What’s next, Hank Steinbrenner and Larry Lucchino holding hands and signing "Kumbaya"? Hey, if Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and UC Irvine can work together, anything’s possible.

The three bitter Big West Conference rivals are putting aside their differences to host the BIG 3 of the WEST Showcase from Jan. 17-19. Players will spend one full day at each team’s stadium, and at least one member of each coaching staff will be at each site each day, guaranteeing plenty of exposure for aspiring Big West players. It’s a unique one-stop shopping approach to camps that will lessen the financial burden on players who travel from other parts of the West–a significant consideration in these hard economic times.

"It’s something me and the coaching staffs at Long Beach and Irvine have been talking about for a while," Cal State Fullerton coach Dave Serrano said. "There are so many other showcases out there that are using our name by our assistants showing up, and that’s attractive to the kids. We thought, ‘Why not use our coaches to bring kids in here?’ Irvine and Long Beach are already recruiting the same players as us. It will help kids pay one price, be seen by three different schools instead of having to go to three difference camps in three different weekends. It will help us recruiting–and may the best man win after that."

Serrano said the plan is to run this showcase twice per year going forward–before college teams are allowed to start practicing in January, and over a three-day period in July before the Area Code games. It will be interesting to see if other schools start following this model in the future.