whatever the organization may be," Caridi said. "If you don't get in touch with kids early and give them some sense of hope, or what else can be out there then they could have a life that is never fulfilled because they don't realize what else is out there."

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

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