Jay Young stood at the podium and took a minute to collect himself. This was a moment for which he had waited for some time. But it was a moment that he never questioned would arrive. With emotion in his voice, Young looked briefly at his family before turning away.

                "I had a coaching friend call me this morning and I told him that I just needed to get through this today," Young said in front of a standing room only crowd which was there to welcome him as Fairfield University's men's basketball head coach. "It's been very emotional. I told my friend how I told my players how tough I am and if they see me up here crying, it's going to blow my credibility. So my friend said whatever you do, don't look at your family. Of course, I got up here and looked right at family."

                Because of the support from his family on this day and throughout his coaching career, Young's journey culminated today when he was officially introduced to the Fairfield University community at a gathering inside the Barone Campus Center.  So it was only logical that upon receiving the phone call with the offer to lead the Stags program, his first thought was to share the news with his wife Janet.

                "I received the phone call from (Fairfield University Director of Athletics) Paul Schlickmann last Tuesday so I drove home because I wanted to share the news with Janet in person," Young said. "I told her and she started to cry. My mother-in-law was there and she started to cry. I started to cry. We have two dogs and they started to cry. We have two cats but I think they might have just been hungry. I'm just not sure. But there were just a lot of tears."

                For more than 30 years, Young has coached basketball, turning groups of young men into teams that have excelled both athletically and academically. He served as a head coach twice, most recently a five-year stint at Division II University of New Haven before joining Steve Pikiell's staff at Stony Brook University. He went to Rutgers University when Pikiell accepted the assignment to lead the Scarlet Knights. But Young still wanted to lead his own program at the Division I level, and he waited patiently for the right time and the right place. Today, his patience was rewarded.

                "It's been a long time that I have been waiting for this day," Young said after being introduced by Schlickmann. "I've wanted to hear those words for some time and it actually sounded better than I imagined. I am so fired up to work with this Fairfield University basketball team and can't wait to bring out the best in you and I know you will bring out the best in me. I want every Fairfield alum, student, and fan to take pride in the product that takes the floor every night. We will represent Fairfield, this great modern Jesuit University, with tremendous class and pride knowing what a privilege it is to wear the Red and White."

                Young saw the vision that Fairfield University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD and Schlickmann had from the moment he first came to campus. And it was that vision that drew him to the Fairfield campus.

                "I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with President Nemec during the selection process," Young said. "His vision and passion for Fairfield University and support for the athletic program was evident immediately. I wanted to be part of the exciting transformation that is taking place here and I thank him for his trust. I am grateful to Paul for seeing something in me and knowing that I was the right person to lead this program."

                The search committee was not alone in its determination that Young would make a great head coach and would be the perfect fit for the Stags. Steve Pikiell, who attended the event along with other Rutgers administrators and players, also sees Young as the right man for the job.

                "I am really proud of him today," Pikiell said. "Jay Young is a true blue basketball coach who has a great basketball mind. He is an outstanding recruiter and developer of talent. He earned this opportunity through his hard work and will do a great job. The Fairfield fans and administration will be thrilled that he is the head of this program for a long time to come."

                Pikiell was one of many supporters who reached out to Young when the news traveled across the country that he had accepted the position as Fairfield University's head coach. Text messages, emails, and voice mails came at a furious pace in those first 24 hours.

                "All my friends warned me that the first few days would be so chaotic and overwhelming," Young said. "I thought I was prepared for it but realized that first day how clueless I was by the amount of texts and phone calls that I received. But I had some great advice to just take a deep breath and enjoy the moment and that's just what I am trying to do now."

                With the University's announcement last week and welcoming event now behind him, Young now has the opportunity to focus on what he loves most – coaching basketball. He has met with his student-athletes and had a chance to see them on the court and has been impressed by their game.

                "I've had a chance to work with the guys about three times and the players have been great," Young said. "They have shown great energy and great enthusiasm so I am looking forward to getting to know them better. In those three times we've met, they have gotten better each time and that is what our focus will always be to keep moving forward and getting better."

                Getting better and working hard is a mantra that Young has shared with his players in the past and one that he will continue to articulate to his current student-athletes.

                "There is a saying that states that we don't get what we wish for, we get what we work for," Young said. "And for me and our players, that work starts now."

                If there is anyone ready to take on that workload at this moment, it's Jay Young. It's a moment for which he has prepared himself for quite some time.