CHICAGO. Providence coach Ed Cooley is a big fan of the New England Patriots, and now he has one more reason to support his favorite NFL team.
The Patriots loaned Providence their team jet to help transport support staff and some fans to Chicago for Friday’s NCAA Sweet 16 tournament game against top-seeded Kansas. The plane was spotted on the runway at TF Green Airport in Providence for a noon departure Thursday, the Providence Journal reported. Providence, seeded No. 4, has made his first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 1997.
Cooley, who grew up in Providence and has lived his entire career in the Northeast, spoke with Patriots owner Robert Kraft Wednesday night. On Wednesday, the Providence team traveled to Chicago on a separate flight.
“New England teams support New England teams,” Cooley said. “Our families can come, our donors can come, our fans can come. I really appreciate that he looks after us. Considering how many planes are used for the NIT, for the NCAA tournament, it was just limited.”
Cooley said he spoke to Kraft about his appreciation for former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who has been an inspiration to him throughout his coaching career. Coincidentally, on Wednesday night, Cooley had lunch with New York Giants vice president Frank Mara, a longtime Providence donor.
But his loyalty to the NFL is clear, and he thanked Kraft for providing the plane.
“I don’t know how many people would do this for a small college to literally send in their own plane, a plane with their own logo,” Cooley said. “I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of our fans on it, they are big Patriot fans. I love football. My team looks like a football team. We are not very pretty.”
Cooley often discusses college basketball’s blue blood programs and includes Kansas in that category. He said that Providence does not play many traditional forces outside of Villanova in the Big East, citing the unwillingness of those schools to play monks in their home arena.
“They don’t want to come to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, let’s just call it what it is,” Cooley said. “We will welcome this opportunity and take advantage of it.”
Cooley added of the Kansas game on Friday: “They are blue blooded. I know that their victory is far from all the victories in the history of our game. And they deserve it.” [Bill] Self is a Hall of Famer coach, great players, great staff. … Being able to play against the No. 1 seed is just something you dream of. And we are living that dream and hopefully continue to dream big.”