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Big East Conference (1979–2013)

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Big East Conference

File:Big East new.gif


Data
Established 1979
Members 16
Sports fielded 23
National
championships		 24
Individual champions 122
Commissioner Michael Tranghese

The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the northeastern, southeastern and midwestern United States. The conference's 16 members participate in 23 NCAA sports. Founded in 1979, the conference recently went through a restructuring which saw several teams leave for other conferences and other teams join the Big East.

Members

Schools in the conference effective July 2005 include:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio 1819 Public 34,364
University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut 1881 Public 27,500
DePaul University Chicago, Illinois 1898 Private/Catholic 23,570
Georgetown University Washington, DC 1790 Private/Catholic 13,612
University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky 1798 Public 20,605
Marquette University Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1881 Private/Catholic 11,510
University of Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana 1842 Private/Catholic 11,415
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1787 Public 32,105
Providence College Providence, Rhode Island 1917 Private/Catholic 3,648
Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey 1766 Public 34,696
St. John's University Queens, New York 1870 Private/Catholic 19,813
Seton Hall University South Orange, New Jersey 1856 Private/Catholic 9,700
University of South Florida Tampa, Florida 1956 Public 40,261
Syracuse University Syracuse, New York 1870 Private/Non-sectarian 18,247
Villanova University Radnor Township, Pennsylvania 1842 Private/Catholic 9,500
West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia 1867 Public 26,051

Football Affiliation

About The League

The Big East was founded in 1979 when Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, and Syracuse invited Seton Hall, Connecticut, and Boston College to form a conference primarily focused on basketball. Five of the founding seven schools are Catholic schools (Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Boston College). With the additions of Notre Dame and Villanova earlier in the conference's history, and the 2005 additions of Marquette and DePaul, the Big East represents the majority of the large, athletically competitive Catholic schools (though Boston College has subsequently left). The Big East is among the most academically diverse of the major conferences. It includes a mixture of top academic universities such as Georgetown, Syracuse, Notre Dame, DePaul, Villanova, Rutgers, West Virginia, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Marquette along with Providence, Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida. In terms of the number of schools commonly listed among top American universities, the Big East is outranked by the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten and the Pac-10.

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 and Rutgers were added at this time, with Virginia Tech and Rutgets 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 Virginia Tech announced their intention to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Temple's troubled football program was asked to leave. Those changes were completed by the fall of 2005.

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, men's and women's basketball, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, lacrosse, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, and volleyball.

Basketball

The seven founding schools (Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, Syracuse, Seton Hall, UConn, and Boston College) brought the conference to reality in 1979, where it existed primarily as a basketball conference. Villanova joined the following year, followed by Pittsburgh in 1982. 1985 was the conference's high-water mark with respect to basketball, as three teams (Villanova, St. John's, and Georgetown) all advanced to the Final Four, culminating in Villanova's stunning victory over the Patrick Ewing-led Hoyas, considered one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history. Until the retirement of coach John Thompson, Georgetown was one of the primary powers in the conference, led by Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, and Allen Iverson. Jim Boeheim has coached Syracuse to three Final Fours, winning the national championship in 2003 with the help of freshman sensation Carmelo Anthony.

More recently, basketball in the Big East has been dominated by UConn. The UConn's men's program, coached by Jim Calhoun and led by such stars as Clifford R. Robinson, Donyell Marshall, Ray Allen, 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.

With the additions of the Cardinals and the Bearcats to the Big East, the conference now has 7 historically elite basketball programs - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, St. John's, Syracuse, and Villanova.

And the women's hoops may prove to be just as good. 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

Football

Starting with the 1991-1992 academic year, the Big East began playing football, and obtained immediate legitimacy as a football conference with the addition of the powerhouse Miami program. The same eight teams competed in the league from its inception until Miami and Virginia Tech joined the ACC and UConn joined the Big East football league, all in 2004. Major realignment occurred in July 2005 as Boston College joined Miami and Virginia Tech in the ACC, football-only member Temple once again became an independent (Temple joins the Mid-American Conference for football only in 2007), and Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida all formally joined the conference as all-sports members including football. DePaul and Marquette also joined at this time as non-football members.

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, but won bowl games in its last five years in the Big East and has been dubbed O-Line-U for its propensity to send offensive linemen to the NFL. 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 Stadia

School Football stadium Stadium capacity Basketball arena Arena capacity
Cincinnati Nippert Stadium 35,000 Fifth Third Arena 13,176
Connecticut Rentschler Field 40,000 Gampel Pavilion & Hartford Civic Center 10,027/16,294
DePaul non-football school n/a Allstate Arena (men)
DePaul Athletic Center (women) 		18,500
3,000
Georgetown Multi-Sport Field 2,500 MCI Center 20,600
Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium 42,000 Freedom Hall 18,865
Marquette non-football school n/a Bradley Center (men)
Al McGuire Center (women) 		18,717
???
Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium 80,795 Edmund P. Joyce Center 11,418
Pittsburgh Heinz Field 64,450 Petersen Events Center 12,508
Providence non-football school n/a Dunkin' Donuts Center 12,993
Rutgers Rutgers Stadium 41,500 Louis Brown Athletic Center 8,000
St. John's non-football school n/a Madison Square Garden (men only) &
Carnesecca Arena (men and women) 		19,522
6,008
Seton Hall non-football school n/a Continental Airlines Arena 20,029
South Florida Raymond James Stadium 65,000 USF Sun Dome 11,324
Syracuse Carrier Dome 50,000 Carrier Dome 50,000
Villanova Villanova Stadium 12,500 The Pavilion &
Wachovia Center 		6,500
21,600
West Virginia Mountaineer Field 60,000 WVU Coliseum 14,000

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 will play 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 will play three home games at the Wachovia Center and the rest on campus at The Pavilion. In 2006, the Wachovia Center is also a first-round site for the NCAA Tournament, and Villanova remains eligible to play at that site, since it is not the school's primary home court.

Rivalries

The Big East features many unique rivalries amongst its diverse members. These rivalries include:

  • Syracuse - Georgetown
  • Syracuse - Connecticut
  • Providence - Notre Dame
  • Providence - Connecticut
  • Marquette - DePaul
  • Marquette - Notre Dame
  • Seton Hall - St. John's
  • Georgetown - St. John's
  • Georgetown - DePaul
  • West Virginia - Pitt (The Backyard Brawl in football)
  • West Virginia - Syracuse (Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy)
  • Rutgers - Seton Hall
  • Louisville - Cincinnati (Keg of Nails in football)
  • Louisville - West Virginia (Braxton Trophy in football)
  • Notre Dame - DePaul
  • Villanova - Georgetown
  • Villanova - Connecticut

Football rivalries that are expected to blossom in the realigned Big East are:

  • Louisville - West Virginia
  • Cincinnati - West Virginia
  • Cincinnati - Pitt (The Paddlewheel Trophy has been created in significance of the Ohio River to the two cities.)
  • Louisville - Pitt
  • Connecticut - Rutgers
  • Connecticut - Syracuse
  • South Florida - Louisville
  • Syracuse - Rutgers

Rivalries out of conference that feature Big East members include:

  • 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
  • West Virginia - Maryland (ACC)
  • West Virginia - Virginia Tech (ACC) (Black Diamond Trophy)
  • Louisville - Kentucky (SEC)
  • West Virginia - East Carolina (Conference USA)
  • Pittsburgh - Penn State (Big Ten) This rivalry currently lies dormant.
  • Pittsburgh - Notre Dame (Football Independent)
  • Villanova - Delaware (Atlantic 10 Football)
  • 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.
  • Louisville - Memphis (Conference USA)
  • 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.
  • Marquette - Wisconsin (Big Ten)
  • South Florida - Miami (ACC)
  • Connecticut - Massachusetts (Atlantic Ten) 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 has pitted the two schools in an annual contest since 1996.

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

In 2003 the Big East was put on watch as the ACC announced plans to expand from nine teams to twelve. Miami, Syracuse, and Boston College were rumored to be the three schools under consideration, and all three met with officials from the ACC regarding membership. 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 them to Big East Commissioner, Mike Tranghese several years prior in 1999. Their issues went unresolved, leading to Miami's interest in the ACC - a league who had been pursuing the college football superpower since the mid-1990's, at the request of neighboring football schools Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech. The ACC schools were dissatisfied with the balance of power in the old ACC. The power in the ACC was previously tilted towards "Tobacco Road", the name given to the distance between the four North Carolina schools who founded the ACC and their nationally prominent basketball programs. In the ensuing fallout, led by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Big East Football newcomer UConn led the "remaining" football schools (Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia) in the filing of two lawsuits, one against the ACC, and the other against Miami and Boston College, accusing them 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 thrown out of court.

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 Foxe 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. 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.

The Big East presidents and athletic directors met in summer 2003 to discuss replacing the departed members and establishing a process by which members would exit the conference in the future. The remaining members of the conference reaffirmed their commitment to rebuilding the Big East in partnership together, and moved towards establishing a $5 million exit fee for any other schools who wished to defect in the future. Several models for a new conference were discussed; however it was eventually decided that the football schools would explore separating from the basketball-only schools and establish an 8-team all-sports conference. It was very quickly realized that this scenario would not be feasible due to the fact that the new conference would lose its automatic NCAA basketball tournament berth and possibly its BCS bid because the football schools had not been together long enough to satisfy certain NCAA rules. It was then 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 this decision, the administration of Boston College decided to abandon its commitment to rebuild the conference and once again entertained overtures from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Speculation that Chancellor Foxe, a Notre Dame alumna and 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 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 had been voted for but not yet amended to the Big East's constitution. Boston College won both decisions, but the Big East appealed. A secret settlement reported to be worth $5 million was reached in May 2005, and as part of the settlement the ACC agreed to play a number of football games each year against Big East teams. Boston College joined the ACC in 2005, and was exempted 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.

In response to losing their two marquee 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:

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.

Other schools rumored to be a part of further Big East expansion plans include the University of Memphis, the University of Central Florida, East Carolina University, and Navy, though Navy has allegedly twice refused an invitation.

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