BIG EAST Conference History
The BIG EAST Conference
Building on its storied history, the BIG EAST Conference continues to position itself to perform at the highest national level.
The 2024-25 academic year will mark the 12th since the BIG EAST Conference returned to its basketball-centric heritage in institutional membership. The academic and athletic accomplishments over the previous 11 years have shown that the BIG EAST continues to be a national leader in collegiate athletics.
Since the league's reconfiguration in 2013, the BIG EAST has established itself as one of the nation's elite conferences. It has developed a strong, clear identity rooted in authenticity and reflective of its member schools and their shared values. This is embodied by a league-wide commitment to sustained DE&I efforts, mental health programming and career development, among many other deep-rooted initiatives.
Conference Leadership
Dynamic leadership has been a staple of the BIG EAST throughout its history.
Val Ackerman, who previously served as founding President of the WNBA, President of USA Basketball and U.S. representative to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), was named the BIG EAST's fifth Commissioner in 2013. Under her leadership, the BIG EAST has maintained its reputation for achievement at the highest levels and has continued its influence on the national collegiate landscape, with numerous conference and campus administrators currently serving on important NCAA committees.
Ackerman is one of the few sports executives who has held leadership positions in both men's and women's sports at the collegiate, professional, national team and international level. In 2021, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The BIG EAST grew to 11 members in 2020. The University of Connecticut, a member of the conference from 1979 to 2013, was readmitted. UConn has brought a rich history of academic and athletic excellence, especially in the sport of basketball. Since rejoining, the Huskies' men's program won its fifth and sixth national championships, capturing the NCAA crown in both 2023 and 2024. The UConn women's program, which had won eight of its 11 national championships as a BIG EAST member, has continued its unparalleled national success. The Huskies have advanced to the Final Four in 15 of the last 16 years and have appeared in 24 Final Fours overall.
The BIG EAST has produced 15 national champions over the past 11 academic years. Nine BIG EAST teams have captured national titles, including four in men's basketball. BIG EAST student-athletes have won national championships in six individual events.
History
Founded in 1979 by Dave Gavitt, the former Providence men's basketball coach and athletic director, the BIG EAST Conference became a reality in May of 1979. Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Connecticut and Boston College formed the original seven-school alliance, and the conference became an immediate national power in men's basketball. While the composition of the BIG EAST has evolved, the focus of its schools has not changed, reflecting a tradition of emphasizing academic strength and fair play.
In December of 2012, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova announced their intention to separate from the conference's FBS football-playing schools and form an independent association. The seven schools reached an agreement to retain the BIG EAST name and assume the conference's long-term pact with Madison Square Garden to host the BIG EAST Men's Basketball Tournament. The schools also announced the addition of three distinguished institutions — Butler, Creighton and Xavier — and forged a landmark, long-term broadcast partnership with FOX Sports. The new era officially began on July 1, 2013.
Academic Excellence, Community Service
Outside of the arenas and playing fields, the BIG EAST has always adhered to an unwavering commitment to academic integrity, athletic excellence and community service while offering opportunities to help student-athletes to reach their potential as students, athletes and leaders.
In the summer of 2020, the conference launched "BE the Change," a conference-wide advocacy platform that enables BIG EAST stakeholders to engage on a range of contemporary racial and social justice issues. The "BE the Change" initiative continues in 2024-25.
Also in 2020, the BIG EAST created a partnership with RISE, a leading provider of educational programming that equips sports leaders to create positive change on racism, social justice and equality issues.
The conference has also launched BIG EAST University, a virtual educational service which enhances the student-athlete experience with career professional development programming primarily through webinars.
In 2014 the conference established BIG EAST Serves to align with the service missions of the member institutions. Initiatives housed under the BIG EAST Serves umbrella, the BIG EAST Career Consortium and the national partnership with the It's On Us campaign against campus sexual assaults, reflect the conference's commitment to developing the complete BIG EAST student-athlete and making a positive contribution to campus communities. The BIG EAST regularly hosts a Well Being Forum to help provide institutional personnel with information, insights and basic training so they can better support the mental and physical health of their student-athletes.
Commissioner Ackerman and the BIG EAST have taken a leadership role in Sport at the Service of Humanity, an initiative created by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture to focus on how sport and faith can drive positive social change. Ackerman was a delegate at the inaugural Vatican conference and has served on an advisory committee to develop the framework and content for the initiative.
BIG EAST in the Media
The BIG EAST has been lauded as a longstanding leader in innovative concepts, particularly television, and that reputation continues as evidenced by the conference's relationship with FOX Sports. The BIG EAST has enjoyed a successful multi-year partnership with FOX Sports and its national cable network FS1.
Over the summer of 2024, the BIG EAST finalized a new six-year media rights agreement that will ensure that the league maintains its position as one of the most televised conferences in all of college athletics. FOX Sports, the BIG EAST's television partner for the last 11 years, will continue as the conference's lead network provider, with NBC Sports and TNT Sports also providing comprehensive BIG EAST basketball coverage per the new agreement.
BIG EAST institutions are located in eight of the nation's 38 largest media markets, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Hartford/New Haven, Cincinnati and Milwaukee.
FOX Sports will feature at least 80 BIG EAST men's and women's basketball contests across the regular season and postseason beginning in 2025-26. In addition, the FOX broadcast network will remain the home of the BIG EAST Men's Tournament through 2031.
NBC Sports/Peacock will launch its coverage of BIG EAST men's basketball in 2024-25 with a package of regular season games and five early round and quarterfinal conference tournament games. Beginning with the 2025-26 season, NBC Sports/Peacock will present more than 60 men's and women's regular season and BIG EAST Tournament games.
TNT Sports will feature more than 65 regular season BIG EAST basketball games airing on TNT – as its primary network – along with TBS, truTV and Max, beginning with the 2025-26 season.
Prior to the start of the 2022-23 academic year, the BIG EAST signed a multi-year agreement with FloSports, a leading sports streaming service, to remain the home of the BIG EAST Digital Network Presented by Invesco QQQ. The pact with FloSports includes coverage of women's basketball, Olympic sports events and men's and women's basketball shoulder programming with a total of more than 600 events.
Conference and National Championships
The conference crowns champions in 22 sports. Men's basketball teams have earned 45 NCAA invitations in nine tournaments since 2014, averaging more than five per season.
BIG EAST men's basketball programs have enjoyed extraordinary success. UConn has captured NCAA Championship crowns in 2024, 2023, 2014, 2011, 2004 and 1999. Villanova has won national titles in 2018, 2016 and 1985. Georgetown and Marquette also have won the national championship. Butler, DePaul, Providence, St. John's and Seton Hall have all reached the Final Four. The BIG EAST placed three men's basketball teams in the 1985 Final Four — Georgetown, St. John's and Villanova — still the only occurrence in NCAA history.
The BIG EAST has achieved recent success in other sports as well. The Georgetown men's soccer team won the 2019 NCAA title. A BIG EAST team has won the NCAA women's cross country championship in four of the last 13 years. Georgetown's women's soccer team reached the College Cup in 2018 and 2016. In men's soccer, Creighton (2022) and Georgetown (2021) have played in the College Cup recently. UConn has won three national field hockey championships in nine years. Liberty, an affiliate member in field hockey, was the national runner-up in 2021. Denver, an affiliate member in men's lacrosse, won the NCAA crown in 2015, and reached the final four in 2024.
In the 45 years since the original league opened its doors, BIG EAST teams have won 44 national championships in eight different sports with 146 student-athletes winning individual national titles.