Big East Roundup: Fast Thoughts as Providence Hires Hodgson

Providence filled one of two coaching vacancies in the Big East when they agreed to terms with former USF head man Bryan Hodgson on a five-year contract on Sunday, March 22.

Hodgson powered the Bulls to an NCAA Tournament bid this season, winning the American Conference Championship and coach of the year honors before losing an 83-79 nail-biter to Louisville in the Round of 64. Set to turn 39 in April, Hodgson is another young hire, just 17 months older than former Friars’ head man Kim English. He joined the Bulls last offseason and promptly took them to the NCAA Tournament, helping to stabilize a program that went 13-19 the season prior after their former head coach, Amir Abdur-Rahim, died on the eve of the regular season aged 43.

Prior to that, Hodgson spent two seasons as the head man at Arkansas State, winning a share of the Sun Belt’s regular season championship during the 2024-25 season before falling in the title game. The Friars enjoyed great recruiting success under English, bringing in highly-touted transfer and recruiting classes. That’s a testament to their NIL budget, north of $11 million according to Big East insider Adam Zagoria, but the Friars need someone who can turn talent acquisition into actual wins.

Now that he’s at the helm of a major program with all the money he could hope for, there’s a good chance Hodgson is done with the stepping-stone stage of his career. Not yet 40, he could plague Villanova and other Big East programs for years to come.

With Hodgson’s hiring, Butler is the only other Big East program yet to fill their head coach position.