Ron Mann hires Sheehan as assistant...Tom Collen hires his wife (again)...Big Ten hires Nebraska

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE :

-TARYN SHEEHAN joins UofL Track and Field staff

-FORMER UOFL WOMEN'S BB COACH HIRES WIFE

-NEBRASKA OFFICIALLY JOINS BIG 10...uhhh 11...maybe 12...whatever!

Ron Mann has announced that Taryn Sheehan has joined the UofL Track and Field team as an assistant coach. Sheehan competed as a distance runner at UofL for a year (2007-08) and comes to Louisville from Western Michigan...where she held a similar job.

She was Taryn Gibson when
she ran the 3000m in record
time for the Cards.

"We wanted to bolster our distance program to prepare for the NCAA Cross Country Championships when we host it in 2012. Taryn's addition will certainly help us from that standpoint. This also provides us with the opportunity to build the Louisville family with coaches who have been a part of the program in the past and are familiar with Louisville and our supportive community" Mann said about the hiring.

Taryn sounds excited to be back in Louisville:

"When we (her and her husband) were driving in this week and we crossed the (Ohio) river, I felt like I was home again" Sheehan confided. "I loved my time here as an athlete and I started my coaching career here as a volunteer. The chance to come home and take the women' team specifically to another level is an opportunity I'm very excited about."

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Former UofL head women's basketball coach Tom Collen is up to his old tricks again, bring wife Nicki on boards as an assistant coach down at Arkansas. She replaces Tim Eatman, who was Collen's assistant coach and defensive guru. Eatman heads to Boston College to take a similar position in the rough and tough ACC. Nicki will take over the defense and work with the guards. She is the second new hire to Arkansas's staff in the last two months....Tari Cummings joined the Razorbacks when Zenarae Antonie, who was with the Collen's at Louisville, took the head coaching job at Texas State.

Nicki Collen was an assistant for her husband at Colorado State and Louisville in previous years and also held the assistant coaching position at Ball State. She also did a little radio work as color commentator for Lady Cards hoops.

We'll always remember Tom for a couple of things...he did help develop the talent of Jazz Covington, Candyce Bingham and Angel McCoughtry...three of the best to ever don a Lady Cards uniform...and his acceptance of the Arkansas slot gave Tom Jurich the chance to bring in a highly praised Maryland assistant by the name of Jeff Walz.  

Maybe Tim Eatman got an offer he couldn't refuse at B.C. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall that the Razorbacks weren't going to become the bullies of the SEC. In Eatman's four years as an assistant to Collen at Arkansas , the team has complied a 69-63 record. In four years at Louisville...they were 88-37. Best of luck to the Razorbacks as they slug it out in a SEC Western Division that isn't nearly as strong as the Eastern Division.

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Nebraska officially joined the BIG TEN Friday. Gives them 12 teams now. Since the BIG 12 name is already taken, the BIG TEN is stuck with their current moniker. They'll officially start play on Aug 19th. as a BIG TEN member when their women's soccer team battles North Carolina. They may do well in the BIG TEN in women's basketball...leaving a conference that has Baylor and Texas A&M powerhouses....along with always tough Oklahoma and Texas. BIG TEN women's hoops hasn't been relevant in years...with Purdue and maybe Michigan State the only two teams to fear.

Despite the drop-down in competition for women's hoops...the Cornhuskers are going to be a part of a powerhouse football conference with Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State and the rest. Can you name all 12 teams in the BIG TEN?  Which one was the hardest for you to come up with? In OUR case...Paul had to stretch to remember that Minnesota was a member and Sonja always gets confused on whether Iowa or Iowa State is a member. (It's Iowa).

OK, we've given you over half the conference here...see if you can name the other five members...

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