Big East Conference facts for kids
The Big East Conference is a group of colleges in the United States that play sports against each other. They have teams for many sports, but they do not play football.
The Big East started a long time ago, in 1979. Back then, it was mostly about basketball. Many schools in the Eastern U.S. joined it. Later, in 1991, football was added to the league. This caused some arguments between schools that played top-level football and those that didn't.
In 2013, the original Big East split up. Seven schools that did not play top-level football bought the "Big East" name. These schools were often called the "Catholic 7" because they are all run by the Catholic Church. They formed the new Big East Conference. The schools that played top-level football joined new members. They stayed in the old league's structure but changed their name to the American Athletic Conference (often called "The American").
Even though the current Big East started in 2013, it says its history goes back to 1979. Both the current Big East and The American claim the history of the old Big East before the split.
Members
The Big East Conference has 11 full member schools. Most of these schools are private. All of them are Catholic schools, except for Butler University. Butler was started by Protestants but is not run by any church today. The University of Connecticut (UConn) joined in 2020. It is the first public school to be a full member of the Big East.
| School | Location | Founded | Type (affiliation) |
Nickname | Joined Big East |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler University | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1855 | Private (not religious) | Bulldogs | 2013 |
| Creighton University | Omaha, Nebraska | 1878 | Private/Catholic (Jesuit) |
Bluejays | 2013 |
| DePaul University | Chicago, Illinois | 1898 | Private/Catholic (Vincentian) |
Blue Demons | 2005 |
| Georgetown University | Washington, D.C. | 1789 | Private/Catholic (Jesuit) |
Hoyas | 1979 |
| Marquette University | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1881 | Private/Catholic (Jesuit) |
Golden Eagles | 2005 |
| Providence College | Providence, Rhode Island | 1917 | Private/Catholic (Dominican) |
Friars | 1979 |
| St. John's University | New York City, New York | 1870 | Private/Catholic (Vincentian) |
Red Storm | 1979 |
| Seton Hall University | South Orange, New Jersey | 1856 | Private/Catholic (Diocesan) |
Pirates | 1979 |
| University of Connecticut (UConn) | Storrs, Connecticut | 1881 | Public | Huskies | 1979, 2020 |
| Villanova University | Villanova, Pennsylvania | 1842 | Private/Catholic (Augustinian) |
Wildcats | 1980 |
| Xavier University | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1831 | Private/Catholic (Jesuit) |
Musketeers | 2013 |
Associate members
The Big East also has five "associate members." These schools play only one or two sports in the Big East Conference. They are full members of other conferences for most of their sports.
| School | Location | Founded | Type (affiliation) |
Joined | Sport | Current main conference | Nickname |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Denver | Denver, Colorado | 1864 | Private (not religious) | 2013 (men) 2016 (women) |
Men's and women's lacrosse | The Summit | Pioneers |
| Liberty University | Lynchburg, Virginia | 1971 | Private (not religious) | 2016 | Field hockey | ASUN | Lady Flames |
| Old Dominion University | Norfolk, Virginia | 1930 | Public | 2013 | Field hockey | Conference USA | Monarchs |
| Quinnipiac University | Hamden, Connecticut | 1929 | Private (not religious) | 2016 | Field hockey | MAAC | Bobcats |
| Temple University | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1884 | Public/private mix | 2013 | Field hockey | American | Owls |
Former members
No full member of the Big East has ever left to join another conference. However, some associate members have left the Big East. They usually left to play their sports in their main conference or another league.
For example, five women's lacrosse teams left in 2018. This happened when the American Athletic Conference, where three of those schools were full-time members, started its own women's lacrosse league. Two of these schools, Temple and UConn, stayed in the Big East for field hockey. UConn later returned to the Big East as a full member in 2020. Old Dominion also moved its women's lacrosse team to The American. This helped both conferences have enough teams to send their champions to the NCAA Division I tournament. Old Dominion still plays field hockey in the Big East.
| School | Location | Founded | Type | Joined | Left | Sport(s) | Current main conference |
Current conference in former Big East sport(s) |
Nickname |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Louisville | Louisville, Kentucky | 1798 | Public | 2013 | 2014 | Field hockey, women's lacrosse | ACC | Cardinals | |
| Rutgers University | New Brunswick, New Jersey | 1766 | Public | 2013 | 2014 | Field hockey, men's & women's lacrosse | Big Ten | Scarlet Knights | |
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1819 | Public | 2013 | 2018 | Women's lacrosse | American | Bearcats | |
| University of Florida | Gainesville, Florida | 1853 | Public | 2014 | 2018 | Women's lacrosse | SEC | American | Gators |
| Temple University | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1884 | Public/private mix | 2013 | 2018 | Women's lacrosse | American | Owls | |
| University of Connecticut (UConn) | Storrs, Connecticut | 1881 | Public | 2013 | 2018 | Women's lacrosse | Big East | Huskies | |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Tennessee | 1873 | Private (not religious) | 2014 | 2018 | Women's lacrosse | SEC | American | Commodores |
| Old Dominion University | Norfolk, Virginia | 1930 | Public | 2018 | 2020 | Women's lacrosse | C-USA | American | Monarchs |
Images for kids
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Locations of the current Big East Conference member schools.
See also
In Spanish: Big East Conference para niños
