A Comprehensive History of the NCAA Big East Tournament

The Big East Conference, a prominent American collegiate athletic association, boasts a rich history and a strong tradition in men's basketball. This article delves into the history of the Big East Tournament, its evolution, memorable moments, and its significance in the landscape of college basketball. The conference currently consists of Butler, Creighton, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova, and Xavier universities, and Providence College.

Genesis of the Big East Conference

The Big East Conference was founded in 1979 by seven eastern institutions with notable men’s basketball programs: Georgetown, Syracuse University, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Connecticut, and Boston College. Villanova joined the following year, followed by the University of Pittsburgh in 1982.

Big East schools that fielded Division I-A (the top American collegiate football division at the time) football programs saw those teams compete as independents until 1991, when the conference added the University of Miami; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Temple University; West Virginia University; and Virginia Tech. The latter four schools were competing only in football. The five new schools joined Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Boston College to form the first Big East football conference.

In 1995, Rutgers and West Virginia became full members, and the University of Notre Dame joined in all sports other than football. Virginia Tech became a full conference member in 2000, but in 2004 the school, along with Miami, departed to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Temple also left the Big East that year, and Boston College left for the ACC in 2005. That year saw the Big East offset those losses by adding the University of Cincinnati, DePaul, the University of Louisville, Marquette, and the University of South Florida. Temple rejoined the conference in a football-only capacity in 2012 as West Virginia departed for the Big 12 Conference.

Conference Realignment and a New Era

In 2013, the most radical realignment in conference history took place as Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse joined the ACC, and the remaining football-playing schools created the American Athletic Conference. The Big East then became a non-football conference and added Butler, Creighton, and Xavier to offset the large loss of members. Connecticut, which was among the schools that left in 2013, officially rejoined the conference in 2020.

The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the 11 full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and Midwest metropolitan areas. The conference was officially recognized as a Division I multi-sport conference on August 1, 2013, and since then conference members have won NCAA national championships in men's basketball, women's cross country, field hockey, men's lacrosse, and men's soccer. The conference was formed after the "Catholic Seven" members of the original Big East Conference elected to split from the football-playing schools in order to start a new conference focused on basketball. These schools included DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, and Villanova. Three more schools-Butler, Creighton, and Xavier-joined the conference on its July 1, 2013, launch date. In June 2019, the Big East invited the University of Connecticut (UConn) to "re-join" the conference from the AAC, which they did on July 1, 2020. Football is not a sponsored sport, and UConn is the only member with a varsity football team in the top-level Division I FBS. Butler, Georgetown, and Villanova do operate football programs in the second-level Division I FCS.

The Big East Tournament: A Storied Tradition

The Big East Men's Basketball Tournament is the championship tournament of the Big East Conference in men's basketball. Since 1983, the tournament has been held in Madison Square Garden in New York City. As such, the tournament is the longest-running conference tournament at any one site in all of college basketball.

The original Big East Conference was founded in 1979, when Providence College basketball coach Dave Gavitt spearheaded an effort to assemble an east coast basketball-centric collegiate athletic conference. The core of the Big East formed when Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, and Syracuse invited Seton Hall, Connecticut (UConn), Holy Cross, Rutgers, and Boston College (BC). Holy Cross turned down the invitation, as did Rutgers initially, while BC, Seton Hall, and UConn accepted. Gavitt became the Big East's first commissioner, and Villanova and Pittsburgh joined the conference shortly thereafter. PR firm Duffy & Shanley is credited with the initial branding and naming work for the conference. The "high point" of the original conference is widely considered to be the 1985 NCAA tournament, in which Georgetown, St. John's and Villanova all reached the Final Four, with Villanova ultimately winning the national championship over Georgetown.

The conference remained largely unchanged until 1991, when it began to sponsor football, adding Miami as a full member, and Rutgers, Temple, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia as football-only members. Rutgers and West Virginia upgraded to full Big East membership in 1995, while Virginia Tech did the same in 2000. Notre Dame also joined as a non-football member effective in 1995. The unusual structure of the Big East, with the "football" and "non-football" schools, led to instability in the conference.

The Big East was one of the most severely impacted conferences during conference realignment of 2005 and the early 2010s. In all, 14 member schools announced their departure for other conferences, and 15 other schools announced plans to join the conference (eight as all-sports members, and four for football only). Three of the latter group later backed out of their plans to join (one for all sports, and the other two for football only).

On December 15, 2012, the Big East's seven non-FBS schools - DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova - announced that they had voted to leave the conference as a group. Negotiations with the other member schools continued in early 2013, and in March, it was reported that the "Catholic 7" schools would leave the conference on June 30, 2013, but that they would retain the Big East Conference name, logos, $10 million from the old conference's treasury, and the right to hold their Big East Men's Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden. At a March 20 news conference in New York City, Georgetown President John J. DeGioia announced the new conference's name and logo. The remaining members of the old conference later announced they would continue as the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

Tournament Format Over the Years

From 1980 through 2000, all Big East member schools qualified for the Big East tournament. The Big East limited participation to 12 schools from 2001 to 2008, but since 2009, all member schools again have qualified for the tournament.

Early Years (1980-1991): In 1980, with seven member schools, the #2 through #7 seeds played in an opening quarterfinal round and the #1 seed received a bye until the semifinal round. In 1981, the conference expanded to eight teams, and in 1981 and 1982, all eight teams began play in a quarterfinal round. After the conference expanded again, to nine teams, the #8 and #9 seeds played in a single first-round game and schools seeded #7 or higher received a bye into the quarterfinal round; adopted in 1983, this format persisted through the 1991 tournament.
Expansion to 10 Teams (1992-1995): After the Big East expanded to 10 teams, the 1992 tournament had two first-round games for the #7 through #10 seeds, teams seeded #6 or higher getting a bye into the quarterfinal round.
Divisional Structure (1996-2000): For the 1995-96 Big East Conference men's basketball season, the Big East expanded to 13 teams and adopted a divisional structure, with teams divided between the Big East 6 Division and the Big East 7 Division. The expansion resulted in a new tournament format in which the #4 through #13 seeds played in the first round and only the #1 through #3 seeds received byes into the quarterfinals. During the existence of the Big East 6 and Big East 7 divisions, seeding criteria also changed, with the winners of each division receiving the #1 and #2 seeds regardless of record, the second-place team with the best record receiving the #3 seed, and the rest of the schools receiving the #4 through #13 seeds based on conference record and tiebreakers.

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East and West Divisions (2001-2003): From 2001 through 2003, when the Big East again was divided into two divisions - an East and a West Division, each of seven teams - teams were seeded #1 through #6 by division. The third- through sixth-place finishers in each division (a total of eight teams) received the #3 through #6 seeds in each division and played in the first round, with the #3 East seed playing the #6 West seed, the #4 East seed playing the #5 West seed, the #5 East seed playing the #4 West seed, and the #6 East seed playing the #3 West seed. The first- and second-place finishers in each division (a total of four teams) received the #1 and #2 divisional seeds and a bye into the quarterfinal round.
Post-Divisional Era (2004-2008): In 2004, after the Big East again eliminated its division structure, its 14 schools again were seeded based on conference record and tiebreakers. The teams which finished below 12th place did not qualify for the tournament. In 2005 the conference's membership dropped to 12 schools, and St. John's was ineligible for the tournament due to sanctions imposed on its program. The Big East's membership stood at 16 schools from 2006 through 2008.
Return to All-Inclusive Tournament (2009-2013): In 2009, the conference returned to a tournament format that included all member schools (16 from 2009 to 2012, and 14 in 2013). From 2009 through 2012, the teams seeded #9 through #16 played first-round games, teams seeded #5 through #8 received a bye to the second round, and the top four teams received a double-bye to the quarterfinals. The final Big East tournament held by the original Big East Conference, which took place in 2013, saw only 14 teams compete-West Virginia had left the Big East for the Big 12 Conference after the 2011-12 season, and Connecticut was barred from the tournament due to an NCAA postseason ban for academic reasons. Throughout the 2009-2013 period, all member schools participating in the tournament were seeded in the tournament based on their conference records.
The "New" Big East (2014-Present): During the offseason in 2013, seven schools left the original Big East Conference of 1979-2013 and joined three other schools in forming a new Big East Conference, the old conference becoming the American Athletic Conference (marketed as "The American"). The new Big East Conference took over control of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. From 2014 (the first tournament held after the formation of the new Big East) through 2019 all 10 member schools took part in the tournament, with tiebreakers similar to those used prior to the formation of the new conference employed as needed. The #7 through #10 seeds played in two first-round games, and all schools seeded #6 or higher received a bye into the quarterfinal round.

Memorable Moments and Games

The Big East Tournament has been the site of numerous memorable moments and games that have become part of college basketball lore:

2009 Quarterfinals: Connecticut vs. Syracuse: The 2009 tournament featured a six-overtime game in the quarterfinals between the Connecticut Huskies and the Syracuse Orange, in which Syracuse prevailed, 127-117. This game is widely considered one of the greatest college basketball games ever played.
2021: Georgetown's Cinderella Run: In 2021, Georgetown won four games in four days as an underdog in each contest, to win its record eighth title.

Recent Tournaments

2025 Big East Tournament: The 2024-25 academic year marked the 12th since the BIG EAST Conference returned to its basketball-centric heritage in institutional membership. The 2025 Big East Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament featured a traditional bracket. New Big East partner Peacock showed the entire first round on Wednesday and the afternoon quarterfinal doubleheader on Thursday.
- First Round (Wed., March 12):
  - (9) Butler 75, (8) Providence (12-20, 6-14) 69
  - (10) DePaul 71, (7) Georgetown (17-15, 8-12) 67
  - (11) Seton Hall (7-25, 2-18) 55, (6) Villanova 67
- Quarterfinals (Thurs., March 13):
  - (9) Butler (14-19, 6-14) 57, (1) St. John’s (28-4, 18-2) 78
  - (5) Marquette 89, (4) Xavier (21-11, 13-7) 87
  - (10) DePaul (14-19, 4-16) 81, (2) Creighton 85 (OT)
  - (6) Villanova (19-14, 11-9) 56, (3) UConn 73
- Semifinals (Fri., March 14):
  - (5) Marquette (23-10, 13-7) 63, (1) St. John’s 79
  - (3) UConn (23-10, 14-6) 62, (2) Creighton 71
- Championship (Sat., March 15):
  - (2) Creighton (24-10, 15-5) 66, (1) ST. JOHN’S (30-4, 18-2) 82

Conference Success

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.

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.

Media Coverage

Before the new Big East Conference was founded during the offseason in 2013, the original Big East was the only conference to have every tournament game broadcast nationwide on the ESPN family of networks, with every game from the second round forward broadcast on ESPN itself. In 2014 and 2015, FS1 broadcast the entire Big East tournament. From 2016 through 2023, Fox broadcast the championship game and FS1 aired the rest. In 2024, Fox broadcast one of the semifinal games and the championship game, and FS1 aired the rest.

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 will feature at least 80 BIG EAST men's and women's basketball contests across the regular season and postseason beginning in 2025-26. NBC Sports/Peacock launched 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. 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.

All-Time Tournament Champions

Several teams have dominated the Big East Tournament over the years. Here's a list of the teams with the most tournament championships:

Georgetown: 8
Connecticut: 7
Villanova: 5
Syracuse: 5
St. John's: 4
Pittsburgh: 2
Seton Hall: 2
Providence: 2
Louisville: 1
Marquette: 1

The Last Time St. John's Won the Big East Tournament

St. John's is back on top of the Big East. The Red Storm defeated the Creighton Bluejays 82-66 on Saturday to win their first Big East tournament since the 1999-2000 season and fourth overall in 2025. The tournament victory follows St. John's first regular-season conference title since 1992, when it shared the honor with Georgetown and Seton Hall. It's been a season of resurgence for the Red Storm. Their 30 wins are one shy of a program record. Their four losses this season have come by a combined seven points, the fewest in Division I this season and second-fewest by any team in the past 10 seasons, according to ESPN Research.

Here's what was going on in the world the last time St. John's won the Big East tournament -- March 11, 2000:

'The Godfather' on a Different Sideline: In his second season as St. John's head coach, Rick Pitino is at the forefront of the program's turnaround. But in 2000, he was attempting to propel the NBA's Boston Celtics back to the sport's pinnacle. The Celtics hired Pitino before the 1997-98 season. He never finished with a record above .500 and resigned as head coach and president of the franchise in January 2001. However, Pitino and Boston were coming off a blowout victory over the Chicago Bulls when St. John's won.
The End of a March Madness Era: With a Big East tournament title under their belt, the Red Storm entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed. It was their highest ranking since the 1986 tournament when they were No. 1. St. John's lost in the second round against No. 10 seed Gonzaga in what was the final NCAA tournament with a 64-team bracket. It moved to 65 teams the next year, then 68 programs in 2011 with the introduction of the First Four. Michigan State won the national championship in 2000.
Pair of Duke Stars Together in NBA: Grant Hill and Christian Laettner won back-to-back national titles as members of the 1990s Duke Blue Devils. As St. John's captured conference gold, the two were again playing alongside each other -- this time, in the NBA. Laettner went to the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 3 in 1992, and two years later, the Detroit Pistons drafted Hill with the third overall pick. In 1998, Laettner joined Hill on the Pistons. The former Blue Devils combined for 45 points in a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers the day of the Big East championship game.
Country Tops the 'Billboard Hot 100': Lonestar's "Amazed" regained its position at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of March 11. It spent 55 weeks on the chart, two of which were at the top. The track was also nominated at the 42nd Grammy Awards for "Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal." Other songs on the charts included "Maria Maria" by Santana featuring The Product G&B at No. 2, Faith Hill's "Breathe" at No. 3, "Bye Bye Bye" by *NSYNC at No. 6 and "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" by the Backstreet Boys at No. 7.
Rams Coming Off First Super Bowl Win: One of the more memorable Super Bowl endings took place in Super Bowl XXXIV. The then-St. Louis Rams faced the Tennessee Titans in Atlanta. With six seconds left, facing a 23-16 deficit, Titans quarterback Steve McNair connected with wide receiver Kevin Dyson, who was tackled at the 1-yard line by the Rams' Mike Jones.

Other Sports in the Big East Conference

The Big East sponsors a variety of sports for both men and women. Here's an overview of some of them:

Men's Sports

Men's Soccer: All full Big East member schools field men's soccer teams. Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, and Xavier have strong programs.
Men's Lacrosse: Big East men's lacrosse is made up of charter members Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, and Villanova, as well as Denver. Denver joined the Big East as a lacrosse-only member.
Men's Baseball: Big East full member schools Butler, Creighton, Georgetown, Seton Hall, St. John's, UConn, Villanova and Xavier all field men's baseball teams.
Men's Swimming & Diving: Big East men's swimming & diving is made up entirely of charter conference members, with UConn being a charter member of the 1979 incarnation, Xavier a charter member of the 2013 incarnation, and Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, and Villanova being charter members of both versions.
Men's Cross Country: Villanova men's cross country team won three straight NCAA National Championships in 1966, 1967 and 1968, as well as a fourth in 1970. They also finished 2nd in 1962 and 1969.

Women's Sports

Women's Field Hockey: The Big East began sponsoring field hockey in 1989. In 2014, the Big East field hockey conference was made up of Big East full members Georgetown, Providence, and Villanova; American members UConn, Louisville, Rutgers, and Temple; and Old Dominion, otherwise a member of Conference USA.
Women's Softball: Nine Big East members sponsor softball, with Marquette and Xavier as the exceptions.
Women's Swimming & Diving: Big East women's swimming & diving is made up of charter members Butler, Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, UConn, Villanova and Xavier (UConn was a charter member of the original Big East, but not of its 2013 version).
Women's Volleyball: All full members of the Big East sponsor women's volleyball.
Women's Cross Country: The Providence women's cross country team have been crowned NCAA National Champions in 1995 and 2013, as well as finishing 2nd in 1990 and 2012. The Villanova women's cross country team won two straight NCAA National Championships in 2009 and 2010 and six straight NCAA National Championships in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994.
Women's Lacrosse: The Big East began sponsoring women's lacrosse in the 2001 season. The first season of women's lacrosse in the reconfigured league in 2014 included Cincinnati, UConn, Georgetown, Louisville, new varsity team Marquette, Rutgers, Temple, and Villanova.

The Big East in the 2025 NCAA Tournament

Few conferences wound up as more of a surprise than the Big East this college basketball season. UConn, coming off back-to-back national titles, has taken a sharp tumble back down to earth as Dan Hurley's sideline performances and clashes with fans caused more headlines than his team's play. Meanwhile, in Queens, St. John's has enjoyed an amazing, resurgent season under Rick Pitino and the Red Storm enter the NCAA tournament with all the momentum after winning the Big East tournament.

Overall the conference is fairly well-represented in this year's NCAA tournament, even if the number of schools invited may be upsettingly low to those who remember the glory days of Big East basketball. In total, five Big East teams were playing in the biggest March Madness tournament of them all.

Unfortunately for the Big East, the second round was filled with letdowns. The conference was swept clean across the board, with not a single representative winning and advancing to the Sweet 16. This leaves the Big East's overall record for the tournament at 4-5. There were only disappointing losses in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament for the Big East conference.

There was no bigger letdown than that of St. John's. Earning a top seed for the first time in a long time the Johnnies drew John Calipari's Arkansas squad for the second round and totally flopped. Thanks to a horrible shooting night across the board the Red Storm were upset and Rick Pitino's big return ultimately falls short. Expectations were not nearly the same but UConn's defeat at the hands of Florida was nearly as painful for the conference. Entering the tournament with nobody believing in them, the defending champion Huskies had the top-seeded Gators on the ropes late in the second half but could not get the job done, losing 77-75. Creighton, the third Big East team to get taken down in the second round, had their shot to defeat No. 1 Auburn. The Bluejays hit the locker room with a two-point halftime lead, but folded in the second half. Auburn ultimately won by 12 and Creighton's hopes of a deep run were dashed without much drama.

There are no Big East teams left alive in the 2025 NCAA tournament. The only way the conference places more than five teams in the 2025 field is if there is a surprise winner.

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