A banner year for the Big East continued into a banner offseason.

The conference went 5-0 in bowl games, and their coaches were sought after by others in the professional and collegiate ranks.

Louisville's Bobby Petrino bolted for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati's Mark Dantonio moved to Michigan State. The Cardinals and Bearcats plucked two well-respected coaches (Steve Kragthorpe and Brian Kelly) from the non-BCS ranks to take charge.

The biggest wins for the Big East may have been retaining two of its high-profile coaches. Rich Rodriguez decided to stay at West Virginia rather than move on to Alabama, and Greg Schiano opted to remain at Rutgers rather than returning to Miami.

There's change coming in the conference during the spring, however. Louisville and Cincinnati will have new coaching staffs. West Virginia and South Florida have watched key assistants come and go. Pittsburgh must re-tool its team after losing its offensive (quarterback Tyler Palko) and defensive (linebacker H.B. Blades, cornerback Darelle Revis) playmakers.

Find out who will step up and what position battles will be de