Big East Conference
Established: 1979
NCAA	Division I FBS
Members	17 (full: 16; associate: 1)
Sports fielded	23 (men's: 10; women's: 13)
Region	Eastern United States
Headquarters	Providence, RI
Commissioner	Mike Tranghese (since 1990)
Website	http://www.bigeast.org/
Locations

The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of seventeen universities in the northeastern, southeastern and midwestern United States. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations Division I (or D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States The Eastern Half of The United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) This is a List of Athletic Conferences of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The conference's 17 members (16 full-time and 1 associate member) participate in 23 NCAA sports. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations Eight of the seventeen conference schools are football members and the Big East competes as a BCS conference in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the top level of NCAA competition in that sport (also known by its former designation: Division I-A). College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, Colleges and military academies The Bowl Championship Series ( BCS) is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA FBS Bowl Subdivision System an opportunity to compete in a "national Division I (or D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States Three members have football programs but are not Big East football schools: Georgetown and Villanova compete in the Football Championship Subdivision and Notre Dame plays as an FBS independent. Georgetown University is a Jesuit Private university located in Georgetown Washington D Villanova University' is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States Division I (or D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in Reasons for being Independent In recent years most Independent FBS schools have joined a conference for two primary

In basketball, teams currently in the Big East account for 40 all time Final Four appearances and 10 National Championships, numbers only surpassed by the Big Ten and Pac-10 respectively. College basketball most often refers to the American Basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA The Pacific-10 Conference ( Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. Of the Big East's 16 full members, 15 (or 93%) have been to the Final Four, by far the most of any conference. The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the The only full member that has never been to the Final Four is South Florida. The University of South Florida ( USF) known within its system as USF Tampa, is a public research University system located in Tampa, Florida The Big East set the record for the most teams sent to the NCAA Tournament by a single conference in 2006, with eight. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The conference tied its own record again in 2008. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

Contents 1 About The League 1.1 Commissioners 2 Members 2.1 Associate Members 2.2 Former Members 3 Basketball 4 Football 5 Conference facilities 6 Rivalries 7 Realignment 8 Conference Champions by year 9 External links 10 References

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. This page refers to a college in Rhode Island. For the college in Manitoba, see Providence College and Theological Seminary. Cultural traditions "What is a Hoya?" The University admits that the precise origin of the term "Hoya" is unknown The Syracuse Orange is the Nickname used by the athletic teams of Syracuse University. The Connecticut Huskies, also known as the UConn Huskies, are the athletic teams of the University of Connecticut. The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams representing Boston College. Villanova joined a year later in 1980 and Pittsburgh joined in 1982. Villanova University' is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly referred to as the Pitt Panthers are the athletic teams of University of Pittsburgh. Big East regents rejected Penn State's application for admission into the Big East in 1982, since the conference at that time was only focused on basketball. The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University.

Almost a decade later the Big East was serious about becoming a major football conference and added five schools, including four-time champion Miami, Temple, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Rutgers. The Miami Hurricanes represent the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a long-running and prestigious athletic program Virginia Tech sponsors 19 sports and competes at the NCAA Division I level The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams of West Virginia University. Athletic heritage See also History of Rutgers University Rutgers was among the first American institutions to engage in intercollegiate athletics and participated Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference. The inaugural Big East football season was launched in 1991. ^{[1] [2]} West Virginia and Rutgers were football-only members until 1995, Virginia Tech was a football-only member until 2001, with Temple remaining a football-only member until consistently failing to attract enough fan support and vacating its membership in 2004. Notre Dame was also offered a non-football membership as of 1995. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the varsity sports teams of the University of Notre Dame.

Big East Sports Offered Baseball Women's and Men's Basketball Women's and Men's Cross Country Football Field Hockey Women's and Men's Golf Women's Lacrosse Women's Rowing Women's and Men's Soccer Softball Women's and Men's Swimming & Diving Women's and Men's Tennis Women's and Men's Indoor & Outdoor Track Volleyball

This led to an unusual structure since not all members of the conference competed in Division I-A (now FBS) football. This had long led to rumors of instability, and in 2003, ongoing press reports of tensions between the football schools and the basketball schools finally exploded into a months-long public tug-of-war between the Big East and the Atlantic Coast Conference over several Big East members. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. The end result was that three Big East schools — Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College — moved to the ACC, while five teams moved to the Big East from Conference USA — Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, Marquette, and DePaul. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic University in The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida, UM, or just The U) is a private non-sectarian University founded in 1925 For similarly-named academic institutions see Education in Boston MA. Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cincinnati Bearcats are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Cincinnati. The South Florida Bulls are a Division I FBS College football program that plays its home games in Tampa Florida. The Marquette Golden Eagles (formerly known as the Marquette Warriors Blue and Gold Hilltoppers and Golden Avalanche (football only is the name of the various sports teams of DePaul University is a private institution of Higher education and Research in Chicago, Illinois, U For more details on this topic, see Realignment.

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 TV markets and help the already solid basketball status of the conference.

The Big East currently represents the majority of the large, athletically competitive private Catholic schools, with public schools Pittsburgh, Louisville, Rutgers, South Florida, and Cincinnati also being located in areas with large Catholic communities. Five of the founding seven schools are Catholic schools — Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Boston College.

In January 2006, Loyola College was added as an associate member in the sport of women's lacrosse. Loyola College in Maryland is a private Coeducational University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with the ^[3]

Big East schools compete in Division I in basketball and Olympic sports. Football members of the conference participate in Division I FBS. Notre Dame remains an FBS independent, 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 College athletic conference which operates in the Northeastern United States. Villanova competed in the Atlantic Ten through the 2006 season, but along with all other members of the A-10 football conference joined the new football conference launched by the Colonial Athletic Association in 2007. The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10 is a Mid-major college athletic conference which operates mostly on the United States' eastern seaboard The Colonial Athletic Association, also known as the CAA, is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in East

An interesting note is that the 8 schools which play football in the conference are all state-supported (or in the case of Pittsburgh, state-related) with the exception of Syracuse (a private but secular institution), whereas the 8 schools that do not play football in the conference are all affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. The Commonwealth System of Higher Education is the organizing body of Pennsylvania 's state-related schools which allows the independent control of the universities

Also, despite the fact that 7 schools sponsor the sport, the Big East does not have a men's lacrosse championship, although this could change as early as 2009. ^[4]

Commissioners

• Dave Gavitt: 1979-1990
• Mike Tranghese: 1990-present

Members

The full member institutions of the Big East are:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Football Member	Year Joined	Nickname
University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio	1819	Public	36,518[5]	Yes	2005	Bearcats
University of Connecticut	Storrs, Connecticut	1881	Public	28,411[6]	Yes	1979	Huskies
DePaul University	Chicago, Illinois	1898	Private/Catholic	23,570	No	2005	Blue Demons
Georgetown University	Washington, D.C.	1789	Private/Catholic	13,612	No*	1979	Hoyas
University of Louisville	Louisville, Kentucky	1798	Public	21,841[7]	Yes	2005	Cardinals
Marquette University	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1881	Private/Catholic	11,510	No	2005	Golden Eagles
University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame, Indiana[8]	1842	Private/Catholic	11,415	No*	1995	Fighting Irish
University of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	1787	Semi-Public	32,105	Yes	1982	Panthers
Providence College	Providence, Rhode Island	1917	Private/Catholic	3,648	No	1979	Friars
Rutgers University	New Brunswick, New Jersey	1766	Public	34,696	Yes	1995	Scarlet Knights
St. John's University	Queens, New York	1870	Private/Catholic	19,813	No	1979	Red Storm
Seton Hall University	South Orange, New Jersey	1856	Private/Catholic	9,700	No	1979	Pirates
University of South Florida	Tampa, Florida	1956	Public	40,261	Yes	2005	Bulls
Syracuse University	Syracuse, New York	1870	Private/Non-sectarian	18,247	Yes	1979	Orange
Villanova University	Villanova, Pennsylvania	1842	Private/Catholic	9,500	No*	1980	Wildcats
West Virginia University	Morgantown, West Virginia	1867	Public	28,113[9]	Yes	1995	Mountaineers

^* = These schools sponsor football programs outside of the Big East Conference (see above)

Associate Members

Institution	Location	Conference	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Sport
Loyola College in Maryland	Baltimore, Maryland	MAAC	Private/Catholic	3,501	Greyhounds	Women's lacrosse

Former Members

Institution	Affiliation	Years	Current Conference
Boston College	Full member	1979-2005	ACC
Temple University	Football only	1991-2004	A-10, MAC (football)
University of Miami	Full member	1991-2004	ACC
Virginia Tech	Football only Full member	1991-1999 2000-2004	ACC

Basketball

2006-2007 Average Men's Basketball Attendance
School	Average Attendance
Syracuse	21,488
Louisville	18,488
Marquette	15,345
Connecticut	13,012
Pittsburgh	11,611
Villanova	10,706
DePaul	10,551
Georgetown	10,441
West Virginia	9,649
Notre Dame	9,027
Cincinnati	8,831
Providence	8,410
St. John's	6,920
Seton Hall	6,636
Rutgers	5,453
USF	3,852

See also: Big East Men's Basketball Tournament

The Big East was founded by seven charter schools in 1979 (Providence, St. David "Dave" Gavitt (b October 26 1937, Westerly Rhode Island) was a college Basketball coach and athletic director at Providence The University of Cincinnati is a Coeducational public Research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Cincinnati Bearcats are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Cincinnati. The University of Connecticut ( Connecticut or UConn) is the State of Connecticut 's Land-grant university. Storrs is a Census-designated place and part of the town of Mansfield, Connecticut located in eastern Tolland County. The Connecticut Huskies, also known as the UConn Huskies, are the athletic teams of the University of Connecticut. DePaul University is a private institution of Higher education and Research in Chicago, Illinois, U Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Georgetown University is a Jesuit Private university located in Georgetown Washington D Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Cultural traditions "What is a Hoya?" The University admits that the precise origin of the term "Hoya" is unknown The University of Louisville (also known as U of L) is a public University in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. Marquette University is a private coeducational Jesuit, Roman Catholic University located in Milwaukee Wisconsin. The Marquette Golden Eagles (formerly known as the Marquette Warriors Blue and Gold Hilltoppers and Golden Avalanche (football only is the name of the various sports teams of The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in Notre Dame Indiana is an Unincorporated community northeast of South Bend in St The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the varsity sports teams of the University of Notre Dame. The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a non-sectarian coeducational independent state-related, "public" research University The Commonwealth System of Higher Education is the organizing body of Pennsylvania 's state-related schools which allows the independent control of the universities The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly referred to as the Pitt Panthers are the athletic teams of University of Pittsburgh. This page refers to a college in Rhode Island. For the college in Manitoba, see Providence College and Theological Seminary. Rutgers The State University of New Jersey (also known as Rutgers University) is the largest institution for higher education in the state of New Jersey New Brunswick, also known as "the Healthcare City" or "Hub City" is a city and the County seat of Middlesex County Athletic heritage See also History of Rutgers University Rutgers was among the first American institutions to engage in intercollegiate athletics and participated South Orange Village is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The University of South Florida ( USF) known within its system as USF Tampa, is a public research University system located in Tampa, Florida The South Florida Bulls are a Division I FBS College football program that plays its home games in Tampa Florida. Syracuse University (SU is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse (locally ˈsɛrəkjuːs sometimes ˈsɪrəkjuːs or /ˈsɪərəkjuːs/ by non-natives is a city in Central New York, USA. The Syracuse Orange is the Nickname used by the athletic teams of Syracuse University. Villanova University' is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States Villanova is a community in the US state of Pennsylvania. It straddles Lower Merion Township of Montgomery County and Radnor Township West Virginia University is a Coeducational public Research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Morgantown is a city in and the County seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, on the banks of the Monongahela River The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams of West Virginia University. Loyola College in Maryland is a private Coeducational University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with the Member Institutions The MAAC has ten Member Institutions Associate Member Institutions Men's Lacrosse Mount Saint Mary's Lacrosse is a full contact Team sport played using a solid rubber ball and long handled racket called a crosse or Lacrosse stick. For similarly-named academic institutions see Education in Boston MA. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Temple University is a state-related public research University in Philadelphia. The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10 is a Mid-major college athletic conference which operates mostly on the United States' eastern seaboard The Mid-American Conference ( MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA Division I college athletic conference with a membership The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida, UM, or just The U) is a private non-sectarian University founded in 1925 The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic University in The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. The Syracuse Orange men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of Syracuse University. The Louisville Cardinals basketball team is the 18th winningest College basketball team in NCAA Division I history and has the 11th best winning percentage in college The Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball team is the basketball team that represent Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The UConn Huskies is the name of the men's and women's Basketball teams at University of Connecticut, in Storrs Connecticut, USA. The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball program popularly known as the Pitt Panthers is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh Villanova University has fielded a basketball team since the 1920-21 season DePaul University is a private institution of Higher education and Research in Chicago, Illinois, U The Georgetown University Men's Basketball team (which like all sports teams at Georgetown University, is named the Georgetown Hoyas) is a well-known basketball The West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University in NCAA Division I College basketball competition The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame The Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio This page refers to a college in Rhode Island. For the college in Manitoba, see Providence College and Theological Seminary. Athletic heritage See also History of Rutgers University Rutgers was among the first American institutions to engage in intercollegiate athletics and participated The South Florida Bulls are a Division I FBS College football program that plays its home games in Tampa Florida. The Big East Men's Basketball Tournament determines the Big East Conference champion and the winner of the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of seventeen Universities in the northeastern southeastern and midwestern United John's, Georgetown, Syracuse, Seton Hall, UConn, and Boston College) with the intent of creating a powerhouse basketball conference. Villanova joined the following year, followed by Pittsburgh in 1982.

It wouldn't take long for the conference to meet its original aim, with Georgetown, led by freshman Patrick Ewing, making the NCAA Championship Game (losing to the Michael Jordan-led North Carolina Tar Heels. The Georgetown University Men's Basketball team (which like all sports teams at Georgetown University, is named the Georgetown Hoyas) is a well-known basketball Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5 1962 is an American retired Hall of Fame Basketball player and current assistant coach for the National Basketball The 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963 is a retired American professional Basketball player and active businessman Just two years later in 1984 Georgetown won the Big East's first NCAA basketball championship with a victory over the University of Houston. Phi Slama Jama was the Nickname of the University of Houston Cougars men's basketball teams from 1982 to 1984.

The following year three Big East teams (Villanova, St. John's, and Georgetown) all advanced to the Final Four, culminating in Villanova's stunning championship game victory over the heavily-favored Hoyas. The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the The conference's 1985 success was nearly duplicated in 1987, when Syracuse and a surprising Providence both made the Final Four, followed by the Orangemen's narrow loss to Indiana University in the tournament final. The Syracuse Orange men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of Syracuse University. The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University (IU Two years later, the Seton Hall Pirates also advanced to the NCAA Championship Game, but were defeated by the University of Michigan Wolverines in a controversial overtime heartbreaker. The University of Michigan Ann Arbor ( U of M, U-M, UM or simply Michigan) is a top-ranked Coeducational public research The Michigan Wolverines comprise 24 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan which compete in the NCAA 's Division I and in the Big Ten

Team	Championships	Final Fours
Louisville	2	8
Cincinnati	2	6
Connecticut	2	2
Georgetown	1	5
Syracuse	1 in the tournament era, 2 pre-tournament era	4
Marquette	1	3
Villanova	1	3
Providence	~	2
Seton Hall	~	1
West Virginia	~	1
Pittsburgh	2 Helms National Championships (1928, 1930)	1
DePaul	1	1
Rutgers	~	1
St. John's	1 Helms National Championship (1911)	2
Notre Dame	~	1

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Georgetown and St. The Louisville Cardinals basketball team is the 18th winningest College basketball team in NCAA Division I history and has the 11th best winning percentage in college The Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio The UConn Huskies is the name of the men's and women's Basketball teams at University of Connecticut, in Storrs Connecticut, USA. The Georgetown University Men's Basketball team (which like all sports teams at Georgetown University, is named the Georgetown Hoyas) is a well-known basketball The Syracuse Orange men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of Syracuse University. The Marquette Golden Eagles (formerly known as the Marquette Warriors Blue and Gold Hilltoppers and Golden Avalanche (football only is the name of the various sports teams of Villanova University has fielded a basketball team since the 1920-21 season This page refers to a college in Rhode Island. For the college in Manitoba, see Providence College and Theological Seminary. The West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University in NCAA Division I College basketball competition The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball program popularly known as the Pitt Panthers is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh DePaul University is a private institution of Higher education and Research in Chicago, Illinois, U Athletic heritage See also History of Rutgers University Rutgers was among the first American institutions to engage in intercollegiate athletics and participated The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame John's were the primary powers in the conference. Led by John Thompson Jr., Tompson was named three times as the conference Coach of the Year, ^[10] they won five regular season conference championships, six Big East Tournaments, and were invited to the NCAA Tournament every year during that period, winning in 1984. John Thompson Jr (born September 2 1941) is an American former Basketball coach for the Georgetown University Hoyas. The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the ^[11] St. John's was led by Lou Carnesecca he won the National Coach of the Year honor in 1983 and 1985. Luigi P Carnesecca (born January 5, 1925 in New York City) is a former Basketball coach at St He led the Redmen (now the Red Storm) to the 1985 Final 4, and post-season appearances every year in his 24 year run. He had an all time record at St. John's of 526-200.

UConn won a national championship under Jim Calhoun in 1999. James B Calhoun (born May 10, 1942 in Braintree, Massachusetts) is the Head coach of the University of Connecticut 's men's Syracuse won a title under Jim Boeheim in 2003, and UConn with Calhoun again in 2004. James Arthur "Jim" Boeheim (ˈbeɪhaɪm born November 17, 1944) is the men's Basketball head coach for Syracuse University. Georgetown, now coached by Thompson's son John III, made the 2007 Final Four. John Thompson III (born March 12, 1966) is the current head coach of the men's Basketball team at Georgetown University. The conference got a record eight teams into the NCAA Men's Tournament in 2006 and matched their own record in 2008. The 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a Single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a Single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA

The conference has a number of former players currently playing in the National Basketball Association with some of the most recent being Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Ryan Gomes, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams, Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone, Samuel Dalembert, Charlie Villanueva, Ron Artest and Aaron Gray. Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7 1975 in Hampton, Virginia) is an American professional Basketball player for the Denver Nuggets Walter Ray Allen (born July 20 1975 in Merced, California) commonly referred to as Ray Allen, is an American professional Basketball player See also List of college men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds Ryan Gomes (born September 1 1982, in Waterbury Connecticut Richard "Rip" Hamilton (born February 14, 1978 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania) is an American National Basketball Association Benjamin "Ben" Gordon (born April 4 1983 is a British / American professional Basketball player for the NBA 's Chicago Bulls Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor, abbreviated as Emeka Okafor (born September 28 1982 is an American professional Basketball player playing at power Carmelo Kiyan Anthony (born May 29 1984 is an American professional Basketball player for the Denver Nuggets, of the National Basketball Association Hakim Hanif Warrick (born July 8, 1982) is an American professional Basketball player who currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies Randy Foye (born September 24, 1983 in Newark New Jersey) is an American professional Basketball player currently with the NBA 's Kyle Lowry (born March 25, 1986 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American professional Basketball player with the Memphis Rudy Carlton Gay Jr (born August 17, 1986 in Baltimore Maryland) is an American professional Basketball player currently with the Hilton A Armstrong Jr (born November 23 1984, in Yonkers New York) is an American professional Basketball player for the Oscar Joshua (Josh Boone (born November 21, 1984, in Mt Airy Maryland) is an American professional Basketball player for the New Samuel Davis Dalembert (born May 10 1981 in Port-au-Prince) is a Haitian Canadian professional Basketball player who plays Charlie Villanueva is a first-generation Hispanic American son of Dominican immigrants Roberto Villanueva and Doris Mejía born August 24 1984 and raised in Elmhurst Ronald William Artest Jr (born November 13 1979) is an American professional Basketball player who currently plays with the Houston Aaron Michael Gray (born December 7 1984 in Tarzana California) is an American professional Basketball player for the Chicago

Big East women's basketball is nearly as powerful as the conference's men's programs. 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). Geno Auriemma (born March 23, 1954 in Montella, Italy) is an Italian-American Basketball coach, best known as UConn set the record for longest winning streak in all of NCAA women's basketball history with a 70 game winning streak stretching from 2001-2003. This streak was ended in 2003 when Villanova beat UConn 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 that year). The term Elite Eight refers to the final eight teams in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship. Under the strength of the UConn program, and to a lesser extent Boston College, 2007 national runnerup Rutgers, and 2001 national champion Notre Dame, the Big East has emerged as one of the major powers in women's college basketball. The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams representing Boston College. The 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament began on March 17, 2007 and concluded on April 3 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Athletic heritage See also History of Rutgers University Rutgers was among the first American institutions to engage in intercollegiate athletics and participated The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual Basketball tournament for women

Football

2007 Average Football Attendance
School	Average Attendance
West Virginia	60,400
USF	53,170
Rutgers	43,663
Louisville	39,881
Connecticut	38,205
Syracuse	35,009
Pittsburgh	33,315
Cincinnati	30,246
Big East Conference Average	38,933

Big East began football during the 1991-1992 season with the addition of Miami and was a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series. The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of College football. The South Florida Bulls are a Division I FBS College football program that plays its home games in Tampa Florida. Rutgers University is the State University of New Jersey. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights participate in NCAA Division I FBS American The University of Louisville Cardinals football team is a member of the Big East Conference. The Connecticut Huskies, also known as the UConn Huskies, are the athletic teams of the University of Connecticut. The Syracuse Orange is the Nickname used by the athletic teams of Syracuse University. The Pittsburgh Panthers football teams traditionally the most popular sport at the University of Pittsburgh, have represented the University in competition since 1889 The Cincinnati Bearcats are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Cincinnati. The Bowl Championship Series ( BCS) is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA FBS Bowl Subdivision System an opportunity to compete in a "national The league obtained immediate legitimacy with the addition of powerhouse Miami. The University of Miami Hurricanes football team is a collegiate football program that represents the University of Miami.

In the league's first years the University of Miami dominated, winning nine of the first thirteen championships and two national championships in 1991 and 2001. The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida, UM, or just The U) is a private non-sectarian University founded in 1925 Virginia Tech also did well, winning the conference in 1995 and 1996 and earning a number 2 national ranking in 1999. The Virginia Tech Hokies football team is a College football program that competes in NCAA Division I-FBS, specifically in the Coastal West Virginia and Syracuse were the only other teams to win conference titles during the league's original alignment. The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams of West Virginia University. The Syracuse Orange is the Nickname used by the athletic teams of Syracuse University.

The conference experienced a major reconstruction when Miami and Virginia Tech left for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004, followed by Boston College in 2005. Virginia Tech sponsors 19 sports and competes at the NCAA Division I level The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams representing Boston College. Initially, Syracuse University was in place to make the jump instead of Virginia Tech, but in 2003, the governor of Virginia put pressure on the ACC to ensure that Virginia Tech was taken over Syracuse. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic University in The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic University in Syracuse was left to remain in the Big East.

The universities that replaced them were Louisville, USF and Cincinnati from Conference USA. The University of Louisville (also known as U of L) is a public University in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The University of South Florida ( USF) known within its system as USF Tampa, is a public research University system located in Tampa, Florida The University of Cincinnati is a Coeducational public Research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The league also invited the University of Connecticut to play football a year earlier than planned. The University of Connecticut ( Connecticut or UConn) is the State of Connecticut 's Land-grant university.

After the completion of the regular season, Pittsburgh received the Big East’s automatic BCS berth with a #21 ranking. The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly referred to as the Pitt Panthers are the athletic teams of University of Pittsburgh. In the Fiesta Bowl, Pitt was defeated, 35-7, by the undefeated #6 Utah Utes, the first team from a non-BCS conference (the Mountain West) to qualify for the lucrative bowls. The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Tostitos tortilla chips is a United States College football Bowl game played annually since 1971 The Utah Utes are the athletics teams of the University of Utah. The Mountain West Conference (or MWC) the youngest of the College athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA ’s Division I FBS (I-A officially

At about this time, the BCS announced that it would adjust the automatic bids granted to its six founding conferences based on results from 2004-07, 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, and the Mountain West might gain one.

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, defeated SEC champion Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, and finished 11-1 and finished #5 in the AP poll. The Southeastern Conference (SEC is a College Athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which operates in the southeastern The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Sugar Bowl is an annual American College football Bowl game played in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans Louisiana. Newcomer Louisville also ranked in the top 20.

Another former member for football only was Temple. Temple University is a state-related public research University in Philadelphia. Unlike other football only members in the past, they did not gain full membership in the Big East - due to objections from crosstown rivals Villanova (who do not play football in the Big East). After 14 seasons of mostly poor performance, Temple was kicked out of the conference following the 2004 season. They currently play football in the Mid-American Conference (for that sport only), and are the first school to leave a BCS conference to later join a non-BCS conference. The Mid-American Conference ( MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA Division I college athletic conference with a membership

In 2006, West Virginia, Louisville, and Rutgers all entered November undefeated. The 2006 West Virginia Mountaineers football team completed the season with a 11-2 record The 2006 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2006 college football season. Rutgers University is the State University of New Jersey. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights participate in NCAA Division I FBS American 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. Rutgers’ resurgence after a century of mostly futile play was a national story, but Louisville won the conference title in the end. In bowl action, the Big East went 5-0, including an Orange Bowl victory for Louisville over Wake Forest and a win by West Virginia over Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl. The Orange Bowl is an annual College football game that is usually played the first week in January in the Miami Florida metro area in the United States The 2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The 2006 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology in the College football season of 2006-2007. The Gator Bowl is an annual College football Bowl game that is played at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville Florida.

In 2007, USF, rose to #2 in the BCS rankings. The South Florida Bulls are a Division I FBS College football program that plays its home games in Tampa Florida. The Bowl Championship Series ( BCS) is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA FBS Bowl Subdivision System an opportunity to compete in a "national They lost their next three games, however, to drop out of the rankings completely. The Connecticut Huskies and West Virginia remained in the top 25. Connecticut lost subsequent games and dropped substantially in the rankings. On the final day of the season, Pittsburgh upset #2 WVU 13-9 in the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl to give the Huskies a share of the conference championship, while WVU was stopped on the doorstep of the BCS National Championship Game. History First played in 1895 the game has historically been one of the more intense rivalries in the Eastern United States. In bowl games, WVU upset the Big 12 Champion Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, despite having lost their highly touted coach, Rich Rodriguez to Michigan less than a month before the game. Rutgers and Cincinnati won their bowl games, both against mid-major opponents. Connecticut lost to Wake Forest in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, and South Florida was beaten by the Denis Dixon-less Oregon Ducks in the Sun Bowl. The Louisville Cardinals, despite high preseason expectations failed to make a bowl game, in part due to an early losses to Kentucky Wildcats and the Syracuse Orange (this was Syracuse's only conference win of the last two seasons).

Conference facilities

School	Football stadium	Capacity	Basketball arena	Capacity
Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium	35,097	Fifth Third Arena	13,176
Connecticut	Rentschler Field	40,000	Gampel Pavilion XL Center	10,167 16,294
DePaul	non-football school		Allstate Arena (men) Sullivan Athletic Center (women)	18,500 3,000
Georgetown	see Patriot League1		Verizon Center (men) McDonough Gymnasium (women)	20,600 2,500
Louisville	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium 2	42,000	Freedom Hall	18,865
Marquette	non-football school		Bradley Center (men) Al McGuire Center (women)	18,717 4,000
Notre Dame	see Division I-FBS independents1		Edmund P. Joyce Center	11,418
Pittsburgh	Heinz Field	65,050	Petersen Events Center	12,508
Providence	non-football school		Dunkin' Donuts Center (men) Alumni Hall (women)	12,993 2,603
Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium 6	42,000	Louis Brown Athletic Center (The RAC)	8,000
St. John's	non-football school		Madison Square Garden (some men games) & Carnesecca Arena (men & women) 3	19,522 6,008
Seton Hall	non-football school		Prudential Center (men) Walsh Gymnasium (women)	18,000 2,600
USF	Raymond James Stadium	65,000	USF Sun Dome	11,324
Syracuse	Carrier Dome	49,262	Carrier Dome 5	33,000
Villanova	see Colonial Athletic Association1		Wachovia Center The Pavilion 4	21,600 6,500
West Virginia	Mountaineer Field	60,000	WVU Coliseum	14,000

Notes:
¹ Football stadiums for Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Villanova are not "conference facilities" as those universities are not members of Big East Football. The Cincinnati Bearcats are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Cincinnati. Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati Ohio is the University of Cincinnati 's football stadium home to their Bearcats football team in rudimentary form since 1902 Fifth Third Arena is a 13176-seat multi-purpose Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, named for Fifth Third Bank The Connecticut Huskies, also known as the UConn Huskies, are the athletic teams of the University of Connecticut. Rentschler Field is a Stadium in East Hartford Connecticut. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the University of Connecticut Gampel Pavilion is a 10167-seat multi-purpose Arena in Storrs Connecticut. The XL Center, formerly known as the Hartford Civic Center, is a sports and convention complex located in Hartford Connecticut, USA owned by the City of DePaul University is a private institution of Higher education and Research in Chicago, Illinois, U The Allstate Arena is a Sports Arena in Rosemont Illinois, which is home to the Chicago Wolves hockey club DePaul University Sullivan Athletic Center is a 3000-seat multi-purpose Arena in Chicago Illinois. Cultural traditions "What is a Hoya?" The University admits that the precise origin of the term "Hoya" is unknown The Patriot League is a College athletic conference which operates in the Northeastern United States. The Verizon Center (formerly MCI Center until March 5, 2006) is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington D McDonough Gymnasium is a multi-purpose Arena in Washington DC The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, called by some "The Oven" "The Slice" or "The Pizza Palace" is a football Stadium located Freedom Hall is a multipurpose Arena in Louisville Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth The Marquette Golden Eagles (formerly known as the Marquette Warriors Blue and Gold Hilltoppers and Golden Avalanche (football only is the name of the various sports teams of The Bradley Center is an indoor arena in Milwaukee Wisconsin. The Al McGuire Center is an arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which houses the women's volleyball and basketball teams at Marquette University. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the varsity sports teams of the University of Notre Dame. Reasons for being Independent In recent years most Independent FBS schools have joined a conference for two primary The Joyce Center is an 11418-seat multi-purpose Arena in Notre Dame Indiana just north of South Bend Indiana. The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly referred to as the Pitt Panthers are the athletic teams of University of Pittsburgh. Heinz Field is an American football Stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The John M and Gertrude E Petersen Events Center (more commonly known as the Petersen Events Center or 'The Pete' is a 12508-seat multi-purpose Arena on the campus of This page refers to a college in Rhode Island. For the college in Manitoba, see Providence College and Theological Seminary. The Dunkin' Donuts Center, also known as The Dunk, is an Indoor arena located in Providence Rhode Island, USA. Alumni Hall is the on-campus basketball arena at Providence College in Providence Rhode Island. Athletic heritage See also History of Rutgers University Rutgers was among the first American institutions to engage in intercollegiate athletics and participated Rutgers Stadium is the home stadium for the football program at Rutgers The State University of New Jersey. The Louis Brown Athletic Center, more commonly known as the RAC (for its original name the Rutgers Athletic Center) is an 9000-seat multi-purpose Arena Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four Arenas in New York City. Alumni Hall is also the name of an New York University dorm. Carnesecca Arena (formerly Alumni Hall) is a 6008-seat multi-purpose This article is about the sports arena in Newark New Jersey For the Boston Massachusetts complex see Prudential Tower. Walsh Gymnasium is a multi-purpose Arena in South Orange New Jersey. The University of South Florida ( USF) known within its system as USF Tampa, is a public research University system located in Tampa, Florida Raymond James Stadium is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Tampa Florida. The USF Sun Dome is a 55000 square-foot multi-purpose entertainment/sports facility on the campus of the University of South Florida, which is located in Tampa Florida The Syracuse Orange is the Nickname used by the athletic teams of Syracuse University. The Carrier Dome is a 50000-seat domed sports Stadium located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse The Carrier Dome is a 50000-seat domed sports Stadium located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse Villanova University' is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States The Colonial Athletic Association, also known as the CAA, is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located in East The Wachovia Center, formerly known as the CoreStates Center and the First Union Center, is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia Pennsylvania The Pavilion is a 6500-seat multi-purpose Arena in Villanova Pennsylvania, United States, just outside of Philadelphia. The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams of West Virginia University. Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, in Morgantown, West Virginia, is the football Stadium for the West Virginia University The WVU Coliseum is a 14000-seat multi-purpose Arena which is located in the Evansdale campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown West Virginia
² The University of Louisville is in the process of a $63 million expansion of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium to 63,600 and constructing a new $350 million downtown waterfront arena that will seat 23,500. The University of Louisville (also known as U of L) is a public University in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, called by some "The Oven" "The Slice" or "The Pizza Palace" is a football Stadium located The Louisville waterfront arena (yet to be officially named is a proposed $252 million 22000-seat basketball and multipurpose arena slated to open in fall 2010 on the Ohio River Both projects are funded and expected to be complete by 2010.
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 certain high-profile home games, Villanova uses the Wachovia Center, and previously used the Wachovia Spectrum. The Wachovia Center, formerly known as the CoreStates Center and the First Union Center, is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia Pennsylvania The Wachovia Spectrum (formerly known as the Spectrum (1967–1994 CoreStates Spectrum (1994–1998 and First Union Spectrum (1998–2003 is an In 2005-06, Villanova played three home games at the Wachovia Center and the rest on campus at The Pavilion. In 2006, the Wachovia Center was also a first-round site for the NCAA Tournament. The 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a Single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division Under NCAA rules, a venue is not considered a home court unless a school plays four or more regular-season games there; this enabled Villanova to play its first two tournament games at the Wachovia Center (but Villanova was not considered the host school for that sub-region — the Atlantic 10 Conference was). This situation will apply again in 2009 when the Wachovia Center was announced as a first/second round site to be hosted by Saint Joseph's University. Saint Joseph's University (also called SJU or St Joe's) is a private Coeducational Roman Catholic University located
⁵ 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.
⁶ Late in 2006, Rutgers added approximately 3000 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.

Rivalries

Main article: Big East rivalries

Realignment

In 2003 the Big East was put on watch as the ACC announced plans to expand from nine teams to twelve which under NCAA rules would have enabled them to hold a special conference championship football game. The Big East Conference, founded in 1979 features many ongoing rivalries amongst its members The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Miami, Syracuse, and BC were rumored to be the three schools under consideration, and all three met with officials from the ACC regarding membership. At the same time, the Big East itself was contemplating its future.

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

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

Talks with Syracuse indicated that it would likely leave the Big East. But doubts arose when Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim publicly expressed his disapproval of a conference change,^[12] even as Syracuse and ACC officials proceeded with the formalities of official campus visits. Miami and Boston College were unwavering in their interest in the ACC, and Virginia Tech made it clear that they had long wanted to join the ACC. Finally, in a last-minute about-face, 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. Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American politician and businessman from the U Things became even more surprising when, reached by phone at a conference in Switzerland, then-N. C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox cast a last-minute "no" vote against BC. Marye Anne Fox (born 9 December 1947) is a physical organic chemist and university administrator ^[13] As a result, the ACC extended invitations only to Miami and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech immediately accepted the invitation and filed court papers to get themselves out of the awkward position of suing their new conference. Miami, stunned by the outcome of the vote, delayed their acceptance until the last possible day. Miami President Donna Shalala explained the delay stating "We had numbers on BC-Virginia Tech. We had done numbers on Miami alone. But we had not anticipated that Virginia Tech and Miami would be the only two invitees. "^[13] The remaining four plaintiffs removed BC from the list of defendants and asked both BC and Syracuse to join their suit. Both declined.

Leaked minutes of Big East meetings have shed light on the confusing process surrounding the defection of three of its members. At a summer meeting of the "football schools", following the announced departures of Miami and Virginia Tech, discussion among the Presidents and Athletic Directors of the remaining schools focused on a potential split into two conferences; an all-sports conference including football, and a second conference focused primarily on basketball. The idea of a 16-team superconference of both basketball and football schools was discussed, as was merging with Conference USA. Minutes of a July 9, 2003 meeting of presidents and athletic directors held before any detailed review of the conference's options show that Syracuse Athletic Director Jake Crouthamel and BC Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo went on record indicating they would resign their positions if the Big East expanded to 16 teams. Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

In response to a proposal for the establishment of a binding agreement among the six schools with a $5 million exit fee and 27-month notice requirement. Meanwhile, the Big East presidents agreed to meet with and possibly extend invitations to Penn State and Notre Dame. However, neither school showed interest in joining the conference. ^[14] The minutes show the presidents unanimously voted to support an eventual conference invitation for the University of Louisville, and to begin due diligence on Louisville and other proposed new members. Several models for a new conference were discussed; and it was decided that the football schools would explore separating from the basketball-only schools to establish an 8-team all-sports conference. The presidents and athletic directors described the breakup of the football and basketball schools as "inevitable".

Additional meetings of the football conference members occurred between July and October of 2003. In the course of those meetings it was realized that the break-up scenario would not be feasible because the new football conference would lose its automatic NCAA basketball tournament berth and possibly its BCS bid, as well as the Big East name. Further, the football schools had not been together long enough to satisfy certain NCAA rules. At a Big East meeting in Newark on Oct. 1, after a discussion of Notre Dame's concerns for stability, BC president Rev. William P. Leahy, S. J. , addressed rumors surrounding BC's intentions toward the Big East. Fr. Leahy conceded that BC might indeed be leaving the conference and he would determine how genuine the ACC's reported interest in having any school as a 12th member. ^[15] He stated he could not agree to an exit penalty larger than the already agreed to $5,000,000. And he expressed concerns about academic and graduation rate issues at Louisville and Cincinnati that arose during due diligence. It was decided that the conference would add additional football and basketball schools and continue in its existing structure until such time as the football schools could establish their own conference. Unhappy with the vote on the future structure of the conference, the administration of BC continued discussions with the ACC which was still looking for a 12th member. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC is a collegiate athletic league in the United States.

Speculation that Chancellor Fox, a Notre Dame trustee, cast her initial vote against BC so that the ACC might consider extending membership to Notre Dame was fueled by press accounts reporting that a bid to the Fighting Irish was imminent. But in mid-October 2003, the ACC voted unanimously to invite BC to be its twelfth member, although because of timing issues BC was not able to compete in the ACC until the 2005-2006 season. When BC accepted they were returned to the lawsuit still pending against Miami by several Big East schools. After expansion, Jake Crouthamel retired as athletic director at Syracuse.

In response to losing three football programs, the Big East extended invitations to five schools from Conference USA in order to replenish their football ranks and to create a 16-team basketball superconference. Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The schools that left Conference USA on July 1, 2005 for the Big East are:

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

The fallout from the Conference USA realignment instigated a chain reaction of conference realignments that affected the WAC, MAC, Sun Belt, Mountain West, and Atlantic Ten Conferences. The University of Cincinnati is a Coeducational public Research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. DePaul University is a private institution of Higher education and Research in Chicago, Illinois, U The University of Louisville (also known as U of L) is a public University in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Marquette University is a private coeducational Jesuit, Roman Catholic University located in Milwaukee Wisconsin. The University of South Florida ( USF) known within its system as USF Tampa, is a public research University system located in Tampa, Florida The Western Athletic Conference (commonly referred to as the WAC, pronounced "wack" was formed on July 27 1962 making it the sixth oldest of the 11 College The Mid-American Conference ( MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA Division I college athletic conference with a membership The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA 's Division I since 1976. The Mountain West Conference (or MWC) the youngest of the College athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA ’s Division I FBS (I-A officially The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10 is a Mid-major college athletic conference which operates mostly on the United States' eastern seaboard 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. The Motor City Bowl is a post-season College football Bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually since 1997

Conference Champions by year

Year	Men's B-ball Regular Season Champion	Men's B-ball Tournament Champion	Women's B-ball Regular Season Champion	Women's B-ball Tournament Champion	Football Champion
1979/1980	Georgetown/St. John's/Syracuse	Georgetown
1980/81	Boston College	Syracuse
1981/82	Villanova	Georgetown
1982/83	Boston College/St. John's/Villanova	St. John's	Providence/St. John's	St. John's
1983/84	Georgetown	Georgetown	Pittsburgh/Villanova	Pittsburgh
1984/85	St. John's	Georgetown	St. John's/Villanova	St. John's
1985/86	St. John's/Syracuse	St. John's	Providence	Providence
1986/87	Georgetown/Pittsburgh/Syracuse	Georgetown	Villanova	Villanova
1987/88	Pittsburgh	Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse
1988/89	Georgetown	Georgetown	Connecticut	Connecticut
1989/1990	Connecticut/Syracuse	Connecticut	Connecticut/Providence	Connecticut
1990/91	Syracuse	Seton Hall	Connecticut	Connecticut
1991/92	Georgetown/St. John's/Seton Hall	Syracuse	Miami	Miami	Miami
1992/93	Seton Hall	Seton Hall	Georgetown/Miami	Georgetown	Miami
1993/94	Connecticut	Providence	Connecticut	Connecticut	West Virginia
1994/95	Connecticut	Villanova	Connecticut	Connecticut	Miami
1995/96	Connecticut	Connecticut	Connecticut	Connecticut	Virginia Tech/Miami
1996/97	Boston College/Villanova	Boston College	Connecticut	Connecticut	Virginia Tech/Miami/Syracuse
1997/98	Connecticut	Connecticut	Connecticut	Connecticut	Syracuse
1998/99	Connecticut	Connecticut	Connecticut/Rutgers	Connecticut	Syracuse†
1999/2000	Syracuse/Miami	St. John's	Connecticut	Connecticut	Virginia Tech†
2000/01	Boston College (east)/Notre Dame (west)	Boston College	Connecticut/Notre Dame	Connecticut	Miami†
2001/02	Connecticut (east)/Pittsburgh (west)	Connecticut	Connecticut	Connecticut	Miami†
2002/03	Syracuse (east)/Pittsburgh (west)	Pittsburgh	Connecticut	Villanova	Miami†
2003/04	Pittsburgh	Connecticut	Connecticut	Boston College	Miami†/West Virginia
2004/05	Boston College/Connecticut	Syracuse	Rutgers	Connecticut	Pittsburgh†/West Virginia/Boston College/Syracuse
2005/06	Connecticut/Villanova	Syracuse	Rutgers	Connecticut	West Virginia†
2006/07	Georgetown	Georgetown	Connecticut	Rutgers	Louisville†
2007/08	Georgetown	Pittsburgh	Connecticut	Connecticut	West Virginia†/Connecticut

†Received the Conference's BCS (or Alliance Bowl) berth Source:^[16]

External links

• Official Site of the Big East Conference
• Un-Official Site of the Big East Conference
• WVMountaineerSports Your Source for WVU Mountaineers Football and Basketball

References

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