Skip Holtz fits East Carolina's football needs in two ways -- one now and another later. For now, he'll unite the fan base. He'll hit the ground running and passing. He'll put together a quality staff of assistants. He'll recruit wall to wall.

In two or three years, the Holtz name and tradition can only help ECU make a favorable impression on the Big East.

In the future envisioned by many Pirates fans, the school will belong to an all-sports Big East league, one with 10 to 12 members and one that can stand chin-to-chin with the ACC, Southeastern Conference and Big Ten.

The trick for athletics director Terry Holland and his new school is to get from Point A to Point B. That journey will be demanding and at times frustrating.

Holland has taken on the challenge of a lifetime. ECU basketball needs to be improved at a pace that defies logic.

But the football program is even more important to building a bridge to the Big East. That conference needs good football more than anything else, and ECU football never has been weaker. The players have become accustomed to losing and losing big. The program has to be rebuilt and rewired at once.

That is exactly why Holland chose Holtz.

Lou Holtz's son has been around winners almost all of his life. He was born with big-task blood. He won't be intimidated by the obstacles he faces. He'll ask "why not?" rather than "why?"

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