Gavitt Tipoff Games Dedicated To BIG EAST Founder
By SEAN BRENNAN
Gavitt Games Information
Without Dave Gavitt’s vision there never would have been a BIG EAST Conference.
Iconic coaches and players from Louie Carnesecca and Chris Mullin to John Thompson and Patrick Ewing would belong to their individual schools and not to a larger collection of basketball aficionados known as BIG EAST fans.
Rivalries born of the BIG EAST would never have been formed. There would have been no Georgetown vs. Syracuse or St. John’s vs. Georgetown. Walter “the Truth” Berry may never have played against Dwayne “The Pearl” Washington. Chris Mullin and Patrick Ewing’s paths may never have crossed, their epic battles having never been waged.
Without a BIG EAST there would have been no BIG EAST Tournament, which would have robbed basketball fans of March 12, 2009 when Syracuse and UConn played their memorable six-overtime thriller. There would be none of Gerry McNamara’s heroics in the 2006 tournament. Kemba Walker would never have scored 130 points in the 2011 tournament when UConn became the first BIG EAST team to win five tournament games in five days to grab the crown, and go on to win the National Championship. There never would have been any of the countless magical moments that have filled Madison Square Garden each March over the last three-plus decades.
And three BIG EAST teams would never have crashed the 1985 NCAA Final Four party – as St. John’s, Georgetown and Villanova did – before the Wildcats recorded what some still consider the greatest upset in the tournament’s history.
But all of the above happened because in 1979, Gavitt’s vision of the BIG EAST was realized.
Now, almost four decades later, the conference he created is honoring him with the Gavitt Tipoff Games, a season-opening, eight-game challenge pitting the BIG EAST vs. the Big Ten over four nights beginning with the inaugural games tipping off on Nov. 17. It’s a fitting way to honor the man who gave college basketball so much before passing away at the age of 73 in 2011.
“At the time he was putting the BIG EAST together people were doubting him saying, ‘Is this guy crazy?’” said St. John’s coach Chris Mullin. “But it turned out to be, for a while, the best thing in college basketball. So this is something to honor him and keep his memory alive. I think it was the right thing to do. It’s his legacy and this will keep his legacy in people’s consciousness.”
Mullin played at St. John’s during the BIG EAST’s infancy and he developed a close relationship with the conference founder.
“He had a huge impact on my career and, true to form, never took credit for it,” said Mullin, who played for St. John’s from 1981 through 1985. “He was a very humble man. Even going back to when he was forming the BIG EAST, he was the mastermind behind that. He really helped college basketball in general. Everyone saw what he did and kind of copied his formula. “He had a huge impact on college basketball. Most people know his impact if they’re associated with the game but he was also the type of person who touched people individually.”
Ed Cooley feels Gavitt’s presence each day he shows up for work. When he arrives at his office at Providence College Cooley walks through the hallways adorned with photos of Gavitt and plays his home games on a court named for the former Providence coach and athletic director.
“In our hallway, his Hall of Fame induction picture is there,” said Cooley, who grew up in and played his high school ball in Providence. “There are pictures of his teams there, pictures of him. He has an incredible presence here at the school which he should. And obviously the floor down at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center is named after him. There’s a constant reminder. The BIG EAST is where it is right now because of what Dave Gavitt did in 1979.”
Cooley, who was twice named Rhode Island Player of the Year during his years at Providence’s Central High School, said he didn’t know Gavitt growing up, but became well aware of his reputation as he got older.
“I was a Friars fan growing up the whole time,” Cooley said. “I was too young to know Dave when he was coaching but obviously I know his legacy and I knew him personally and I know his son (Dan) and his wife Julie. All I know is his vision toward basketball, not just here at Providence College but nationally and internationally, his vision was beyond belief. How he started the league and the vision he had for the league and to see it prosper as one of the greatest leagues ever created truly is a blessing.”
Both Mullin, now in his first season at St. John’s and Cooley, who is beginning his fifth season with the Friars, got to talk to Gavitt before he passed away and those talks have had a lasting effect on both coaches.
“I got to talk to him toward the end of his life,” said Mullin, who was the leader on that 1985 Final Four St. John’s team. “I saw him in Providence and I had lunch with him one day and that was a very special day for me because I got to verbalize how much he meant to me and that I knew how much he did for me behind the scenes.”
“I met him a few times prior to my taking the head coaching job here at Providence,” Cooley said. “I spoke to him before he passed and he would always have words of wisdom, always would tell you to do things the right way all the time because those are the people that always make it. It might not always be the result you’re looking for, but if you did it the right way in the long run it always works.”
The Gavitt Games will get underway Tuesday night Nov. 17 with three games on the schedule. Georgetown will battle No. 3 Maryland in their first meeting since 2008-09 with DePaul traveling to Penn State and No. 11 Villanova hosting Nebraska. Providence will greet Illinois on Wednesday night with a tripleheader scheduled for Thursday Nov. 19 that sees St. John’s host Rutgers at Carnesecca Arena, Iowa go on the road to Marquette and Creighton facing off against No. 15 Indiana for the first time since the 1974-75 season.
Xavier will close out the series when it travels to No. 25 Michigan on Friday night November 20.
Because of the Providence connection, Cooley is thrilled his Friars are part of the inaugural Gavitt Games.
“It feels special,” Cooley said. “We’ll be thinking about him. I know his wife Julie and his two sons and grandkids will be here so it really is an honor that we’ll have some games that will hopefully represent him in a first-class way.”
Mullin sees the Gavitt Tipoff Games growing in the years to come, sort of like that little project Gavitt got off the ground back in 1979.
“I think the BIG EAST and the Big Ten are two really good conferences so I do see this growing,” Mullin said. “I see things improving over the years so it will become a huge rivalry and this is a good start. I think it will grow like Dave Gavitt’s vision originally grew in the BIG EAST. It started as an idea, and brick by brick, he put it together.”