PITTSBURGH - Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt said he's glad he won't be having to challenge any calls with a signaling device or by throwing a special flag when the Big East introduces instant replay this fall.

Wannstedt, in his first season with his alma mater after coaching the Miami Dolphins and the Chicago Bears, has been an instant replay fan since it was introduced in the National Football League. But he said he sometimes had trouble signaling for a challenge.

Wannstedt won't have to worry about those problems in his first Big East season, because the new replay system will feature several on-field cameras, TV cameras for multiple views and a technical adviser. An official will determine whether plays should be reviewed.

In the NFL, especially in cold games, he said he remembers struggling to push the button on the challenge-signaling device or to pull the special challenge flag out of his pocket.

"I'm generally not a wear-gloves-or-hat guy, but our equipment manager gives us these latest, high-tech mittens where you can peel the back off of them and your fingers come out of the tips," Wannstedt said before Pitt's practice Thursday.

Wannstedt said he remembered that, while wearing several layers of coats, he once couldn't access the electronic signaling button. And he also couldn't get the flag out of his coat pocket in the allotted time to request a replay.

He said Dolphins offensive line coach Tony Wise had to run down the sideline and dive into Wannstedt's pocket just in time.

"Tony gets the flag and throws it, while I'm standing there with mittens on. It made the top five plays on ESPN that week," Wannstedt said. "So, I became a non-mitten guy on that day. You won't ever see me with mittens on again."

Every NCAA league doesn't have replay yet, but the Big East has joined the Mountain West, Atlantic Coast, Southeastern and Pacific-10 conferences, which will begin using it this fall. The Big Ten initiated it last season.

Another Pitt alum and former NFL coach and player, Panthers offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh, was pleased with the change because it can clear up "shady" calls and help the game, coaches and umpires be more consistent.

"(Replay) started out as an idea, and people thought it would be fair," Cavanaugh said of the NFL. "But all the bugs weren't worked out. So, we struggled for a couple years with delays that were obnoxious and calls that got overruled that you couldn't understand how they got overruled. But in the long run, I think they'll work those bugs out and it'll benefit the game."