Jump to content

Big East Conference (1979–2013)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Cogswobble (talk | contribs) at 18:06, 11 December 2011 (Undid revision 465317137 by Cogswobble (talk)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Big East Conference
AssociationNCAA
CommissionerJohn Marinatto (since 2009)
Sports fielded
  • 24
    • men's: 11
    • women's: 13
DivisionDivision I
SubdivisionFBS
RegionUnited States
Official websitebigeast.org
Locations
Location of teams in {{{title}}}

The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members (16 full-time and 1 associate member) participate in 24 NCAA sports. 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). 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. The other five schools—Seton Hall, St. John's, DePaul, Marquette, and Providence—discontinued their football programs.

The Big East has had all eight members play in bowl games since the 2005 realignment and has had seven of eight teams ranked in the Top 25 since 2003. In that time, the Big East has seen the emergence of new national players West Virginia rising to as high as No. 1 and was ranked in the Top 10 for three-straight years (2005, 2006, 2007) (South Florida rising as high as #2, Cincinnati and Louisville both as high as #3, Rutgers as high as #7, Pittsburgh as high as #9, and Connecticut as high as #13 in BCS standings). Also, Big East football has seen an increase in attendance and is enjoying a new, $250 million plus television package that lasts through 2013.[1][2]

In basketball, Big East teams have made 16 Final Four appearances and won six NCAA Championships (UConn with three, and Georgetown, Syracuse, and Villanova with one each). Of the Big East's 16 full members, all but South Florida have been to the Final Four, the most of any conference,[3] though Louisville, 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 Men's Division I Basketball Championship by a single conference with eleven out of their sixteen teams qualifying.

History

Locations of the Big East Conference member institutions in 2013.

The 2011-12 academic year is the Big East's 33rd year of existence.

The early years

The Big East was founded in 1979 when Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, and Syracuse invited Seton Hall, Connecticut, Holy Cross, Rutgers, and Boston College to form a conference primarily focused on basketball, with Rutgers and Holy Cross declining to join.[4] Villanova joined a year later in 1980 and Pittsburgh joined in 1982.

In 1982, Penn State 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.[5]

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, Temple, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. The inaugural Big East football season launched in 1991.[6][7]

West Virginia and Rutgers joined the Big East as full members in 1995[8] and Virginia Tech joined as a full member in 2000.[9] Temple remained a football-only member until 2004, but was voted out of the Big East after failing to attract enough consistent fan support[citation needed]. The Big East offered Notre Dame a non-football membership effective 1995.[10] This led to an unusual conference structure with some schools competing in Division I basketball only.

Instability, departures, and replacements

See also: 2005 NCAA conference realignment

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 over several Big East members. 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.

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 television markets and help the already solid basketball status of the conference.[citation needed]

Meanwhile, Loyola University Maryland (then Loyola College in Maryland) also joined the Big East as an associate member in women's lacrosse for the 2005-06 academic year.[11]

Continuing instability

See also: 2010-11 NCAA conference realignment

In 2010, Texas Christian University accepted an invitation to join the conference as an all-sports member beginning in the 2012–13 academic year.[12] TCU later reversed its decision and accepted a Big 12 invitation beginning in the 2012–13 academic year.[13][14]

On September 17, 2011, Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced that they will leave the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference as of 2012.[15][16] On October 28, 2011 it was announced by the Big 12 Conference that West Virginia will accept an invitation to join, with membership beginning in 2012.[17]

In December, after the 2011 football regular season was completed announcements were made that Boise State and San Diego State of the Mountain West would join the Big East in football only, and that UCF, SMU, and Houston of Conference USA would join in all sports for the 2013 academic year.[18]

Current status

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. Villanova competed in the Atlantic 10 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. In September 2010, in the wake of a Division I realignment that affected a number of conferences around the country, the Big East extended an invitation to Villanova to become a football member. The school is currently considering the offer, which would require the school to substantially expand its entire athletic program, as well as expand its stadium to meet FBS requirements or find another suitable venue in the Philadelphia area,[19] such as Lincoln Financial Field.

The eight schools that 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 eight schools that do not play football in the conference are primarily much smaller, private Catholic universities.

The Big East began sponsoring a men's lacrosse league in 2010 with Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova participating.[20] Marquette will offer men's and women's lacrosse beginning in 2012, and will join the Big East in that sport for the 2013 season.

Membership timeline

Full members (non-football) in blue. Full members (football) in green. Associate members (football only) in orange. Associate members (other sports) in yellow.

San Diego State UniversityMountain West ConferenceWestern Athletic ConferenceBoise State UniversityMountain West ConferenceWestern Athletic ConferenceBig WestBig SkyUniversity of Central FloridaConference USAMid-American ConferenceIndependentSouthern Methodist UniversityConference USAWestern Athletic ConferenceSouthwest ConferenceUniversity of HoustonConference USASouthwest ConferenceLoyola University MarylandUniversity of South FloridaConference USAIndependentMarquette UniversityConference USAGreat Midwest ConferenceMidwestern Collegiate ConferenceIndependentUniversity of LouisvilleConference USAIndependentDePaul UniversityUniversity of CincinnatiUniversity of Notre DameMid-American ConferenceAtlantic 10 ConferenceTemple UniversityAtlantic Coast ConferenceVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBig 12 ConferenceWest Virginia UniversityRutgers UniversityAtlantic Coast ConferenceUniversity of MiamiAtlantic Coast ConferenceUniversity of PittsburghVillanova UniversityAtlantic Coast ConferenceSyracuse UniversitySeton Hall UniversitySt. John's University (New York)Providence CollegeGeorgetown UniversityUniversity of ConnecticutAtlantic Coast ConferenceBoston College

Commissioners

Years Commissioners
1979–1990 Dave Gavitt
1990–2009 Mike Tranghese
2009–present John Marinatto

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.[21][22]

Current members

As of the beginning of the 2011–12 academic year, there are 16 full members and one associate member. Endowment for the public institutions refers to the amount of public monies each athletics department receives.

Full football members

Institution Location
(Population) 		Founded Type Enrollment Year
Joined 		Nickname Endowment
University of Cincinnati[23] Cincinnati, Ohio
(296,943) 		1819 Public 42,421 2005 Bearcats $1,000,000,000
University of Connecticut[24] Storrs, Connecticut
(15,344) 		1881 Public 30,034 1979 Huskies $271,822,000
University of Louisville[25] Louisville, Kentucky
(741,096) 		1798 Public 19,743 2005 Cardinals $669,043,000
University of Pittsburgh † Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(305,704) 		1787 Public/State-Related[26] 28,823 1982 Panthers $2,032,798,000
Rutgers University * New Brunswick, New Jersey
(55,181) 		1766 Public 38,912 1995 * Scarlet Knights $603,083,000
University of South Florida Tampa, Florida
(335,709) 		1956 Public 47,122 2005 Bulls $295,921,000
Syracuse University † Syracuse, New York
(145,170) 		1870 Private/Non-sectarian 20,407 1979 Orange $849,157,000
West Virginia University[27] * ‡ Morgantown, West Virginia
(29,660) 		1867 Public 29,306 1995 * Mountaineers $406,000,000

Light green indicates departing member
*Rutgers and West Virginia joined as associate members (football only) in 1991.
† Denotes schools that will be leaving Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference, presumably in 2014 (according to Big East commissioner John Marinatto).[28]
‡ Denotes schools that will be leaving Big East for the Big 12 Conference, presumably in 2014 (according to Big East commissioner John Marinatto)

Full non-football members

Institution Location
(Population) 		Founded Type Enrollment Year
Joined 		Nickname Endowment
Marquette University Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(594,833) 		1881 Private/Catholic 11,599 2005 Golden Eagles $326,003,000
University of Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana
(101,168) 		1842 Private/Catholic 11,733 1995 Fighting Irish $6,800,000,000
DePaul University Chicago, Illinois
(2,695,598) 		1898 Private/Catholic 25,398 2005 Blue Demons $284,017,000
Georgetown University Washington, D.C.
(601,723) 		1789 Private/Catholic 16,437 1979 Hoyas $1,009,736,000
St. John's University New York City, New York
(8,175,133) 		1870 Private/Catholic 21,354 1979 Red Storm $303,057,000
Seton Hall University South Orange, New Jersey
(16,198) 		1856 Private/Catholic 9,745 1979 Pirates $162,889,000
Providence College Providence, Rhode Island
(178,042) 		1917 Private/Catholic 4,585 1979 Friars $122,110,000
Villanova University Villanova, Pennsylvania
(8,932) 		1842 Private/Catholic 10,482 1980 Wildcats $297,684,000

Associate members

Institution Location
(Population) 		Conference Type Enrollment Nickname Sport Endowment
Loyola University Maryland Baltimore, Maryland
(620,961) 		MAAC Private/Catholic 6,531 Greyhounds Women's lacrosse $143,000,000

Future members

Future full football members

Institution Location
(Population) 		Founded Type Enrollment Year
Joined 		Nickname Endowment
University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida
(2,134,411 Metro) 		1963 Public 58,587 2013 Knights $114,000,000
University of Houston Houston, Texas
(5,946,800 Metro) 		1927 Public 39,820 2013 Cougars $662,200,000
Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas
(6,731,317 Metro) 		1911 Private 12,000 2013 Mustangs $1,400,000,000

Future associate members

Institution Location
(Population) 		Conference Type Enrollment Year
Joined 		Nickname Sport Endowment
Boise State University Boise, Idaho
(616,500 Metro) 		WAC Public 19,964 2013 Broncos Football $78,500,000
San Diego State University San Diego, California
(3,095,313 Metro) 		Big West Public 33,790 2013 Aztecs Football $180,479,555

Former members

Former full football members

Institution Beginning Year Ending Year New Conference
Boston College 1979 2005 ACC
University of Miami 1991 2004 ACC
Virginia Tech * 2000 2004 ACC

* Virginia Tech was an associate member of the Big East from 1991-2000.

Note: Syracuse and Pittsburgh have accepted an invitation to join the ACC. The presumed date of departure from the Big East is June 2014.[28] West Virginia has accepted an invitation to join the Big XII, currently under a legal dispute with Big East over departure year.

Former associate members

Institution Affiliation Conference Beginning Year Ending Year
Rutgers University * Football A-10 1991 1995
West Virginia University * Football A-10 1991 1995
Virginia Tech ** Football Metro (1991-1995), A-10 (1995-2000) 1991 2000
Temple University Football A-10 1991 2004

* 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.

Sports

The Big East Conference sponsors championships in eleven men's and thirteen women's sports.

Under NCAA rules reflecting the large number of male scholarship participants in football and attempting to address gender equity concerns (see also Title IX), each member institution is required to provide two more women's varsity sports than men's.[29]

Sports facilities

School Football stadium Capacity Basketball arena Capacity Baseball field Capacity
Current Members
Cincinnati Nippert Stadium
Paul Brown Stadium6 		35,097
65,790 		Fifth Third Arena 13,176 Marge Schott Stadium 3,085
Connecticut Rentschler Field 40,000 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion
XL Center 		10,167
16,294 		J. O. Christian Field 2,000
DePaul Non-football school Allstate Arena (men)
Sullivan Athletic Center (women) 		18,500
3,000 		Non-baseball school
Georgetown See Patriot League 1 Verizon Center (men)
McDonough Gymnasium (women) 		20,600
2,500 		Shirley Povich Field 1,500
Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium 57,000 KFC Yum! Center 22,500 Jim Patterson Stadium 2,500
Marquette Non-football school Bradley Center (men)
Al McGuire Center (women) 		18,717
4,000 		Non-baseball school
Notre Dame See Division I-FBS independents 1 Purcell Pavilion at the Edmund P. Joyce Center 9,149 Frank Eck Stadium 2,500
Pittsburgh Heinz Field 65,050 Petersen Events Center 12,508 Petersen Sports Complex 900
Providence Non-football school Dunkin' Donuts Center (men)
Alumni Hall (women) 		12,993
2,603 		Non-baseball school
Rutgers High Point Solutions Stadium 5 52,454 Louis Brown Athletic Center (The RAC) 8,000 Bainton Field 1,500
St. John's Non-football school Madison Square Garden (some men's games)
Carnesecca Arena 2 		19,522
5,602 		Jack Kaiser Stadium 3,500
Seton Hall Non-football school Prudential Center (men)
Walsh Gymnasium (women) 		18,000
2,600 		Owen T. Carroll Field 600
Syracuse Carrier Dome 50,000 Carrier Dome 4 34,616 Non-baseball school
USF Raymond James Stadium 65,000 USF Sun Dome 10,411 USF Baseball Stadium 3,211
Villanova See Colonial Athletic Association 1 Wells Fargo Center
The Pavilion 3 		21,600
6,500 		Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth 1,500
West Virginia Mountaineer Field 60,000 WVU Coliseum 14,000 Hawley Field 1,500
Future Members
Boise State Bronco Stadium 33,500 See Western Athletic Conference 7 Non-baseball school
Houston Robertson Stadium 32,000 Hofheinz Pavilion 8,500 Cougar Field 5,000
San Diego State Qualcomm Stadium 70,561 See Big West Conference 7 See Big West Conference 7
SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium 32,000 Moody Coliseum 8,998 Non-baseball school
UCF Bright House Networks Stadium 45,301 UCF Arena 10,045 Jay Bergman Field 3,230

Departing members highlighted in pink.

Notes:
1 Football stadiums for Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Villanova are not "conference facilities" as those universities are not members of Big East Football.
2 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.
3 For certain high-profile home games, Villanova uses the Wells Fargo Center, and previously used the Wachovia Spectrum. 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 2009, with Villanova playing (and winning) its first two tournament games at Wells Fargo Center.
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 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.
6 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 will use Paul Brown Stadium as an alternate home field for two Big East Conference games.
7 Basketball arenas and baseball stadiums for Boise State and San Diego State are not "conference facilities" as those universities are not members of the Big East for sports other than football.

Men's basketball

2010–2011 Men's Basketball Average Home Attendance[30]
School Average Attendance
Syracuse 22,312
Louisville 21,832
Marquette 15,586
Georgetown 12,675
Connecticut 11,569
West Virginia 11,469
Pittsburgh 10,843
Villanova 10,511
St. John's 8,431
Seton Hall 7,937
Notre Dame 7,785
DePaul 7,676
Cincinnati 7,344
Providence 7,043
Rutgers 5,602
South Florida 4,230
Overall 11,082
See also: Big East Men's Basketball Tournament

The Big East was founded by seven charter schools in 1979 (Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Connecticut, and Boston College) with the intent of creating a powerhouse basketball conference.[31] Villanova joined the following year, followed by Pittsburgh in 1982.

It would not take long for the conference to meet its original aim, with Georgetown, led by senior Sleepy Floyd and freshman Patrick Ewing, making the NCAA Championship Game in 1982. Just two years later, in 1984, Georgetown won the Big East's first NCAA basketball championship with a victory over the University of Houston.

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 Georgetown Hoyas. The conference's 1985 success was nearly duplicated in 1987, when Syracuse and a surprising Providence both made the Final Four, followed by the Orangemen's narrow loss to Indiana University in the tournament final. Two years later, the Seton Hall Pirates also advanced to the NCAA Championship Game, but were defeated by the Michigan Wolverines in an overtime heartbreaker.

Team NCAA Championships Final Fours NCAA appearances
Cincinnati 2 6 23
Connecticut 3 4 30
DePaul 0 2 17*
Georgetown 1 5 24
Louisville 2 8 35
Marquette 1 3 27
Notre Dame 0 (2 Helms) 1 29
Pittsburgh 0 (2 Helms) 1 21
Providence 0 2 15
Rutgers 0 1 6
Saint John'sSt. John's 0 (1 Helms) 2 26
Seton Hall 0 1 9
South Florida 0 0 2
Syracuse 1 (2 Helms) 4 33
Villanova 1 3* 29*
West Virginia 0 2 23
Helms are pre-NCAA tournament era (pre-1939) mythical national championships awarded by the Helms Athletic Foundation.
*Does not include Villanova's 1971 NCAA appearance and Final Four nor DePaul's 1986–89 NCAA appearances that were vacated by the NCAA.

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.[32] They won five regular season conference championships and six Big East Tournaments to go with their 1984 national title.[33] Villanova was coached by Rollie Massimino, who led them to the 1985 NCAA Championship in a histotic 66-64 win over #1 ranked Georgetown where forward Ed Pinckney was named the Most Outstanding Player. In there 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, who won the National Coach of the Year honor in 1983 and 1985. He led the Redmen (now the Red Storm) to the 1985 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 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 National Final to Indiana. Syracuse eventually won its first national title in 2003, led by coach Boeheim and freshman Carmelo Anthony.

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's program, led by such stars as Ray Allen, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, Caron Butler, Emeka Okafor and Kemba Walker, averaged nearly 26 wins per year during that time span, won several Big East regular season and tournament championships, and claimed the National Championship in 1999 and 2004. Most recently, a young Huskies team led by Walker displayed a remarkable turnaround, recovering from a 9-9 regular season in the Big East to capture the conference tournament, and then went on to win the 2011 National Championship.

The conference got a then record eight teams into the NCAA Men's Tournament in 2006 and again matched their own record in both 2008 and 2010. 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 Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. When the brackets were revealed, seven made it, but three of them (Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut) gained #1 seeds, and Louisville earned the top seed overall. Connecticut and Villanova (a #3 seed) both reached the Final Four. At the finish of the 2010–2011 season, the Big East eclipsed its record, sending 11 teams to the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament[34][35][36]

The conference has a number of former players currently playing in the National Basketball Association with some of the most recent being Ray Allen, Caron Butler, Carmelo Anthony, Ryan Gomes, Austin Croshere, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Troy Murphy, Hakim Warrick, Quincy Douby, Dante Cunningham, Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, Rudy Gay, Matt Carroll, Jake Voskuhl, Etan Thomas, Samuel Dalembert, Charlie Villanueva, Donte Greene, Ron Artest, Chris Quinn, Jason Hart, Tim Thomas, Aaron Gray, Sam Young, DeJuan Blair, Wilson Chandler, Jeff Green, Joe Alexander, Marcus Williams, Jonny Flynn, Terrence Williams, Earl Clark, Roy Hibbert, Wesley Johnson, and Wesley Matthews.

Women's basketball

See also: Big East Women's Basketball Tournament and Big East Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year

Big East women's basketball is nearly as powerful as the conference's men's programs.[who?] Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma has led his women's team to seven national championships (including four between 2000 and 2004) and four undefeated seasons (1995, 2002, 2009, and 2010). Connecticut set the record for longest winning streak in all of NCAA women's basketball history with a 70-game winning streak stretching from 2001–2003. 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 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 during the 2010–11 season.

Due to the strength of the Connecticut program, and 2007 national runner-up Rutgers, and 2001 national champion and 2011 National runner-up Notre Dame, the Big East has emerged as one of the major powers in women's college basketball. In 2009 two Big East schools met in the national championship game (Connecticut and Louisville) and the South Florida women's basketball team defeated Kansas to become the WNIT champions. In 2011, UConn and Notre Dame both made the Final Four; the Irish defeated the Huskies in their semifinal but lost to Texas A&M in the NCAA Championship Game.

Football

2011 Average Football Attendance
School Average Attendance 2011
West Virginia 56,532
Louisville 48,538
Pittsburgh 46,003
South Florida 45,648
Rutgers 43,761
Syracuse 40,504
Connecticut 36,668
Cincinnati 32,293
Big East Conference Average 2011 43,028
Big East Conference Average 2010 45,743

Big East began football during the 1991–1992 season with the addition of Miami and was a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series.[37] The league obtained immediate legitimacy with the addition of powerhouse Miami.[citation needed]

In the league's early years the University of Miami dominated, winning nine of the first thirteen championships and two national championships in 1991 and 2001. Virginia Tech also did well, winning the conference in 1995, 1996, and in 1999, when they also earned a #2 national ranking. West Virginia and Syracuse were the only other teams to win conference titles during the league's original alignment.

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. Initially, Syracuse University was in place to make the jump instead of Virginia Tech, but in 2003, the governor of Virginia Mark Warner put pressure on the ACC (via the vote of the University of Virginia) to ensure that Virginia Tech 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. Temple 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 MAC in 2007).

The universities that replaced them were Louisville, South Florida and Cincinnati from Conference USA. The league also invited the University of Connecticut 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 2004–07, 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.

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,[38] and finished 11–1 and finished #5 in the AP poll. Newcomer Louisville also ranked in the Top 20.

File:2006-07BowlChallengeCup.jpg
Bowl Challenge Cup awarded to the Big East for play during the 2006–07 bowl games in which they had an undefeated record of 5–0.

In 2006, West Virginia, Louisville, and Rutgers 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. Rutgers’ resurgence after a century of mostly futile play was a national story,[who?] but Louisville won the conference title in the end. In bowl action, the Big East went 5–0, including an Orange Bowl[38] victory for Louisville over Wake Forest and a win by West Virginia over Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl. Louisville would finish the season ranked 6th, West Virginia 10th, and Rutgers 12th in the final AP Poll.

In 2007, USF rose to #2 in the BCS rankings. They lost their next three games, however, to drop out of the rankings. They eventually finished the season #21 in the final BCS polls. The Connecticut Huskies, getting as high as #13, and West Virginia remained in the top 25. Cincinnati also rose as high as #15 in the rankings eventually finishing the season with 10 wins and a #17 ranking. Connecticut lost subsequent games and dropped substantially in the rankings, ultimately finishing 25th. 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. In bowl games, WVU upset the Big 12 Champion Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl,[38] despite having lost their highly touted coach, Rich Rodriguez to Michigan less than a month before the game. West Virginia finished the season ranked #6 and Cincinnati finished ranked #17.

The 2009 season saw Cincinnati finish the regular season undefeated at 12-0 and climb to #3 in the final BCS standings. After completing a fourth quarter comeback to beat Pittsburgh on the final day of the season, the Bearcats narrowly missed a spot in the BCS national championship game, as #2 Texas pulled out a last second win in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Bearcats would go on to lose the Sugar Bowl to #5 Florida and finish the year 12–1.

On September 18, 2011, both Pittsburgh and Syracuse were accepted as Atlantic Coast Conference 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".) Louisville and West Virginia are on a short list of schools if the Big 12 decides to expand back to 12 teams. 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.[14]

In 2011, the University of Houston, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Central Florida, are rumored to join the Big East as full-time members.

In November 2011, Coach Bronco Mendenhall stated that Brigham Young University has been approached by the Big East.

Champions

Season Conference Champion Conference Record Bowl Coalition/Alliance/BCS Bowl Representative
1991 Miami / Syracuse* 2–0–0 / 5–0–0 none
1992 Miami* 4–0–0 Miami
1993 West Virginia 7–0–0 West Virginia
1994 Miami 7–0–0 Miami
1995 Virginia Tech / Miami 6–1–0 Virginia Tech
1996 Virginia Tech / Miami / Syracuse 6–1 Virginia Tech
1997 Syracuse 6–1 Syracuse
1998 Syracuse 6–1 Syracuse
1999 Virginia Tech 7–0 Virginia Tech
2000 Miami 7–0 Miami
2001 Miami 7–0 Miami
2002 Miami 7–0 Miami
2003 Miami / West Virginia 6–1 Miami
2004 Pittsburgh / Boston College / Syracuse / West Virginia 4–2 Pittsburgh
2005 West Virginia 7–0 West Virginia
2006 Louisville 6–1 Louisville
2007 West Virginia / Connecticut 5–2 West Virginia
2008 Cincinnati 6–1 Cincinnati
2009 Cincinnati 7–0 Cincinnati
2010 Connecticut / West Virginia / Pittsburgh 5–2 Connecticut
2011 West Virginia / Cincinnati / Louisville 5–2 West Virginia

*No official championship awarded in 1991 and 1992, as the conference did not start full league play until 1993.

Bowl games

Pick Name Location Opposing Conference Opposing Pick
1 Bowl Championship Series† – BCS At-Large –
2 Champs Sports Bowl Orlando, Florida ACC 3
3 Belk Bowl Charlotte, North Carolina ACC 5
4 Pinstripe Bowl Bronx, New York Big 12 7
5a BBVA Compass Bowl Birmingham, Alabama SEC 8/9
5b Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tennessee C-USA or SEC 1 or 8/9
6 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg, Florida C-USA
Notes on bowl game selection
  • † The Big East's BCS representative is not tied directly to a specific BCS Bowl. It is 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.
  • Notre Dame is eligible to be chosen in lieu of a Big East team for the Champs Sports Bowl one time during the current 4-year contract. 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.

Men's lacrosse

In 2010, the Big East created a men's lacrosse league with Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse, and Villanova participating.[20] 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 will be no Big East men's lacrosse championship tournament for 2010. Instead, the Big East champion will be determined by conference-game winning percentage at the conclusion of the regular season. This winner will then receive the league's automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship.

Team NCAA Championships Final Fours NCAA appearances
Georgetown 0 1 11
Marquette* 0 0 0
Notre Dame 0 2 14
Providence 0 0 3
Rutgers 0 0 9
Saint John'sSt. John's 0 0 0
Syracuse 10** 28 30
Villanova 0 0 2
*Marquette will begin Big East competition in 2013–14.

**Does not include Syracuse's 1990 NCAA National Championship that was vacated by the NCAA for rules infractions.

Cross country

The Big East Conference has been crowning men's cross country champions since 1979 and women's cross country champions since 1982. Over the years six different women's teams have won Big East Championships: Boston College, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Villanova and West Virginia. On the men's side six teams have won Big East Championships as well: Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Providence, Syracuse and Villanova.[39]

In both the 2009 and 2010 season, the Villanova Women captured the NCAA CROSS COUNTRY TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS as they have largely dominated the BIG EAST over the years with numerous Conference Titles. Led by Sheila Reid, 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 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 1989-94 and also won the title again in 1998, 2009 and 2010.[40]

Rivalries

Main article: Big East Conference rivalries

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
1979/80 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
1989/90 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†
1999/00 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 Boston College & Connecticut (east)
Pittsburgh & Syracuse (west) 		Pittsburgh Connecticut Villanova Miami†
2003/04 Pittsburgh Connecticut Connecticut Boston College Miami†/West Virginia
2004/05 Boston College/Connecticut Syracuse Rutgers Connecticut Pittsburgh†/Boston College/Syracuse/West Virginia
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
2008/09 Louisville Louisville Connecticut Connecticut Cincinnati†
2009/10 Syracuse West Virginia Connecticut Connecticut Cincinnati†
2010/11 Pittsburgh Connecticut Connecticut Connecticut Connecticut†/West Virginia/Pittsburgh
2011/12 West Virginia†/Cincinnati/Louisville

†Received the Conference's BCS (or Alliance Bowl) berth[41]

See also

References

  1. ^ "2008 NATIONAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE" (Document). NCAA. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |format= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "ESPN's Thursday night football proves big to the Big East". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 4, 2006.
  3. ^ "Battle for Big East Gets Even Bigger". NCAA Basketball Fanhouse.
  4. ^ Crouthamel, Jake (December 8, 2000). "A Big East History and Retrospective, Part 1". SUAthletics.com. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  5. ^ Thamel, Pete (March 9, 2009). "Quad Q&A: Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  6. ^ Big East Football: A Big Folly?
  7. ^ About the Big East
  8. ^ Moran, Malcolm (March 10, 1994). "Rutgers and West Virginia Are Invited to Join Big East". New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  9. ^ "Conference Affiliation History". hokiesports.com. Virginia Tech. Retrieved October 26,2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ Moran, Malcolm (July 12, 1994). "Notre Dame Joins the Big East". New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  11. ^ "Loyola Joins the Big East as an Associate Member in WLax". LaxPower. January 5, 2005. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  12. ^ "AP source: TCU going to Big East Conference". BET.com. Associated Press. November 29, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  13. ^ "TCU joins Big 12 for 2012-13". ESPN.com. October 10, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "TCU Accepts Invitation To Join Big 12 Conference". TCU Athletic Department. October 10, 2011.
  15. ^ Thamel, Pete (September 17, 2011). "If Syracuse and Pitt Move On, Things Could Get Interesting". The New York Times.
  16. ^ . September 20, 2011 http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2011-09-19/pittsburgh-syracuse-big-east-move-to-acc-conference-realignment-john-swofford. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=205323383
  18. ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/12/06/big-east-expansion.ap/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a4&eref=sihp
  19. ^ "Villanova considering Big East invitation". ESPN. September 10, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  20. ^ a b BIG EAST Announces the Formation of Men’s Lacrosse League for 2010 Season – BIG EAST Conference Athletics
  21. ^ Blaudschun, Mark (November 11, 2008). "Marinatto selected as new Big East Commissioner". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  22. ^ "Marinatto to take over as new Big East commissioner in June". Sports Illustrated. New York City. AP. November 11, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) [dead link]
  23. ^ "Facts about the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio" (Document). University of Cincinnati. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  24. ^ "UConn Fact Sheet 2008" (Document). University of Connecticut. January 2008. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |format= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  25. ^ "Profile > University of Louisville: It's Happening Here" (Document). University of Louisville. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  26. ^ "PA Higher/Adult Ed.: State-Related Universities" (Document). Pennsylvania Department of Education. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |archivedate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |archiveurl= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  27. ^ "About WV: WVU Facts" (Document). West Virginia University. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  28. ^ a b Thamel, Pete (September 19, 2011). "Defections Won't Sabotage Big East, Top Official Says". New York Times. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  29. ^ "Title IX rules related to SEC participation". The Chronicle. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  30. ^ "Big East Conference Overall Statistical Leaders". BigEast.org. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  31. ^ "about the Big East". Retrieved November 15, 2008. [dead link]
  32. ^ "A Century of Georgetown Basketball". The Washington Post. February 10, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  33. ^ "Tradition" (PDF). Georgetown Hoyas Men's Basketball Media Guide. Georgetown University. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  34. ^ "Bracketology with Joe Lunardi". ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  35. ^ "Predicting the 2011 NCAA tournament field". CBSSports. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  36. ^ "Bubble Watch: Power leagues have fingers crossed for tourney week". CNNSI. March 6, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  37. ^ "BCS Chronology". bcsfootball.org. Fox Sports. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  38. ^ a b c "All-Time Results". bcsfootball.org. Fox Sports. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  39. ^ http://bigeast.org/fls/19400/pdfs/Cross_Country/Cross_Country_Record_Book.pdf
  40. ^ http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/11/22/sports/doc4ceab103a2d71574675863.txt
  41. ^ "Big East History & Records" (PDF). big east.org. Retrieved April 1, 2008. [dead link]

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_East_Conference_(1979–2013)&oldid=465317332"