Friday Cardinal Couple -- Transition fits Coach Al's schedule perfectly

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Swimming's Arthur Albiero ready for the future


He doesn't have an official schedule published yet and the BIG EAST logo board still hangs on the south wall in the Ralph Wright Natatorium, but Arthur Albiero (who I've re-named "Coach Al") is ready for a transition season before headed to the ACC swimming rigors. Besides the one-year stay in the AAC before joining the ACC transition...Coach Al also surmises:

"It's also a transition year for us in the sense that we have a pretty young team and large group of freshmen, so it will be a good chance for us to get them indoctrinated in the program a bit as we get them ready for stiffer competition in 2014."

Not that he is belittling or undermining the competition in the AAC. He knows the power that SMU wields in the water. He sees Cincinnati and Connecticut as having programs on the upswing. Houston will be challenging.

Although Louisville will be just a one-year tenant in The American, the facilities and impact that Louisville Swimming and Diving bring got Louisville the nod as being the host for the 2014 American Athletic Conference Tournament.

Add Kentucky, Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and North Carolina as meet opponents during the regular season and the splashers and strokers at the corner of Floyd and Warnock are looking at some very strong (and familiar) competition.

And, Coach is in a bit of transition himself...leaving Saturday to help coach in the Portugal National Championships.

Maybe by the time he gets back, the AAC will have a schedule ready for swimming. After all, you can only transition for so long...

( You can hear the full interview that this article with Arthur Albiero was based on during Saturday's CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO broadcast at 11 a.m. on Crescent Hill Radio. www.crescenthillradio.com . We also have interviews with Anne Kordes, Karen Ferguson-Dayes and Jeff Walz. You DON'T want to miss Saturday's broadcast!)

-Paulie

..