Big East Conference
Big East Conference logo
Established	1979
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I FBS
Members	16 Full Members, 1 Associate Member
Sports fielded	24 (men's: 11; women's: 13)
Region	United States
Headquarters	Providence, Rhode Island
Commissioner	Joseph Bailey, Interim (since 2012)
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.

In football, 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 No. 2, Cincinnati and Louisville both as high as No. 3, Rutgers as high as No. 7, Pittsburgh as high as No. 9, and Connecticut as high as No. 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 seven NCAA Championships (UConn with three, Villanova with two, and Georgetown, and Syracuse, 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 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[link]

Locations of the Big East Conference member institutions in 2012.

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

The early years[link]

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^[5] and Pittsburgh joined in 1982.^[6]

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.^[7]

Football expansion[link]

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.^[8][9]

West Virginia and Rutgers joined the Big East as full members in 1995^[10] and Virginia Tech joined as a full member in 2000.^[11] 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.^[12] This led to an unusual conference structure with some schools competing in Division I basketball only.

Instability, departures, and replacements[link]

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.^[13]

Continuing instability[link]

In 2010, Texas Christian University accepted an invitation to join the conference as an all-sports member beginning in the 2012–13 academic year.^[14] TCU later reversed its decision and accepted a Big 12 invitation beginning in the 2012–13 academic year.^[15][16]

On September 17, 2011, Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced that they will leave the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference as of 2014.^[17][18] 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 after the Big East and WVU settled a legal battle over the move.^[19]

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.^[20]

On Tuesday, January 24, 2012, the Navy Midshipmen accepted an invitation to join the Big East for football only starting in 2015.

On Wednesday February 9, 2012 the Big East invited The University of Memphis to join as a full member in all sports to begin play in 2013.

Seemingly forgetting the 2004 boot, it was announced on Wednesday March 7, 2012 that Temple University football will return to the conference in the 2012 season, filling the void left by West Virginia. The Temple Owls will join for all sports in 2013. Temple basketball will move over from the A-10 conference, where they had been a perennial powerhouse.

Current status[link]

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,^[21] such as Lincoln Financial Field, however Lincoln Financial Field is the exclusive home of the Temple Owls and Philadelphia Eagles.

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.^[22] 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[link]

<timeline> DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1979 till:2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)

         id:line value:black
         id:bg value:white

         id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
         id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
         id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
         id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)
         id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
         id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two          

PlotData=

  width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
  bar:1 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1991 text:Boston College (1979–2005)

  bar:1 color:Full from:1991 till:2005

  bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text:ACC

  bar:2 color:FullxF from:1979 till:2004 text:Connecticut (1979–present)

  bar:2 color:Full from:2004 till:end

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

  bar:4 color:FullxF from:1979 till:end text:Providence  (1979–present)

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

  bar:6 color:FullxF from:1979 till:end text:Seton  Hall (1979–present)

  bar:7 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1991 text:Syracuse  (1979–2014)

  bar:7 color:Full from:1991 till:2014 

  bar:7 color:OtherC1 from: 2014 till: end text: ACC

  bar:8 color:FullxF from:1980 till:end text:Villanova  (1980–present)

  bar:9 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1991 text:Pittsburgh (1982–2014)

  bar:9 color:Full from:1991 till:2014 

  bar:9 color:OtherC1 from: 2014 till: end text: ACC

  bar:10 color:Full from:1991 till:2004 text:Miami  (1991–2004)

  bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2004 till:end text:ACC

  bar:11 color:AssocF from:1991 till:1995 text:Rutgers  (1991–present)

  bar:11 color:Full from:1995 till:end 

  bar:12 color:AssocF from:1991 till:1995 text:West  Virginia (1991–2012)  

  bar:12 color:Full from:1995 till:2012 

  bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:Big 12

  bar:13 color:AssocF from:1991 till:1999 text:Virginia Tech (1991–2004)

  bar:13 color:Full from:1999 till:2004:

  bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2004 till:end text:ACC

  bar:14 color:AssocF from:1991 till:2004 text:Temple (1991–2004)

  bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2004 till:2006 text:Ind.

  bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:2006 till:2012 text:MAC (2007–2011)

  bar:14 color:AssocF from:2012 till:end text: Temple  (2012-forward)

  bar:14 color:Full from:2013 till:end text: 

  bar:15 color:FullxF from:1995 till:end text:Notre  Dame (1995–present)

  bar:16 color:Full from:2005 till:end text:Cincinnati (2005–present)

  bar:17 color:FullxF from:2005 till:end text:DePaul  (2005–present)

  bar:18 color:Full from:2005 till:end text:Louisville (2005–present)

  bar:19 color:FullxF from:2005 till:end text:Marquette (2005–present)

  bar:20 color:Full from:2005 till:end text:South  Florida (2005–present)

  bar:21 color:Full from:2013 till:end text:Houston  (2013–forward)

  bar:22 color:Full from:2013 till:end text:SMU (2013–forward)

  bar:23 color:Full from:2013 till:end text:UCF (2013–forward)

  bar:24 color:Full from:2013 till:end text:Memphis  (2013-forward)

  bar:25 color:AssocF from:2013 till:end text:Boise  State (2013–forward)

  bar:26 color:AssocF from:2013 till:end text:San  Diego State (2013–forward)

  bar:27 color:AssocF from:2015 till:end text:Navy  (2015–forward)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1979 TextData =

   fontsize:L
   textcolor:black
   pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center)
   text:^"Big East Membership History"

1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. Full members Full members (non-football) Assoc. members (football only) Assoc. member (w lacrosse) Other Conference Other Conference <# </timeline>

Full members Full members (non-football) Assoc. members (football only) Assoc. member (list sports) Other Conference Other Conference

Commissioners[link]

Mike Tranghese retired at the end of the 2008–09 academic year, which he announced in June 2008, and was replaced by former senior associate commissioner John Marinatto. On May 7, 2012, John Marinatto resigned as commissioner. He was replaced by Joseph Bailey, on an interim basis, while the search for a new commissioner progresses. ^[23]

Current members[link]

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 university receives.

Full members[link]

Light green indicates departing member
† Denotes schools that will be leaving Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference, presumably in 2014 (according to Big East commissioner John Marinatto).^[29]
‡ Denotes schools that will be leaving Big East for the Big 12 Conference in 2012

Full members except in football[link]

Future members[link]

Future full members[link]

Future associate members[link]

Former members[link]

Former full members[link]

^* 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.^[29]
West Virginia has accepted an invitation to join the Big 12, and has settled their lawsuits with the Big East that will allow them to move in the summer of 2012.^[30]

Former associate members[link]

^* Rutgers and West Virginia joined the Big East as full members in 1995.

^** Virginia Tech joined the Big East as a full member in 2000.

^*** Temple was removed from the Big East as a football only member after the 2004 football season. Temple was invited to the Big East as a full member in March 2012, with football returning in July 2012 and all other sports joining in July 2013.

Sports[link]

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.^[31]

Men's sports[link]

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross-country
• Football
• Golf
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Swimming & diving
• Tennis
• Track & field (indoor)
• Track & field (outdoor)

Women's sports[link]

• Basketball
• Cross-country
• Field hockey
• Golf
• Lacrosse
• Rowing
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming & diving
• Tennis
• Track & field (indoor)
• Track & field (outdoor)
• Volleyball

Sports facilities[link]

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 used Paul Brown Stadium as an alternate home field for games against Louisville and West Virginia.
⁷ Basketball arenas and baseball stadiums for Boise State, Navy, 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[link]

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.^[33] 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.

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.^[34] They won five regular season conference championships and six Big East Tournaments to go with their 1984 national title.^[35] Villanova was coached by Rollie Massimino, who led them to the 1985 NCAA Championship in a histotic 66–64 win over No. 1 ranked Georgetown where forward Ed Pinckney was named the Most Outstanding Player. In their first 11 seasons in the Big East, Villanova made 9 trips to the NCAA Tournament including advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1982, 1983 and 1988 as well as their 1985 Championship season. Massimino coached for 19 seasons at Villanova, compiling a record of 357–241 (.596). In the NCAA Tournament, Massimino had an incredible 20–10 record (.667). St. John's was led by Lou Carnesecca, 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 numerous Big East regular season and tournament championships, and claimed the National Championship in 1999, 2004 and 2011.

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 No. 1 seeds, and Louisville earned the top seed overall. Connecticut and Villanova (a No. 3 seed) both reached the Final Four. At the finish of the 2010–2011 season, the Big East eclipsed its record, sending 11 teams to the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament^[36][37][38]

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, Lazar Hayward, Jimmy Butler, Steve Novak.

Women's basketball[link]

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, 2001 national champion and 2011 National runner-up Notre Dame, and 2007 national runner-up Rutgers, 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[link]

Big East began football during the 1991–1992 season with the addition of Miami and was a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series.^[39] 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 No. 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,^[40] and finished 11–1 and finished No. 5 in the AP poll. Newcomer Louisville also ranked in the Top 20.

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^[40] 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 No. 2 in the BCS rankings. They lost their next three games, however, to drop out of the rankings. They eventually finished the season No. 21 in the final BCS polls. The Connecticut Huskies, getting as high as No. 13, and West Virginia remained in the top 25. Cincinnati also rose as high as No. 15 in the rankings eventually finishing the season with 10 wins and a No. 17 ranking. Connecticut lost subsequent games and dropped substantially in the rankings, ultimately finishing 25th. On the final day of the season, Pittsburgh upset No. 2 WVU 13–9 in the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl 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,^[40] despite having lost their highly touted coach, Rich Rodriguez to Michigan less than a month before the game. West Virginia finished the season ranked No. 6 and Cincinnati finished ranked #17.

The 2009 season saw Cincinnati finish the regular season undefeated at 12–0 and climb to No. 3 in the final BCS standings. After completing a fourth quarter comeback to beat Pittsburgh on the final day of the season, the Bearcats narrowly missed a spot in the BCS national championship game, as No. 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 No. 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.^[16]

In 2011, as a response to major shifts in the college football conference landscape, the conference added five new members to help offset the losses of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia. On December 7, 2011, the conference officially added the University of Houston, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Central Florida as all-sports members. Additionally, Boise State and San Diego State of the Mountain West Conference were added as football-only members.^[41]

Champions[link]

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

Bowl games[link]

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[link]

In 2010, the Big East created a men's lacrosse league with Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse, and Villanova participating.^[22] 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.

Cross country[link]

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.^[42]

In both the 2009 and 2010 season, the Villanova women captured the NCAA Cross Country Team Championship as they have largely dominated the Big East over the years with numerous Conference Titles. Led by Sheila Reid, 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.^[43]

Rivalries[link]

Conference champions by year[link]

†Received the Conference's BCS (or Alliance Bowl) berth^[44]

See also[link]

• Big East Baseball Tournament

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

John Marinatto was the former commissioner of the Big East Conference. He served as senior associate commissioner of the Big East from 2002 until he began his tenure as third commissioner of the conference on July 1, 2009. He resigned from his position as commissioner on May 7th, 2012.

Marinatto is a native of Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated from Providence College in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in business management. He later worked at Providence as an Associate Director of Alumni/Development and as Director of Sports Information. Marinatto was later the athletic director at Providence for 14 years. He directed all aspects of the Providence Friars athletic program, including a $10 million annual budget and a staff of over 100 employees. While at Providence, Marinatto served as the Chairman of the Big East Athletic Directors’ Executive Committee from 1996–2000, the longest tenure of any athletic director in the history of the conference. He also served the conference as the Chairman of the Athletic Directors’ Finance Committee from 1992–93. In addition, Marinatto served as Chairman of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Women’s Basketball Committee and Television Committee, and was a member of the Men’s Basketball Committee, Academic Affairs Committee and Championships and Competition Committee.

As senior associate commissioner, Marinatto served as the Big East’s Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for the daily administration of the conference office. He oversaw all administrative operations, including NCAA governance, finance, compliance, communications, television and championships. Marinatto was the daily contact with the league’s athletic directors regarding governance and operational matters. He has been a member of the NCAA Management Council and NCAA Business and Finance Cabinet and currently serves as the Conference’s representative to the NCAA Leadership Council. He served as the Chief Financial and Business Officer of the Bowl Championship Series from 2002–04.

External links[link]

• Big East Conference

This biographical article related to American sports is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (July 2008)

Sean McDonough (born May 13, 1962) is an American sportscaster, currently employed by ESPN.