Big Central Conference draws big crowd of coaches, players, reporters: News and notes from the league’s 4th annual Media Day

For many upstart businesses, success isn’t always immediate, but it can blow up pretty quickly.

Some say it’s not until year five or year six, when you develop consistency and a loyal following, before things take off.

So, consider that the Big Central Conference – a football only league formed with the merger of the Greater Middlesex and Mid-State 37 (nee 39, 38) Conferences – is only in its seventh season of play, and just held its fourth annual Media Day.

Things are really taking off.

“Perth Amboy’s got 11, 12 kids over there,” league president Scott Miller told Central Jersey Sports Radio as we looked at the upcoming season with him at Kean University’s Harwood Arena in Union, home to the conference’s last three media day events.

“This is what it’s about,” Miller said as he discussed the Media Day concept. “This adds excitement, not only to our conference, but to these schools. We’re trying to do good things for these kids.”

And the kids took full advantage, as did their coaches. While most bring two student-athletes to speak with them during a live video stream broadcast, some – like Perth Amboy and St. Joseph-of Metuchen – among others, brought more, maybe closer to a dozen.

The media turnout was excellent was well, whether print, online, or video. And why not? It’s one-stop shopping in an era of media cutbacks.

Coaches get to talk…

Later in the evening, as one group of teams was filtering over to the stage, and others were leaving, Union’s Barris Grant and St. Joseph’s Bill Tracy exchanged pleasantries. The two are competitors in the American Gold Division and will meet in Metuchen on October 16th for the Falcons’ annual night game.

And even though the two will see each other that night, the two got to talking about how Media Day gives coaches a chance to see members of their brethren they otherwise wouldn’t see.

Unlike sports such as basketball or baseball, when one team may be off when another plays, and a coach can just pop over to see another game, football is largely played on Friday nights. Everyone plays the same time.

When else would Grant or Roarty get to see the head coach of Highland Park, Spotswood, or Summit?

Grant suggested maybe having a golf outing in the future. Why not? But for now, Big Central Media Day was a great opportunity to catch up with everyone.

Gridiron New Jersey chatter…

While it wasn’t a big topic on the main stage or in the free-for-all media area on tape or on camera, coaches we chatted with in between sessions were still lamenting the demise of Gridiron New Jersey, the popular website that stood for more than 20 years and – since 2018 – ran the official playoff calculations for the NJSIAA.

While creator and founder Jon Fass hasn’t spoken publicly about shutting down, what is known is that NJ.com will take over the process, just as it does for power points in other NJSIAA-sanctioned sports.

How that will look yet is anyone’s guess, but the coaches say they’re also disappointed in all the historical information Gridiron had, which included team schedules and results dating back to its founding in 2003 – along with the number of state titles each team had won, playoff berths, and playoff records – as well all playoff brackets dating back to the start of the playoff era in 1974.

To fill the void, Central Jersey Sports Radio took a few weeks and researched all the historical brackets, and has added them to our site. Readers now can find complete playoff brackets in the “History” section of our website, accessible from the drop-down menu, or by clicking the link here.

In addition to featuring every playoff racket in the public and non-public/parochial sections from 1974 to the present, there’s also a Big Central Conference record book, with individual and team records and leaders on offense, defense and special teams dating back to the league’s first season in 2020.

There are also other, non-football pages, including history of of the GMC and Somerset County Basketball Tournaments (boys and girls) as well as the baseball tournaments. All can be found by clicking here to get to our main history page.

They said it…

“Well, we want to get the power turned on in the school. Right now, that’s our No. 1 priority.” -Edison head coach Matt Yascko, when asked his top priorities for preseason camp. Yascko says the school has had no power for several days due to an infrastructure project at the high school. And while football practice may be held outdoors in the light of day, the coach was quick to point out they need ice, lights and air conditioning to keep cool during practice. He says he fully expects the work to be done so the Eagles can get to work when practice opens Monday.

“We say a lot to the runningbacks and the wideouts, ‘No block, no rock.” -Phillipsburg senior runningback/linebacker Shane Moore, explaining how everyone does their part in the Stateliner program, all contributing unselfishly to the goal rather than worrying about individual stats and accolades.