Hoops-gridiron lovefest good for Duke

DURHAM — The Duke football team crashed the Duke Blue-White basketball scrimmage, before its loss to Miami. The basketball crowd stopped and gave the football team a standing ovation, a sign that it's a new age at Duke.

It also signals that a strong relationship is blossoming between Duke football coach David Cutcliffe and basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. Cutcliffe impressed Krzyzewski during a one-hour meeting they had during Cutcliffe’s official interview. Krzyzewski later endorsed the hiring of Cutcliffe by attending Cutcliffe's introductory press conference.

Now they’re joining forces, on things like the football team’s visit at the scrimmage. Krzyzewski spoke to a Duke football recruit for Cutcliffe on Saturday and he also appeared with Cutcliffe at a Duke student event on Wednesday, something Krzyzewski said he’d never done before.

“That’s the way it should be,” the basketball coach said.

He’s right. Perhaps seeing a successful peer, as opposed to a rookie coach, makes it easier to do. Perhaps seeing Duke put more resources into football makes it more important to do.