About The League

Penn State applied for admission into the Big East in 1982, but was rejected by one vote. This vote led Penn State to cancel its rivalry game with Syracuse and forced the conference to turn to Miami in 1991 to start up a football conference (Penn State had already committed to joining the Big Ten for the 1993 season). Miami did not play a Big East schedule until 1993, after they had already won four national football championships. Temple, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Rutgers were added at this time, with Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Rutgers later becoming full conference members.

This led to an unusual structure since not all members of the conference competed in Division 1-A football. As a result, the conference included schools primarily known for their basketball programs, such as the Catholic schools noted above, and those with Division 1-A football programs. Notre Dame's storied football program chose to retain its independence, but was allowed certain Big East bowl tie-ins, and Temple joined as a football-only member. In 2003, numerous press accounts reported tensions between the football schools and the basketball schools. It was also revealed that year that Miami had been asking for conference reforms since 1999, however most of their issues went unresolved. Ultimately in 2003, Boston College, Miami, and Syracuse announced their intention to join the Atlantic Coast Conference. However, University of Virginia President John Casteen rejected Syracuse in favor of Virginia Tech for ACC membership. Earlier, Temple's troubled football program was asked to leave, and the Owls eventually found a home in the MAC. Those changes were completed by the fall of 2005.

In January 2006, Loyola College was added as an associate member in the sport of Women's Lacrosse.^*

Big East schools compete in Division I in basketball and Olympic sports. Football members of the conference participate in Division I-A. Notre Dame remains independent, while Georgetown and Villanova have Division I-AA football programs. Georgetown football competes in the Patriot League, and Villanova in the Atlantic Ten.

The Big East offers baseball (M), basketball (M, W), cross country (M, W), field hockey (W), football (M), golf (M, W), lacrosse (W), rowing (W), soccer (M, W), softball (W), swimming and diving (M, W), tennis (M, W), indoor track (M, W), outdoor track (M, W), and volleyball (W).

Basketball

The following year saw three Big East teams (Villanova, St. John's, and Georgetown) all advance to the Final Four, culminating in Villanova's stunning championship game victory over the heavily-favored Hoyas. The conference's 1985 success was nearly duplicated in 1987, when Syracuse and a surprising Providence both made the Final Four, followed by the Orangemen's narrow loss to Indiana University in the tournament final. Two years later, the Seton Hall Pirates also advanced to the NCAA Championship Game, but were defeated by the University of Michigan Wolverines in a controversial overtime heartbreaker.

Throughout the 80's and early 90's, Georgetown (coached by John Thompson) was one of the primary powers in the conference, led by Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, and Allen Iverson. Syracuse, led by Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, was also a major power during this era.

More recently, basketball in the Big East has been dominated by UConn. The UConn's men's program -- coached by Jim Calhoun (another Hall of Famer) and led by such stars as Clifford Robinson, Donyell Marshall, Ray Allen, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin, and Emeka Okafor -- has averaged nearly 26 wins a year over the last fifteen seasons, won the Big East (regular season and tournament) multiple times throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and won a National Championship in both 1999 and 2004.

Syracuse remained very strong throughout UConn's reign, with freshman phenom Carmelo Anthony leading the Orange to their first National Title in 2003. Syracuse has also captured each of the past two Big East Tournament titles.

With the additions of Cincinnati, Louisville, and Marqauette to the Big East, the conference now has 8 historically elite basketball programs - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, St. John's, Syracuse, and Villanova.

The Big East's women's hoops are equally as dominant as the men's program. UConn coach Geno Auriemma has led the women's team to five national championships (including four between 2000 and 2004) and two undefeated seasons (1995 and 2002). Three of the first five players taken in the 2003 WNBA draft were from UConn, as was top 2004 pick Diana Taurasi. Under the strength of the UConn program, and to a lesser extent Boston College, Rutgers, and 2001 national champion Notre Dame, the Big East has emerged as one of the major powers in women's college basketball.

Big East Conference Men's Regular Season Champions

• 1980: Georgetown, St. John's, Syracuse
• 1981: Boston College
• 1982: Villanova
• 1983: Boston College, St. John's, Villanova
• 1984: Georgetown
• 1985: St. John's
• 1986: St. John's, Syracuse
• 1987: Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Syracuse
• 1988: Pittsburgh
• 1989: Georgetown
• 1990: Connecticut, Syracuse
• 1991: Syracuse
• 1992: Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall
• 1993: Seton Hall
• 1994: Connecticut
• 1995: Connecticut
• 1996: Connecticut
• 1997: Boston College, Villanova
• 1998: Connecticut
• 1999: Connecticut
• 2000: Miami, Syracuse
• 2001: Boston College
• 2002: Connecticut, Pittsburgh
• 2003: Pittsburgh, Syracuse
• 2004: Pittsburgh
• 2005: Boston College, Connecticut
• 2006: Connecticut, Villanova
• Big East Men's Basketball Tournament

Big East Conference Women's Regular Season Champions

• 1983: Providence, St. John's
• 1984: Pittsburgh, Villanova
• 1985: St. John's, Villanova
• 1986: Providence
• 1987: Villanova
• 1988: Syracuse
• 1989: Connecticut
• 1990: Connecticut, Providence
• 1991: Connecticut
• 1992: Miami
• 1993: Georgetown, Miami
• 1994: Connecticut
• 1995: Connecticut
• 1996: Connecticut
• 1997: Connecticut
• 1998: Connecticut
• 1999: Connecticut, Rutgers
• 2000: Connecticut
• 2001: Connecticut, Notre Dame
• 2002: Connecticut
• 2003: Connecticut
• 2004: Connecticut
• 2005: Rutgers
• 2006: Rutgers

Football

The Big East has had two teams play for national championships during its short existence. Miami won nine of the league's first thirteen championships (though 1991 and 1992 were selected by polls, as round-robin play did not begin until 1993) and won national championships in 1991 and 2001, dominating the league at the beginning and end of its short time in the Big East. Virginia Tech may have benefited the most of any team from Big East affiliation; head coach Frank Beamer developed that program from a perennial independent also-ran into a 1995 and 1996 conference champion, then led the team to an undefeated regular season in 1999 with freshman quarterback Michael Vick. Tech appeared in the 2000 Sugar Bowl BCS championship game, where they were defeated 46-29 by Florida State.

Of the four charter members continuing in the conference, three of them have finished first in the league, although one of them did not share in a league title until 2004. Syracuse's Donovan McNabb led the team to back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998, and West Virginia took the crown with an 11-1 record in 1993. In 2004, there was a four-way tie for the league title between Pittsburgh, WVU, Syracuse, and departing Boston College; Pittsburgh won the tiebreaker to earn the league's BCS bid. BC saw its program collapse after a gambling scandal in the mid 90's. During their time in the Big East, Temple never finished higher than sixth place, which along with low attendance and their status as a football-only school led to the Big East's decision to expel Temple from the conference in 2005. From 1993 through 2004, Rutgers also failed to finish higher than sixth place.

Football Champions By Year

• 1991 Miami (FL) (2-0) & Syracuse (5-0)
• 1992 Miami (FL) (4-0)
• 1993 West Virginia (7-0)
• 1994 Miami (FL) (7-0)
• 1995 Miami (FL) (6-1) & (6-1) Virginia Tech
• 1996 Miami (FL) (6-1), Virginia Tech (6-1) & Syracuse (6-1)
• 1997 Syracuse (6-1)
• 1998 Syracuse (6-1)
• 1999 Virginia Tech (7-0)
• 2000 Miami (FL) (7-0)
• 2001 Miami (FL) (7-0)
• 2002 Miami (FL) (7-0)
• 2003 Miami (FL) (6-1) & West Virginia (6-1)
• 2004 Pittsburgh (earned BCS bid), Boston College, West Virginia, & Syracuse (all 4-2)
• 2005 West Virginia (7-0)

Conference facilities

Notes:

• St. John's men generally play their Big East home schedule in Madison Square Garden and their non-conference home schedule on campus at Carnesecca Arena. In 2005-06, St. John's played only one non-conference game at MSG and one Big East game on campus.
• For certain high-profile home games, Villanova uses the Wachovia Center or Wachovia Spectrum. In 2005-06, Villanova played three home games at the Wachovia Center and the rest on campus at The Pavilion. In 2006, the Wachovia Center was also a first-round site for the NCAA Tournament. Under NCAA rules, a venue is not considered a home court unless a school plays four or more regular-season games there; this enabled Villanova to play its first two tournament games at the Wachovia Center (but Villanova was not considered the host school for that sub-region-its Big Five rival Temple was).
• Georgetown, Note Dame, and Villanova do not play Big East football. Notre Dame is a Division I-A independent, Georgetown is in the D-IAA Patriot League, and Villanova is in the D-IAA Atlantic 10 Conference for football.

Rivalries

• Cincinnati - Pittsburgh (The Paddlewheel Trophy has been created in significance of the Ohio River to the two cities.)
• Connecticut's recent string of dominance (5 regular season titles 1994-1999 and top teams throughout the 2000s) means that Syracuse, Providence, Pittsburgh, and Villanova all look upon UConn as one of their chief rivals
• Louisville - Cincinnati (Keg of Nails in football)
• Louisville - West Virginia (Braxton Trophy in football)
• Marquette - DePaul - Notre Dame: The only three members north of the Ohio and west of Pittsburgh played each other long before joining the Big East
• Providence - Notre Dame
• Rutgers - Seton Hall: Another rivalry born of proximity, Seton Hall is the only school (except possibly Princeton) in New Jersey that can challenge Rutgers teams
• Seton Hall - St. John's: The two campuses are only 30 miles apart, separated by Manhattan
• Syracuse - Georgetown - St. John's: These three teams won the first 10 Big East tournaments
• Villanova - Georgetown
• West Virginia - Pittsburgh: The The Backyard Brawl in football now spreads into basketball, with unsually intense fan involvement^*
• West Virginia - Syracuse (Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy)
• Rutgers - Syracuse - UConn: These three teams have had a string of close games amongst them in Football, Men's and Women's Basketball, and even non-revenue sports in recent years which has begun building into rivalries amongst the fanbases of the schools.

Rivalries out of conference that feature Big East members include:

• Cincinnati - Xavier (Atlantic 10)
• Cincinnati - Memphis (Conference USA)
• Cincinnati - Miami (OH) (Mid-American Conference) The eighth-oldest and 11th-longest running rivalry in NCAA Division I football.
• Connecticut - Massachusetts (Atlantic 10) Stemming from a resurgence of UMass basketball in the mid-1990's, fans of both teams clamored for a renewal of this regional basketball rivalry. The resulting MassMutual UGame pitted the two schools in an annual contest between 1996-2006. UConn won all but one game in the new series, and the teams were unable to reach an agreement on continuing the series past 2006.
• Connecticut - Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) The rivalry has been spotty in most sports ever since the fall of the old Yankee Conference and UConn's move from I-AA (where the schools were both members of the A-10) to I-A in football. The two teams formerly competed for the Ramnapping Trophy, and are playing again this season on August 30 at UConn's Rentschler Field.
• Louisville- Kentucky (SEC), Battle for the Bluegrass in b-ball; and the Governor's Cup in football
• Louisville - Memphis (Conference USA)
• Marquette - Milwaukee (Horizon League) Cross-town schools have heated rivalries in every sport except men's basketball.
• Marquette - Wisconsin (Big Ten)
• Pittsburgh - Penn State (Big Ten) This rivalry currently lies dormant.
• Pittsburgh - Duquesne (Atlantic 10)
• Pittsburgh - Notre Dame (Football Independent)
• Providence - Rhode Island (Atlantic Ten)
• Rutgers - Princeton (Ivy League) Rivalry active since 1860s, currently active in all sports except football.
• Syracuse - Boston College (ACC)
• Syracuse - Penn State (Big Ten) Dormant for over a decade but will be renewed 2008, 2009
• Villanova - Delaware (Atlantic 10 Football)
• West Virginia - Maryland (ACC)
• West Virginia - Virginia Tech (ACC) (Black Diamond Trophy)
• West Virginia - East Carolina (Conference USA)
• West Virginia - Penn State (Big Ten) This rivalry currently lies dormant.
• West Virginia - Marshall (Conference USA) This rivalry, held annually in basketball, will resume in 2006 in football.

In addition to the listed out of conference rivalries, Villanova is one of the participants in the heated five-way rivalry that has developed out of the Philadelphia Big 5 basketball series. This round-robin series is played every year between Penn, Temple, Saint Joseph's, La Salle, and Villanova.

Realignment

It was later revealed that Miami had been dissatisfied with the Big East and its leadership since a formal letter of complaint was issued by Miami to Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese in 1999. Their issues went unresolved, leading to Miami's interest in the ACC - a league which had been pursuing the college football superpower since the mid-1990's, at the request of football-oriented Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech. Those schools were concerned with the balance of power in the ACC, which they viewed as tilted towards "Tobacco Road", the nickname given to the four North Carolina ACC schools and their nationally prominent basketball programs.

Led by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the "remaining" football schools (Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia) filed two lawsuits, one against the ACC, and the other against Miami and Boston College, accusing them of improper disclosure of confidential information and of conspiring to weaken the Big East. Syracuse was not named as a defendant in part because they never made public comments about the ongoing situation. The lawsuit against the ACC was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, though it was refiled later.

In an unexpected turn, due in large measure to political pressure applied by Governor Mark Warner of Virginia, the ACC replaced Syracuse with Virginia Tech in its expansion vote. Things became even more surprising when, reached by phone at a conference in Switzerland, then-N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox cast a shocking last-minute "no" vote against Boston College. As a result, the ACC extended invitations only to Miami and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech immediately accepted the invitation and filed court papers to get themselves out of the awkward position of suing their new conference. Miami, as stunned as everyone else with the outcome of the vote, delayed their acceptance until the last possible day. Miami President Donna Shalala explained the delay stating "We had numbers on Boston College-Virginia Tech. We had done numbers on Miami alone. But we had not anticipated that Virginia Tech and Miami would be the only two invitees." [http://www.ncsu.edu/news/dailyclips/0603/062703.htm#18 The remaining four plaintiffs removed Boston College from the list of defendants and asked both B.C. and Syracuse to join their suit. Boston College and Syracuse declined.

Leaked minutes of Big East meetings have shed light on the confusing process surrounding the defection of three of its members. At a summer meeting of the "football schools", following the announced departures of Miami and Virginia Tech, discussion among the Presidents and Athletic Directors of the remaining schools focused on a potential split into two conferences; an all-sports conference including football, and a second conference focused primarly on basketball. The idea of a 16-team superconference of both basketball and football schools was discussed, as was merging with Conference USA. Minutes of a July 9, 2003 meeting of presidents and athletic directors show that Syracuse Athletic Director Jake Crouthamel and Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo went on record indicating they would resign their positions if the Big East expanded to 16 teams.

In response to a proposal for the establishment of a binding agreement among the six schools with a $5 million exit fee and 27-month notice requirement, Boston College President William P. Leahy, S.J. stated that he never felt the Big East had a commitment to excellence and the league had difficulty balancing football and basketball issues. He argued that schools should feel free to entertain alternatives if they became uncomfortable with the direction of the conference, subject to the $5 million fee and notice period. When the question of the member's commitment to each other was raised, Fr. Leahy suggested that discussion be deferred until the remaining agenda items were addressed. The presidents agreed to meet with and possibly extend invitations to Penn State and Notre Dame, however neither school showed interest in joining the conference. ^* The minutes also show that the presidents unanimously voted to support an eventual conference invitation fpr the University of Louisville. Several models for a new conference were discussed; and it was decided that the football schools would explore separating from the basketball-only schools to establish an 8-team all-sports conference. The presidents and athletic directors described the breakup of the football and basketball schools as "inevitable".

Additional meetings of the football conference members occurred between July and October of 2003. In the course of those meetings it was realized that the break-up scenario would not be feasible because the new football conference would lose its automatic NCAA basketball tournament berth and possibly its BCS bid, as well as the Big East name. Futher, the football schools had not been together long enough to satisfy certain NCAA rules. At a Big East meeting in Newark on Oct. 1, after a discussion of Notre Dame's concerns for stability, BC president Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., addressed rumors surrounding the Eagles' intentions toward the Big East. Fr. Leahy conceded that the Eagles might indeed be leaving the conference and he would determine how genuine the ACC's reported interest in BC as a 12th member was. ^* He stated he could not agree to an exit penalty larger than the already agreed to $5,000,000. Fr. Leahy also expressed concern about the athletic graduation rates of proposed new members Louisville and Cincinnati, despite having voted to support Louisville's inclustion during the July 9 meeting (due diligence on the propsed new schools was conducted after the July vote). It was decided that for the time being, the conference would add additional football and basketball schools and continue in its bifurcated structure until such time as the football schools could establish their own conference. Unhappy with the vote on the future structure of the conference, the administration of Boston College entertained overtures from the Atlantic Coast Conference. After expansion, Jake Crouthamel resigned his position as athletic director at Syracuse.

Speculation that Chancellor Fox, a Notre Dame trustee, cast her vote against B.C. so that the ACC might consider extending membership to Notre Dame was fueled by press accounts reporting that a bid to the Fighting Irish was imminent. But in mid-October 2003, the ACC voted unanimously to invite Boston College to become their twelfth member. When B.C. accepted, they were returned to the lawsuit still pending against Miami by several Big East schools. In response, Boston College petitioned the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts for a declaratory judgment to avoid paying the increased Big East "exit fee" that Father Leahy acknowledged had been agreed upon during the October 1 meeting. The court found for Boston College, but the Big East appealed. A secret settlement reported to be worth $5 million (the amount of the proposed exit fee) was reached in May 2005, ending both the lawsuit filed by the Big East and the Declaratory Judgment action filed by Boston College. As part of the settlement ACC member schools agreed to play a number of football games each year against Big East teams. Boston College joined the ACC in 2005, and the settlement agreement exempted them from having to play football against their former conference colleagues who had been party to the lawsuit. Boston College officials have stated that the university will not schedule games against any of their former Big East Football colleagues with the exception of Syracuse. (A six year BC-Syracuse football contract is reportedly close to signing.^*) Several Big East schools have similarly declared that they have no desire to schedule Boston College in any sport.

In response to losing three football programs, the Big East extended invitations to five schools from Conference USA in order to replenish their football ranks and to create a 16-team basketball superconference. The schools that left Conference USA on July 1, 2005 for the Big East are:

• University of Cincinnati
• DePaul University (non-football school)
• University of Louisville
• Marquette University (non-football school)
• University of South Florida

The fallout from the Conference USA realignment instigated a chain reaction of conference realignments that affected the WAC, MAC, Sun Belt, Mountain West, and Atlantic Ten Conferences. At the same time, the UConn Huskies completed their leap to Division I-A football and became a full member of the conference in 2004, resulting in their first-ever bowl bid. Rumors about expansion and raids regarding Conference USA, the ACC, the Big Ten, and their member institutions continue particularly amongst fans on internet forums.

Big East Schools Ranked by Endowment

1. University of Notre Dame $3,650 billion (18th Nationally)
2. University of Pittsburgh $1,529 billion (30th)
3. University of Cincinnati $1,032 billion (54th)
4. Syracuse University $818 million (70th)
5. Georgetown University $741 (78th)
6. University of Louisville $607 million (89th)
7. Rutgers University $494 million (113th)
8. West Virginia University $396 million (148th)
9. University of South Florida $289 million (162nd)
10. Marquette University $266 million (178th)
11. St John's University $264 million (180th)
12. University of Connecticut $261 million (183rd)
13. DePaul University $251 million (188th)
14. Villanova University $238 million (196th)
15. Seton Hall University $181 million (231st)
16. Providence College $117 million (308th)

External links

• Official Site of the Big East Conference
• Big East Message Board on NCAAbbs.com
• BigEastBoards.com Forums

1979 establishments | BCS conferences | Big East Conference | College athletics conferences | NCAA Division I-A Conferences

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