The Big East Conference was a collegiate athletics conference that consisted of as many as 16 universities in the eastern half of the United States from 1979 to 2013. The conference's members participated in 24

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

sports. The conference had a history of success at the national level in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

throughout its history, while its shorter (1991 to 2013) football program, created by inviting one college and four other "associate members" (their football programs only) into the conference, resulted in two

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. In

, Big East teams made 18

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

appearances and won 7 NCAA championships as Big East members through 2013 (UConn with three, Georgetown, Syracuse, Louisville and Villanova with one each). Of the Big East's full members, all but South Florida attended the Final Four, the most of any conference, though Marquette, DePaul, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh made all their trips before joining the Big East. In 2011, the Big East set the record for the most teams sent to the

NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level i ...

by a single conference with eleven out of their sixteen teams qualifying. In football, the Big East entered competition as a conference in 1991, after inviting five football colleges to become members of the Big East, joining three teams from the Big East whose football teams were competing as Division I independents (

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

) to form a new Division I football league. The strength of this league earned the Big East an automatic berth in the

Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...

, when that series was created in 1998. The Big East won two national football championships, both by

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. Between 2005 and 2012, four of the more successful football schools left the Big East for other conferences, starting a process that led to a complete realignment of the Big East in 2013. On July 1, 2013, the non-football playing schools (also known collectively as the ''Catholic 7'') formed a non-football playing conference that purchased the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

name. The remaining six football-playing members, three of whom had only joined the Big East in 2005 when the earlier exodus had started, joined with four schools from other conferences to become the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(The American/AAC), which is the Big East's legal successor. The American retains the Big East's football structure and inherited its single automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series. However, both conferences claim 1979 as their founding date, and the same history up to 2013. As of the 2023–24 season, South Florida is the only full member of the original Big East that still plays in the AAC today.

History

Founding: the early years

The Big East, often referred to as the Classic Big East, was founded in 1979 after new NCAA basketball scheduling requirements caused the athletic directors of

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

schools Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, and

to discuss the creation of a conference centered in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

. Other schools invited were

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Holy Cross,

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

, and

, with Rutgers and Holy Cross declining to join. Villanova joined a year later in 1980 and

joined in 1982. Before the formation of the conference, many of these schools participated in the ECAC men's basketball tournament in order to receive an automatic bid for the

. In 1982,

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

applied for membership, but was rejected, with only five schools in favor (Penn State needed six out of eight). It was long rumored that Syracuse cast the deciding vote against Penn State, but Mike Tranghese confirmed that this was not the case and that Syracuse had, in fact, voted for Penn State's inclusion. Penn State would loom large over the conference during future rounds of realignment as the Nittany Lions had the potential to shore up the conference once football members began to join. Following the decisions by Georgetown, St. John's, and fellow Pennsylvania school Villanova to vote against Penn State's admission, then-Big Ten administrator and future-Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said the conference would "rue the day" they rejected the Nittany Lions.

Football expansion

About a decade after the conference's inception, Big East members decided to become a major football conference and thus added five schools including Rutgers,

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

– though only Miami would be offered full all-sports membership immediately. The inaugural Big East football season launched in 1991. West Virginia and Rutgers were offered admission to the Big East as full members starting in the 1995–96 academic year, and Notre Dame, committed to its football independence, was offered a non-football membership effective the same year. Virginia Tech would be forced to wait until 2000–01 for full admission, and Temple remained a football-only member until 2004, when it was voted out of the conference due to poor attendance figures, lack of playing success, and inadequate facilities.

Turmoil and realignment

Some have argued that the unusual structure of the Big East, with the "football" and "non-football" schools, led to instability in the conference. In 2003, the ongoing press reports of tensions between the football schools and the basketball-only schools finally exploded into a months-long public tug-of-war between the Big East and the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

over several Big East members. The result was that three Big East schools—Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College—moved to the ACC, while five schools moved to the Big East from

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

—

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

, Marquette, and DePaul. The addition of the three football schools, along with Big East non-football member Connecticut moving up to the Big East football conference, ensured that the league would keep the minimum eight teams needed to keep its BCS bid. In addition, two traditional basketball teams, DePaul and Marquette, were added to gain the Chicago and

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

television markets and help the already solid basketball status of the conference. Meanwhile,

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early (educator), John Early and eight other members of the Society of Je ...

(then Loyola College in Maryland) also joined the Big East as an associate member in

women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a field sport played at the international level with two opposing teams of ten players each (12 players per team at the U.S. domestic level). Originally played by indigenous ...

for the 2005–06 academic year.

Continued instability

In 2010,

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

accepted an invitation to join the conference as an all-sports member beginning in the 2012–13 academic year. Big East schools compete in Division I. Most of the football-playing schools play in Division I FBS, while Georgetown and Villanova have Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) football programs. Georgetown football competes in the

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising primarily leading Private university, private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United ...

. Villanova has competed in the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

football conference since 1988, dating back to its time as a completely separate conference known as the

Yankee Conference The Yankee Conference was a collegiate sports conference in the eastern United States. From 1947 to 1976, it sponsored competition in many sports, but was a football-only league from mid-1976 until its dissolution in 1996. It is essentially the a ...

, which merged with the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

in 1997, then in 2007 the CAA took over management of the A-10 football conference (which happened after

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

joined the CAA in 2005, giving them the six football-playing members needed to start sponsoring football, which was eventually dropped by Northeastern after 2009). In September 2010, in the wake of a Division I realignment that affected a number of conferences around the country, the Big East asked Villanova to consider becoming a football member. The school once considered the offer, which required the school to substantially expand its football budget, as well as expand its stadium to meet FBS requirements or find another suitable venue in the

Philadelphia area The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

. Villanova presented a plan to the Big East football members on April 10, 2011, which included the use of

PPL Park Subaru Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River. The venue is home to the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. Subaru Park was designed ...

as a football stadium, but the league declined to schedule a vote to offer membership on the objections of Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Rutgers to the plan. On September 17, 2011, Syracuse, a charter member of the conference, and Pittsburgh announced that they would be leaving the Big East for the

. Both schools originally intended to fulfill their commitment to the 27-month waiting period. TCU also reversed its decision and accepted an invitation from the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

to move there. On October 28, 2011, it was announced by the Big 12 Conference that West Virginia accepted its invitation to join, with membership beginning in 2012. This timeline was challenged by the Big East, and countersuits were launched by the school and conference. Eventually, a settlement was reached with allowed West Virginia's departure for 2012 in exchange for sizable compensation. Syracuse and Pittsburgh then used the acquiescence of the Big East to West Virginia's departure to challenge the validity of their own commitment, and the Big East agreed to a settlement with both schools in July 2012 to allow their departure for the 2013 academic year. In December, after the 2011 football regular season was completed announcements were made that

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

and

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

, both of the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

, would join the Big East in football only; and that Conference USA members

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

, and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

would join in all sports for the 2013 academic year. On January 24, 2012, the

Navy Midshipmen The Navy Midshipmen are the athletic teams that represent the United States Naval Academy. The academy sponsors 36 varsity sports teams and 12 club sport teams.University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

to join as a full member in all sports to begin play in 2013. On March 7, 2012, it was announced that

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

would return to the conference for football in the 2012 season, filling the void left by West Virginia. Temple would join for all sports in 2013. Temple basketball would move over from the

, where they have been a perennial powerhouse. On August 29, 2012, Loyola and the

announced that all Loyola athletic teams, including the school's Big East team in women's lacrosse, would join that conference on July 1, 2013. On September 12, 2012, Notre Dame announced it would follow Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC, joining that league in all sports except football. Notre Dame and the Big East reached agreement on March 13, 2013; the exit took place July 1, 2013. On November 20, 2012, Rutgers announced it would be leaving the Big East to join the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

as a full member, effective with the start of the 2014–15 academic year. Rutgers' announcement came one day after the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

departed the ACC to join the Big Ten. One week later, on November 27,

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

accepted the Big East's invitation to join as an all-sports member.

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

's football program also joined the Big East in 2014; both schools were previously with Conference USA. The following day the ACC voted to invite Louisville to join in 2014, making them the seventh school since 2004 to leave the Big East in favor of the ACC. On March 27, 2013, East Carolina's future membership in the renamed conference was officially upgraded to all-sports membership.

Conference split

New Big East

Less than two weeks after Louisville announced its departure for the ACC, multiple media reports indicated that the Big East's seven remaining non-FBS schools, all Catholic institutions, were considering a mass exit from the conference. By December 13, it was likely that the non-FBS schools would indeed leave to form a new conference, and on December 15, the seven schools (soon to be called the ''Catholic 7'' by the media) made their departure official, effective with the 2015–16 school year. Many details remained to be worked out, with one major issue being whether the "Big East" name would stay with the FBS schools. On December 31, Boise State announced they had decided to stay in the Mountain West conference, leaving the Big East, much like TCU, without ever playing a game in it. With Boise State staying in the Mountain West, it was noted that San Diego State would indeed try to rejoin the Mountain West as well. On January 16, 2013, reports surfaced that SDSU would indeed stay in the Mountain West. Rumors of the MWC looking at potentially adding Houston and SMU as its 13th and 14th football members, both of which had stated they would join the Big East in 2013, continued to circulate as well. In February 2013, multiple media reports indicated that the ''Catholic 7'' would depart in July 2013, two years earlier than originally planned. On March 5, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

reported tentative details of a financial agreement: In exchange for selling both the Big East name and a contract with

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

(MSG) to host the men's basketball tournament to the ''Catholic 7'', as well as $10 million, the football schools would receive $100 million of a $110 million pool that had accumulated from entry fees, exit fees, and proceeds earned from appearances in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. On April 3, the football-playing schools, which retained the old Big East's structure and its automatic BCS bid, announced they would operate as the

starting on July 1.

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1979 till:2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:FullxF1 value:rgb(0.331,0.824,0.557) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football before 2013 id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two id:OtherC3 value:rgb(0.888,0.803,0.483) id:BE2 value:rgb(0.784,1,0.514) # Use this color to denote a team that moved to the successor new Big East Conference id:AAC value:rgb(0.678,0.941,0.902) # Use this color to denote a team that moved to the successor American Athletic Conference PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1991 text:

(1979–2005) bar:1 color:Full from:1991 till:2005 bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text: ACC bar:2 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2004 text:

(1979–2013) bar:2 color:Full from:2004 till:2013 bar:2 color:AAC from:2013 till:2020 text:

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

bar:2 color:BE2 from:2020 till:end text:

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2013 text: Georgetown (1979–2013) bar:3 color:BE2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2013 text:

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

(1979–2013) bar:4 color:BE2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2013 text: St. John's (1979–2013) bar:5 color:BE2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2013 text:

(1979–2013) bar:6 color:BE2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1991 text:

(1979–2013) bar:7 color:Full from:1991 till:2013 bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: ACC bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1980 text: EAA bar:8 color:FullxF from:1980 till:2013 text: Villanova (1980–2013) bar:8 color:BE2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1982 text: EAA bar:9 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1991 text:

(1982–2013) bar:9 color:Full from:1991 till:2013 bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: ACC bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1991 text:

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

bar:10 color:Full from:1991 till:2004 text:

(1991–2004) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2004 till:end text: ACC bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1982 text: EAA bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1991 text:

A-10 The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 19 ...

bar:11 color:AssocF from:1991 till:1995 text:

(FB only 1991–1995; all sports 1995–2013) bar:11 color:Full from:1995 till:2013 text: bar:11 color:AAC from:2013 till:2014 bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1982 text: EAA bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1991 text:

bar:12 color:AssocF from:1991 till:1995 text:

(FB only 1991–1995; all sports 1995–2012) bar:12 color:Full from:1995 till:2012 bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1991 text:

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

bar:13 color:AssocF from:1991 till:2000 text:

(FB only 1991–2000; all sports 2000–2004) bar:13 color:Full from:2000 till:2004 bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2004 till:end text: ACC bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1982 text: EAA bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1991 text:

bar:14 color:AssocF from:1991 till:2005 text:

(FB only 1991–2005 and 2012–2013) bar:14 color:OtherC3 from:2005 till:2007 text: FB Ind. bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2012 text:

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

(FB only) bar:14 color:AssocF from:2012 till:2013 bar:14 color:AAC from:2013 till:end text:

bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1982 text: Ind. bar:15 color:OtherC3 from:1982 till:1986 text: MCC bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:1987 text: Ind. bar:15 color:OtherC3 from:1987 till:1995 text: MCC bar:15 color:FullxF from:1995 till:2013 text: Notre Dame (1995–2013) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: ACC bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1991 text:

bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: Great Midwest bar:16 color:OtherC3 from:1995 till:2005 text: CUSA bar:16 color:Full from:2005 till:2013 text:

(2005–2013) bar:16 color:AAC from:2013 till:2023 text:

bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:

bar:17 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1991 text:

bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: Great Midwest bar:17 color:OtherC3 from:1995 till:2005 text: CUSA bar:17 color:FullxF from:2005 till:2013 text: DePaul (2005–2013) bar:17 color:BE2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1995 text:

bar:18 color:OtherC3 from:1995 till:2005 text: CUSA bar:18 color:Full from:2005 till:2013 text:

(2005–2013) bar:18 color:AAC from:2013 till:2014 bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text: ACC bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1988 text:

bar:19 color:OtherC3 from:1988 till:1991 text: MCC bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: Great Midwest bar:19 color:OtherC3 from:1995 till:2005 text: CUSA bar:19 color:FullxF from:2005 till:2013 text: Marquette (2005–2013) bar:19 color:BE2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1991 text:

Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered stretching across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the Parallel 36°30′ north. Several climates can be found in the re ...

bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:1995 text:

bar:20 color:OtherC3 from:1995 till:2005 text: CUSA bar:20 color:Full from:2005 till:2013 text:

(2005–2013) bar:20 color:AAC from:2013 till:end text:

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1980 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Big East Membership History" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Subsequent conference affiliations

Commissioners

Mike Tranghese retired at the end of the 2008–09 academic year, which he announced in June 2008, and was replaced by former senior associate commissioner John Marinatto. On May 7, 2012, John Marinatto resigned as commissioner. He was replaced by Joseph Bailey on an interim basis. Mike Aresco, the Executive Vice President of

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

' Programming, was named Commissioner of The Big East on August 14, 2012. After the old Big East changed its name to the American Athletic Conference, Aresco continued as commissioner. The new Big East named

Val Ackerman Valerie B. Ackerman (born November 7, 1959) is an American sports executive, lawyer, and former basketball player. She is the current commissioner of the Big East Conference. She is best known for being the first president of the Women's National ...

as commissioner on July 1, but reckons her as its fifth commissioner.

Member institutions

As of the beginning of the 2012–13 academic year, there were 15 full members and two associate members of the Big East. On July 1, 2013, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Notre Dame joined the ACC. DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova joined the new Big East. Cincinnati, Connecticut, South Florida, and Temple remained in the old Big East, which changed its name to the American Athletic Conference. Rutgers and Louisville played one season in the AAC before joining the Big Ten and ACC, respectively, for 2014–15.

Full members

Full members except in football

Associate members

Previous members

Former full members

''^* Virginia Tech was an associate member of the Big East 1991–2000.'' ''^** West Virginia was an associate member of the Big East 1991–1995.'' ''Note: Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville left the Big East and joined the ACC. Syracuse and Pittsburgh departed the Big East on July 1, 2013; each paid the Big East $7.5 million to depart on that date. Notre Dame joined the ACC on July 1, 2013, while Louisville left for the ACC on July 1, 2014. Rutgers left for the Big Ten on July 1, 2014.''

Former associate members

''^* Rutgers and West Virginia joined the Big East as full members in 1995.'' ''^** Virginia Tech joined the Big East as a full member in 2000.'' ''^*** Temple was removed from the Big East as a football-only member after the 2004 football season. Temple was invited to the Big East as a full member in March 2012, with football returning in July 2012 and all other sports joining in July 2013.''

Invited members

The following is a list of institutions which planned to join the Big East conference but later reneged. The Big East invited ten schools – five full time members (

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

) and, five as football-only members (

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

). To further stabilize the conference, members unanimously agreed to double the exit fee from $5 million to $10 million, contingent on any one accepted invitation. Of the schools, all four invited to full membership accepted, as well as football-only Boise State, Navy, and San Diego State. BYU and the Big East were unable to come to terms; the conference insisted that BYU relinquish its TV rights for its home games as a condition of membership, and BYU was unwilling to do so. ''^* TCU was to join the Big East as a full member in 2012 before accepting an invitation to the Big 12.'' ''^** Houston, Memphis, SMU, and UCF accepted invitations to the Big East as full members.''

Sports

The Big East Conference sponsored championship competition in eleven men's and thirteen women's NCAA sanctioned sports.

was an Associate member for football, and Loyola, Maryland was an Associate member for women's lacrosse. NOTE: Under NCAA rules reflecting the large number of male scholarship participants in football and attempting to address

gender equity Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

concerns (see also

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

), each football playing member institution is required to provide two more women's varsity sports than men's.

Men's basketball

The Big East was founded by seven charter schools in 1979 (

, St. John's, Georgetown,

, and

). Villanova joined the following year, followed by Pittsburgh in 1982. Georgetown, led by senior

Sleepy Floyd Eric Augustus "Sleepy" Floyd (born March 6, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. An NBA All-Star in 1987 as a Warrior, he is perhaps best known for his tenures for Golden State and Houston. Early life, family and education ...

and freshman

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is a basketball ambassador for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played most o ...

, made the NCAA Championship Game in 1982. Just two years later, in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, Georgetown won the Big East's first NCAA basketball championship with a victory over the

. The following year three Big East teams ( Villanova, St. John's, and Georgetown) all advanced to the

, culminating in Villanova's stunning championship game victory over the heavily favored Georgetown Hoyas. The conference's 1985 success was nearly duplicated in 1987, when

and a surprising

both made the

, followed by the Orangemen's narrow loss to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

in the tournament final. Two years later, the

Seton Hall Pirates The Seton Hall Pirates are the intercollegiate athletic sports teams representing Seton Hall University, located in South Orange, New Jersey. The Pirates compete as a member of the NCAA Division I level (non-football sub-level), primarily compet ...

also advanced to the NCAA Championship Game, but were defeated by the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

in an overtime heartbreaker. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, and Syracuse were the primary powers in the conference. UConn became a power in 1990 with a # 1 seed and a trip to the Elite 8 before being defeated by Duke. Georgetown was led by John Thompson Jr., who was named three times as the conference Coach of the Year. They won five regular season conference championships and six Big East tournaments to go with their 1984 national title. Villanova was coached by

Rollie Massimino Roland Vincent Massimino (November 13, 1934 – August 30, 2017) was an American basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Stony Brook University (1969–1971), Villanova University (1973–1992), the University of Nevada, ...

, who led them to the 1985 NCAA Championship in a historic 66–64 win over No. 1 ranked Georgetown where forward

Ed Pinckney Edward Lewis Pinckney (born March 27, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. College career He attended Villanova University and was a part of the Villanova Wildcats' 1981 heralded recruiting class that included Gary McL ...

was named the Most Outstanding Player. In their first 11 seasons in the Big East, Villanova made 9 trips to the NCAA tournament including advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1982, 1983 and 1988 as well as their 1985 Championship season. Massimino coached for 19 seasons at Villanova, compiling a record of 357–241 (.596). In the NCAA tournament, Massimino had an incredible 20–10 record (.667). St. John's was led by

Lou Carnesecca Luigi P. Carnesecca (January 5, 1925 – November 30, 2024) was an American men's college basketball coach at St. John's University. Carnesecca also coached at the professional level, leading the New York Nets of the American Basketball Assoc ...

, who won the National Coach of the Year honor in 1983 and 1985. He led the Redmen (now the Red Storm) to the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

Final Four, and made a post-season appearance in each of his 24 years at the helm. Syracuse has been led by alumnus

Jim Boeheim James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American former college basketball coach and current Special Assistant to the Athletic Director at Syracuse University. From 1976 until 2023, he was the head coach of the Syracuse Orange ...

since the 1977 season. He was named conference Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1991. During this period, the Orangemen won five regular season conference championships, three Big East tournaments, and were invited to the NCAA tournament every year but two (1981 and 1982), losing the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

National Final to Indiana. Syracuse eventually won its first national title in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, led by coach Boeheim and freshman

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony ( ; born May 29, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Anthony played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a ten-time NBA All-Star Game, NBA All-Star and six-time All-NBA T ...

. Beginning with their first Big East championship in 1990, Connecticut has become the preeminent power in the Big East. Over the past two decades, UConn has made many deep runs in NCAA tournament, playing in the Elite 8 nine times and making four appearances in the Final Four. Hall of Fame coach

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is an American former college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( ...

's program, led by such stars as

Ray Allen Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Allen played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a play ...

, Richard "Rip" Hamilton,

Caron Butler James Caron Butler (born March 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. During his 14-year NBA career, he played for the Miami He ...

Emeka Okafor Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Okafor attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas and the University of Connecticut, where in 2004 he won a national championship. ...

and

Kemba Walker Kemba Hudley Walker (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a player enhancement coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was picked ninth overall by the C ...

, averaged nearly 26 wins per year during that time span, won numerous Big East regular season and tournament championships, and claimed the National Championship in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. The conference got a then-record eight teams into the NCAA Men's tournament in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and again matched their own record in both

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. At the start of the 2008–2009 season, many sports analysts predicted that the conference would surpass the record by sending 10 teams to the

2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2008– ...

. When the brackets were revealed, seven made it, but three of them (Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut) gained No. 1 seeds, and Louisville earned the top seed overall. Connecticut and Villanova (a No. 3 seed) both reached the Final Four. At the finish of the 2010–11 season, the Big East eclipsed its record, sending 11 teams to the

2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2010-11 ...

. The conference has a number of former players currently playing in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

with some of the most recent being

Ryan Gomes Ryan Anthony Gomes (born September 1, 1982) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is currently an assistant coach for the Providence Friars. He was named a First Team All-American power forward at Providence C ...

Austin Croshere Austin Nathan Croshere (born May 1, 1975) is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs throughout his 12-year career in the ...

, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, Ben Gordon,

Troy Murphy Troy Brandon Murphy (born May 2, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Murphy was born in Morristown, New Jersey but grew up in Sparta Township. He a ...

Hakim Warrick Hakim Hanif Warrick (born July 8, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange from 2001 to 2005. Warrick won an NCAA championship in 2003 and blocked a potential game-tying thr ...

Quincy Douby Quincy Douby (born May 16, 1984) is an American-born, naturalized Montenegrin former professional basketball player. At , , Douby played shooting guard for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Sacramento Kings made him the 19th selection of the 2006 ...

Dante Cunningham Dante Lamar Cunningham (born April 22, 1987) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Villanova before being selected with the 33rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Early ...

Randy Foye Randy Foye (born September 24, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played collegiately at Villanova University. He was selected seventh overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, but was immediately traded to ...

Kyle Lowry Kyle Terrell Lowry (born March 25, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A six-time All-Star, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2016 and won an NBA c ...

Rudy Gay Rudy Carlton Gay Jr. (born August 17, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. A forward, he played college basketball for the UConn Huskies before being selected eighth overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, ...

, Matt Carroll,

Jake Voskuhl Robert Jacob Voskuhl (born November 1, 1977) is a retired American professional basketball player. After attending Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Voskuhl went to the University of Connecticut from 1996 to 2000, where he was the starting ce ...

Etan Thomas Dedrick Etan Thomas (born April 1, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a published po ...

Samuel Dalembert Samuel Davis Dalembert (born May 10, 1981) is a Haitian-Canadian former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Seton Hall University. During his active N ...

Charlie Villanueva Charlie Alexander Villanueva Mejia (born August 24, 1984) is a Dominican-American former professional basketball player who played for the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Associat ...

Donté Greene Donté Dominic Greene (born February 21, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange for one year before being selected with the 28th overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in th ...

Ron Artest Metta Sandiford-Artest (born Ronald William Artest Jr., November 13, 1979), previously legally named Metta World Peace, is an American former professional basketball player who played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Un ...

Chris Quinn Christopher Quinn (born September 27, 1983) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the top assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school Quinn played his high school ...

, Jason Hart, Tim Thomas,

Aaron Gray Aaron Michael Gray (born December 7, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A heart condition forced him into early retirement in 2015. Early life and ed ...

, Daniel Ochefu, Sam Young,

DeJuan Blair DeJuan Lamont Blair (born April 22, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers from 2007 to 2009. Blair entered the 2009 NBA draft where he was selected as the 37th overal ...

Wilson Chandler Wilson Jamall Chandler (born May 10, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA for 13 seasons, mainly with the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets. He also played for Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Baske ...

, Jeff Green,

Joe Alexander Joseph Anthony Alexander (; born December 26, 1986) is a Taiwan-born American-Israeli professional basketball player who last played for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Alexander, who at plays both forward position ...

, Marcus Williams,

Jonny Flynn Jonny William Flynn (born February 6, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. A three-year National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran, he last played for the Orlandina Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A and played collegi ...

Terrence Williams Terrence Deshon Williams (born June 28, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. Williams was drafted 11th overall in the 2009 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets. He was the senior co-captain for the 2008–09 University of L ...

Earl Clark Earl Rashad Clark (born January 17, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). He played college basketball for the University of Loui ...

Roy Hibbert Roy Denzil Hibbert (born December 11, 1986) is a Jamaican–American former professional basketball player. He is a two–time NBA All–Star, and earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2014 with the Indiana Pacers. Hibbert was the runne ...

, Wesley Johnson,

Wesley Matthews Wesley Joel Matthews Jr. (born October 14, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Marquette Golden Eagles. He i ...

Lazar Hayward Lazar Miller Hayward (born November 26, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a college standout for the Marquette Golden Eagles. High school career Hayward went to Buffalo Traditional High School where he was an o ...

Jimmy Butler Jimmy Butler III (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Jimmy Buckets", he is a six-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA Te ...

Steve Novak Steven Michael Novak (born June 13, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a television analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Fox Sports Wisconsin. He is listed as 6'10", 225 lbs. He played college basketb ...

Jae Crowder Corey Jae Crowder ( ; born July 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not being heavily recruited out of high school, Crowder committed to South Georgia Te ...

Maalik Wayns Maalik Benjamin Wayns (born May 2, 1991) is an American-Belarusian basketball coach and former professional player. He played high school basketball for Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, where he was a Parade All-America Boys Basketball ...

, and

Darius Johnson-Odom Darius "Darjo" Earvin Johnson-Odom (born September 28, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Al-Difaa Al-Jawi of the Iraqi Basketball Premier League. In 2009, he transferred to Marquette University from Hutchinson Community Co ...

Women's basketball

Big East

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

was just as competitive as the conference's men's programs. Connecticut coach

Geno Auriemma Luigi "Geno" Auriemma (born March 23, 1954) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. He holds the NCAA basketball records for wins and winning percentage with a mi ...

has led his women's team to eight national championships (including four between 2000 and 2004) and four undefeated seasons (1995,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, and

). Connecticut set the record for longest winning streak in all of NCAA women's basketball history with a 70-game winning streak stretching from 2001 to 2003. This streak was ended in 2003 when Villanova beat Connecticut for the Big East tournament title, in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in women's basketball (Villanova would go on to reach the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

that year). The Huskies broke their own record with consecutive unbeaten championship seasons in 2009 and 2010, and stretched their streak to 90, a Division I record for both sexes, before losing to

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

during the 2010–11 season. Due to the strength of the Connecticut program, 2001 national champion and 2011 and 2012 national runner-up Notre Dame, and 2007 national runner-up

, the Big East has emerged as one of the major powers in

women's college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athletic bodies, including the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

. In 2009 two Big East schools met in the national championship game (Connecticut and

) and the South Florida women's basketball team defeated

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

to become the WNIT champions. In

, UConn and Notre Dame both made the Final Four; the Irish defeated the Huskies in their semifinal but lost to

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in the NCAA Championship Game. The Irish returned to the championship game in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, losing there to unbeaten Baylor. The final season under the original conference structure, 2012–13, saw three Big East teams make the

—UConn, Notre Dame, and Louisville. UConn first defeated Notre Dame in the semifinals and, in a rematch of the 2009 final, defeated Louisville for the national title.

Football

Big East began football during the 1991–1992 season with the addition of Miami and was a founding member of the

. In the league's early years the

dominated, winning nine of the first thirteen championships and two national championships in 1991 and 2001.

also did well, winning the conference in 1995, 1996, and in 1999, when they also earned a No. 2 national ranking.

and

were the only other teams to win conference titles during the league's original alignment. The conference experienced a major reconstruction when Miami and

left for the

in 2004, followed by

in 2005. Initially, Syracuse University was in place to make the jump instead of

, but in 2003, the governor of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Mark Warner put pressure on the ACC (via the vote of the University of Virginia) to ensure that

was not left out of the conference expansion. Syracuse, then, was not invited to the ACC and was left to remain in the Big East.

had joined the Big East for football only in 1991, but found it difficult to compete with the other league teams and drew very poor attendance to its games. The conference was compelled to expel the Owls voluntarily in 2004 (after playing two seasons as an independent, Temple joined the

in 2007). The universities that replaced them were

and

from

. The league also invited the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

to play football a year earlier than planned. At about this time, the BCS announced that it would adjust the automatic bids granted to its six founding conferences based on results from 2004 to 2007, and that there would be five, six, or seven such bids starting in 2008. The obvious inference was that soon the Big East might lose its bid. The conference's fortunes improved in 2005. The three new teams from Conference USA began play that year, restoring the league to eight teams. West Virginia won the conference title and the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

, and finished 11–1 and finished No. 5 in the AP poll. Newcomer Louisville also ranked in the Top 20. In 2006,

, and

all entered November undefeated. However, they did not stay that way, as in a trio of exciting games over the next month, Louisville defeated West Virginia 44–34, Rutgers defeated Louisville 28–25, and West Virginia defeated Rutgers 41–39 in three overtimes. Louisville won the conference title in the end. In bowl action, the Big East went 5–0, including an

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

victory for Louisville over Wake Forest and a win by West Virginia over

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

in the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

. Louisville would finish the season ranked 6th, West Virginia 10th, and Rutgers 12th in the final AP Poll. In 2007,

USF USF may refer to: Universities * University of Saint Francis (Indiana), Ft. Wayne, Indiana * University of San Francisco, California * University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida * University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois * University of Sioux ...

rose to No. 2 in the

BCS BCS may refer to: American football * Bowl Championship Series, a system that selected matchups for major college football bowl games between 1998 and 2013 * BCS conferences, the six FBS conferences with automatic major bowl bids under that sys ...

rankings. They lost their next three games, however, to drop out of the rankings. They eventually finished the season No. 21 in the final BCS polls. The Connecticut Huskies, getting as high as No. 13, and West Virginia remained in the top 25. Cincinnati also rose as high as No. 15 in the rankings eventually finishing the season with 10 wins and a No. 17 ranking. Connecticut lost subsequent games and dropped substantially in the rankings, ultimately finishing 25th. On the final day of the season, Pittsburgh upset No. 2 WVU 13–9 in the 100th edition of the

Backyard Brawl The Backyard Brawl is an American college sports rivalry between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the West Virginia University Mountaineers. While historically a rivalry between the two schools' football programs, the term "Backyar ...

to give the Huskies a share of the conference championship, while WVU was stopped on the doorstep of the

BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four des ...

. In bowl games, WVU upset the Big 12 Champion Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, despite having lost their highly touted coach,

Rich Rodriguez Richard Alan Rodriguez (; born May 24, 1963), also known as Rich Rod, is an American college football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at West Virginia Mountaineers football, West Virginia University, his second sti ...

to Michigan less than a month before the game. West Virginia finished the season ranked No. 6 and Cincinnati finished ranked #17. The 2009 season saw

finish the regular season undefeated at 12–0 and climb to No. 3 in the final BCS standings. After completing a fourth quarter comeback to beat

on the final day of the season, the Bearcats narrowly missed a spot in the BCS national championship game, as No. 2

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

pulled out a last second win in the

Big 12 Championship Game The Big 12 Championship Game is a college football game held by the Big 12 Conference between the best and the second-best Big 12 team. The game was played each year since the conference's formation in 1996 until 2010 and returned during the 201 ...

. The Bearcats would go on to lose the

to No. 5

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and finish the year 12–1. On September 18, 2011, both Pittsburgh and Syracuse were accepted as

members although the exact date of the move is still uncertain.
ESPN
.) There are also rumors that UConn is also looking to leave the Big East and join Pittsburgh and Syracuse in the ACC.
ESPN
.) On October 28, 2011, West Virginia announced it was leaving the Big East to join the Big 12 in 2012. TCU, who had accepted an invitation to join the Big East in the 2012 season, withdrew its acceptance and instead accepted an invitation to join the Big 12. In 2011, as a response to major shifts in the college football conference landscape, the conference added five new members to help offset the losses of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia. On December 7, 2011, the conference officially added the

, and the

as all-sports members. Additionally, Boise State and San Diego State of the

were added as football-only members, but Boise State eventually decided not to join the Big East, which allowed San Diego State to withdraw without penalty.

Champions

*No official championship awarded in 1991 and 1992, as the conference did not start full league play until 1993. **Louisville received the BCS bid since they were the highest ranked team in the final BCS poll.

BCS Bowl Games

The Big East had an 8–7 record in BCS bowl games, including a 1–2 record in National Championship games. * Big East team in bold

Bowl games

;Notes on bowl game selection * † The Big East's BCS representative was not tied directly to a specific BCS Bowl. It was selected to a bowl in the same manner as an at-large team. The BCS may select a second team to play in another BCS bowl game. Beginning in 2008, the Big East champion was rotated between the

, and

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

(in that order). * Notre Dame was eligible to be chosen in lieu of a Big East team for the Russell Athletic Bowl one time during a four-year period. In a separate rule specific only to Notre Dame that does not affect the Big East's BCS representative, Notre Dame is eligible to receive a BCS automatic berth if they finish within the top 8 of the BCS Rankings.

Lacrosse

Men's

In 2010, the Big East created a men's

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

league with Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, Syracuse, and Villanova participating. Men's lacrosse is the 24th sport sponsored by the Big East Conference and is the 11th men's sport. The teams play a six-game single round-robin regular-season schedule. There was no Big East men's lacrosse championship tournament in 2010 and 2011. Instead, the Big East champion was determined by conference-game winning percentage at the conclusion of the regular season. This winner received the league's automatic bid to the 16-team

NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship The NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament is an annual tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA to determine the national champion of men's college lacrosse, collegiate field lacrosse among its NCAA Division ...

. The first Big East championship tournament was played beginning in the 2012 season.

dominated the sport until its switch to the

. Of the Big East men's lacrosse schools in the 2013 season, the final season under the original conference structure: * Georgetown, Providence, St. John's, and Villanova became members of the reconfigured Big East. Marquette, which announced plans to add the sport for the 2014 season, is also in the new conference. * Notre Dame and Syracuse joined the ACC, which already sponsored the sport. * Rutgers spent the 2014 season in The American before joining the Big Ten. Since Rutgers was the only current or future full member of The American that sponsored men's lacrosse, it would remain in Big East lacrosse until the Big Ten began lacrosse competition in the 2015 season.

Women's

The Big East has sponsored women's lacrosse since the 2000–01 season. Georgetown and former member Syracuse have dominated, winning ten championships (including one shared one) as of the 2012–13 season.

Cross country

The Big East Conference first crowned men's cross country champions in 1979 and women's cross country champions in 1982. During the history of the original Big East, six different women's teams won Big East Championships: Boston College, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Villanova and West Virginia. On the men's side six teams won Big East Championships as well: Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Providence, Syracuse and Villanova. In both the 2009 and 2010 season, the Villanova women captured the NCAA Cross Country Team Championship as they have largely dominated the Big East over the years with numerous Conference Titles. Led by

Sheila Reid Sheila Reid (born 21 December 1937) is a Scottish actress. An original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963, she played Bianca in the National's 1965 film version of ''Othello'', with Laurence Olivier in the title role. Her other film a ...

, a junior from New Market, Ont. who won the 2010 individual champion, the top-ranked Wildcats captured their second straight NCAA Division I women's cross country championship. Reid sprinted past Georgetown's Emily Infeld and Oregon's Jordan Hasay in the final 200 meters to win the individual title. It was the Villanova Women's ninth NCAA Team Championship overall in Cross Country. The Wildcats captured six consecutive NCAA Championships from 1989 to 1994 and also won the title again in 1998, 2009 and 2010.

Conference champions by year

†Received the Conference's BCS (or Alliance Bowl) berth

Facilities

Facilities listed here are those used by each school in its final year of Big East membership before the 2013 conference split. Names and capacities are also those from each school's final year of pre-split membership, and do not necessarily reflect current data. Schools that moved to the

Big East Conference (2013–present) The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the 11 full-member schools are primarily located in N ...

are highlighted in grey. Those that moved to the

are in pink. Those that remained in the renamed

for 2013–14 are in white. Notes:
¹ For certain high-profile home games, Cincinnati uses the Cincinnati Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium. In 2010, Cincinnati hosted the University of Oklahoma at Paul Brown Stadium. In 2011, Cincinnati used Paul Brown Stadium as an alternate home field for games against Louisville and West Virginia.
² Late in 2006, Rutgers added approximately 3,000 temporary end zone seats that remained for the 2007 season (total 45,000). In 2008, Rutgers began a stadium expansion project which is expected to increase capacity to over 55,000 seats and add luxury and club seats. The premium seating is projected to be ready for the 2008 season and the additional 12,000 end zone seats are expected for the 2009 season. The stadium is also expected to receive a new name as part of the financing package depends on a name sponsorship.
³ 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.
⁴ For Syracuse basketball games in the Carrier Dome, the court is laid out on one end of the field and stands are erected beside it. This makes the Carrier Dome the largest on-campus venue for college basketball in the nation.
⁵ For certain high-profile home games, Villanova uses the

Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to: * Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California * Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California * Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California * Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California * Wells Fargo C ...

, and previously used the

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

. In 2005–06, Villanova played three home games at the Wells Fargo Center and the rest on campus at The Pavilion. In 2006, the Wells Fargo 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 Wells Fargo Center (but Villanova was not considered the host school for that sub-region – the Atlantic 10 Conference was). This situation occurred again in

, with Villanova playing (and winning) its first two tournament games at Wells Fargo Center.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big East Conference (1979-2013) * Sports in the Midwestern United States Sports in the Eastern United States Sports in the Southern United States Sports leagues established in 1979 Sports leagues disestablished in 2013 Articles which contain graphical timelines

History

Founding: the early years

Football expansion

Turmoil and realignment

Continued instability

Conference split

New Big East

Membership timeline

Subsequent conference affiliations

Commissioners

Member institutions

Full members

Full members except in football

Associate members

Previous members

Former full members

Former associate members

Invited members

Sports

Men's basketball

Women's basketball

Football

Champions

BCS Bowl Games

Bowl games

Lacrosse

Men's

Women's

Cross country

Conference champions by year

Facilities

See also

References