Big East Conference (1979–2013)

Big East Conference

Association	NCAA
Commissioner	John Marinatto (since 2009)
Sports fielded	24 men's: 11 women's: 13
Division	Division I
Subdivision	FBS
Region	United States
Official website	bigeast.org
Locations

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.

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, 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. 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.

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.

West Virginia and Rutgers joined the Big East as full members in 1995 and Virginia Tech joined as a full member in 2000. Temple remained a football-only member until 2004, but was voted out of the Big East after failing to attract enough consistent fan support. The Big East offered Notre Dame a non-football membership effective 1995. 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.

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.

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. TCU later reversed its decision and accepted a Big 12 invitation beginning in the 2012–13 academic year.

On September 17, 2011, Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced that they will leave the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference as of 2012. 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.

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.

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, 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. 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.

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.

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	Cincinnati, Ohio (296,943)	1819	Public	42,421	2005	Bearcats	$1,000,000,000
University of Connecticut	Storrs, Connecticut (15,344)	1881	Public	30,034	1979	Huskies	$271,822,000
University of Louisville	Louisville, Kentucky (741,096)	1798	Public	19,743	2005	Cardinals	$669,043,000
University of Pittsburgh †	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (305,704)	1787	Public/State-Related	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 * ‡	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).
‡ 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. 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.

• Baseball
• Basketball - Men's
• Basketball - Women's
• Cross-Country - Men's
• Cross-Country - Women's
• Field Hockey
• Football
• Golf - Men's
• Golf - Women's
• Lacrosse - Men's
• Lacrosse - Women's
• Rowing - Women's
• Soccer - Men's
• Soccer - Women's
• Softball- Women's
• Swimming & Diving - Men's
• Swimming & Diving - Women's
• Tennis - Men's
• Tennis - Women's
• Track & Field Indoor - Men's
• Track & Field Indoor - Women's
• Track & Field Outdoor - Men's
• Track & Field Outdoor - Women's
• Volleyball - Women's

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.

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
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. 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. They won five regular season conference championships and six Big East Tournaments to go with their 1984 national title. Villanova was coached by Rollie Massimino, 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

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. 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. The league obtained immediate legitimacy with the addition of powerhouse Miami.

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, 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, 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. 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, 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.

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. 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.

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.

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

See also

• Big East Baseball Tournament

External links

• Official website