16 Schools•Division I•Est. 1979
The Big East was founded in May 1979 by Providence coach and athletic director Dave Gavitt, who assembled Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Connecticut, and Boston College into a basketball-first alliance that became a national power almost immediately. In December 2012 seven schools announced they would separate from the football members and return the league to that original vision. They kept the name, the logos, and the Madison Square Garden tournament, added Butler, Creighton, and Xavier, and relaunched on July 1, 2013. UConn rejoined in 2020, bringing membership to eleven. The conference crowns champions in 22 sports and is headquartered in New York City.
Basketball is the identity. The Big East Tournament has been played at Madison Square Garden since 1983, the longest run at a single site in college basketball. UConn has won six national championships, Villanova three, with Georgetown and Marquette adding one apiece. In 1985 the league put Georgetown, St. John's, and Villanova in the same Final Four, still the only time one conference has done that. On the women's side UConn has claimed twelve titles.
The trophy case reaches well beyond the hardwood. League teams have won 45 national championships in eight sports, with 146 individual champions. Villanova owns nine women's cross country crowns, Georgetown won the 2019 men's soccer title, UConn has three field hockey championships, and affiliate Denver took men's lacrosse in 2015.
Olympians run deep, from Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin to Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart, alongside marathoners, fencers, climbers, and field hockey stars representing a dozen countries.
Rivalries endure. Georgetown and Villanova trace theirs to the 1985 title game. St. John's and Seton Hall split the Hudson, Butler and Xavier carry decades of Midwest history, and DePaul and Marquette keep Chicago and Milwaukee honest.
Official Website
The Big East was founded in May 1979 by Providence coach and athletic director Dave Gavitt, who assembled Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Connecticut, and Boston College into a basketball-first alliance that became a national power almost immediately. In December 2012 seven schools announced they would separate from the football members and return the league to that original vision. They kept the name, the logos, and the Madison Square Garden tournament, added Butler, Creighton, and Xavier, and relaunched on July 1, 2013. UConn rejoined in 2020, bringing membership to eleven. The conference crowns champions in 22 sports and is headquartered in New York City.
Basketball is the identity. The Big East Tournament has been played at Madison Square Garden since 1983, the longest run at a single site in college basketball. UConn has won six national championships, Villanova three, with Georgetown and Marquette adding one apiece. In 1985 the league put Georgetown, St. John's, and Villanova in the same Final Four, still the only time one conference has done that. On the women's side UConn has claimed twelve titles.
The trophy case reaches well beyond the hardwood. League teams have won 45 national championships in eight sports, with 146 individual champions. Villanova owns nine women's cross country crowns, Georgetown won the 2019 men's soccer title, UConn has three field hockey championships, and affiliate Denver took men's lacrosse in 2015.
Olympians run deep, from Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin to Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart, alongside marathoners, fencers, climbers, and field hockey stars representing a dozen countries.
Rivalries endure. Georgetown and Villanova trace theirs to the 1985 title game. St. John's and Seton Hall split the Hudson, Butler and Xavier carry decades of Midwest history, and DePaul and Marquette keep Chicago and Milwaukee honest.
Official Website