Editing Big East Conference (1979–2013) (section)

==Men's basketball==
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="float:right; margin-left:15px;"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#ddd;"|'''2011–2012 men's basketball average home attendance'''<ref>[http://www.bigeast.org/fls/19400/stats/mbasketball/2011–2012/CONFLDRS.HTM "Big East Conference Overall Statistical Leaders"]{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. BigEast.org. Retrieved April 9, 2012.</ref>
|- align=center 
! School
! Average attendance
|- align=center
|[[Syracuse Orange men's basketball|Syracuse]]
|23,618
|- align=center
|[[Louisville Cardinals men's basketball|Louisville]]
|21,503
|- align=center
|[[Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball|Marquette]]
|15,183
|- align=center
|[[Connecticut Huskies men's basketball|Connecticut]]
|12,640
|- align=center
|[[Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball|Georgetown]]
|11,283
|- align=center
|[[West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball|West Virginia]]
|9,930
|- align=center
|[[Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball|Pittsburgh]]
|9,321
|- align=center
|[[Villanova Wildcats men's basketball|Villanova]]
|8,923
|- align=center
|[[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball|Cincinnati]] 
|8,069
|- align=center
|[[Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball|Notre Dame]]
|7,999
|- align=center
|[[Providence Friars men's basketball|Providence]]
|7,883
|- align=center
|[[St. John's Red Storm men's basketball|St. John's]]
|7,831
|- align=center
|[[DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball|DePaul]]
|7,740
|- align=center
|[[Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball|Seton Hall]]
|6,941
|- align=center
|[[Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball|Rutgers]]
|5,362
|- align=center
|[[South Florida Bulls men's basketball|South Florida]]
|3,849
|}
[[Image:Big East Basketball.svg|left|150px]]
{{See also|Big East men's basketball tournament}}

The Big East was founded by seven charter schools in 1979 ([[Providence College|Providence]], [[St. John's University (New York)|St. John's]], [[Georgetown University|Georgetown]], [[Syracuse University|Syracuse]], [[Seton Hall University|Seton Hall]], [[University of Connecticut|Connecticut]], and [[Boston College]]).<ref>{{cite web| title=about the Big East| url=http://www.bigeast.org/AbouttheBIGEAST.aspx| access-date=August 27, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924084118/http://www.bigeast.org/AbouttheBIGEAST.aspx| archive-date=September 24, 2011| df=mdy-all}}</ref> Villanova joined the following year, followed by Pittsburgh in 1982.

[[Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball|Georgetown]], led by senior [[Sleepy Floyd]] and freshman [[Patrick Ewing]], made the [[1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Championship Game]] in 1982. Just two years later, in [[1983–84 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team|1984]], Georgetown won the Big East's first NCAA basketball championship with a victory over the [[Phi Slama Jama|University of Houston]].<!--The Phi Slama Jama article is more specific than the main Houston basketball article about that specific era.-->

The following year three Big East teams ([[1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team|Villanova]], [[St. John's Red Storm men's basketball|St. John's]], and [[1984–85 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team|Georgetown]]) all advanced to the [[NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship#Final Four|Final Four]], culminating in Villanova's stunning championship game victory over the heavily favored Georgetown Hoyas. The conference's 1985 success was nearly duplicated in 1987, when [[1986–87 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team|Syracuse]] and a surprising [[Providence Friars men's basketball|Providence]] both made the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament#Final Four|Final Four]], followed by the Orangemen's narrow loss to [[1986–87 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team|Indiana University]] in the tournament final. Two years later, the [[Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball|Seton Hall Pirates]] also advanced to the NCAA Championship Game, but were defeated by the [[1988–89 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team|Michigan Wolverines]] in an overtime heartbreaker.

{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
!Team
!NCAA championships
!Final Fours
!NCAA appearances
|-
|[[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball|Cincinnati]]
|style ="text-align:center" |2
|style ="text-align:center" |6
|style ="text-align:center" |25
|-
|[[Connecticut Huskies men's basketball|Connecticut]]
|style ="text-align:center" |5
|style ="text-align:center" |6
|style ="text-align:center" |36
|-
|[[DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball|DePaul]]
|style ="text-align:center" |0
|style ="text-align:center" |2
|style ="text-align:center" |17*
|-
|[[Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball|Georgetown]]
|style ="text-align:center" |1
|style ="text-align:center" |5
|style ="text-align:center" |24
|-
|[[Louisville Cardinals men's basketball|Louisville]]
|style ="text-align:center" |3*
|style ="text-align:center" |10*
|style ="text-align:center" |39*
|-
|[[Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball|Marquette]]
|style ="text-align:center" |1
|style ="text-align:center" |3
|style ="text-align:center" |27
|-
|[[Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball|Notre Dame]]
|style ="text-align:center" |0
|style ="text-align:center" |1
|style ="text-align:center" |29
|-
|[[Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball|Pittsburgh]]
|style ="text-align:center" |0
|style ="text-align:center" |1
|style ="text-align:center" |21
|-
|[[Providence Friars men's basketball|Providence]]
|style ="text-align:center" |0
|style ="text-align:center" |2
|style ="text-align:center" |15
|-
|[[Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball|Rutgers]]
|style ="text-align:center" |0
|style ="text-align:center" |1
|style ="text-align:center" |6
|-
|[[St. John's Red Storm men's basketball|<span style="display:none">Saint John's</span>St. John's]]
|style ="text-align:center" |0
|style ="text-align:center" |2 
|style ="text-align:center" |26
|-
|[[Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball|Seton Hall]]
|style ="text-align:center" |0
|style ="text-align:center" |1
|style ="text-align:center" |9
|-
|[[South Florida Bulls|South Florida]]
|style ="text-align:center" |0 
|style ="text-align:center" |0
|style ="text-align:center" |3
|-
|[[Syracuse Orange men's basketball|Syracuse]]
|style ="text-align:center" |1
|style ="text-align:center" |5
|style ="text-align:center" |34
|-
|[[Villanova Wildcats men's basketball|Villanova]]
|style ="text-align:center" |3
|style ="text-align:center" |5*
|style ="text-align:center" |34*
|-
|[[West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball|West Virginia]]
|style ="text-align:center" |0
|style ="text-align:center" |2
|style ="text-align:center" |26
|-
! colspan=4 | *''Does not include Villanova's 1971 NCAA appearance and Final Four nor DePaul's 1986–89 NCAA appearances nor Louisville's 2012–2013 NCAA appearances, 2012–2013 Final Four, and 2013 National Championship that were vacated by the NCAA.''
|}

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, and Syracuse were the primary powers in the conference. UConn became a power in 1990 with a # 1 seed and a trip to the Elite 8 before being defeated by Duke. Georgetown was led by [[John Thompson (basketball)|John Thompson Jr.]], who was named three times as the conference Coach of the Year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/02/10/GR2007021000283.html|title=A Century of Georgetown Basketball|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 4, 2008|date=February 10, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726203726/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/02/10/GR2007021000283.html|archive-date=July 26, 2008}}</ref> They won five regular season conference championships and six Big East tournaments to go with their 1984 national title.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://guhoyas.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/gu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/gu-mbb-mg0708-trad|title=Tradition|work=Georgetown Hoyas Men's Basketball Media Guide|publisher=Georgetown University|format=PDF|access-date=March 4, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222094134/http://guhoyas.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/gu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/gu-mbb-mg0708-trad|archive-date=February 22, 2008|archive-format=PDF}}</ref>  Villanova was coached by [[Rollie Massimino]], who led them to the 1985 NCAA Championship in a historic 66–64 win over No. 1 ranked Georgetown where forward [[Ed Pinckney]] was named the [[NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player|Most Outstanding Player]].  In their first 11 seasons in the Big East, Villanova made 9 trips to the NCAA tournament including advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1982, 1983 and 1988 as well as their 1985 Championship season. Massimino coached for 19 seasons at Villanova, compiling a record of 357–241 (.596). In the NCAA tournament, Massimino had an incredible 20–10 record (.667).  St. John's was led by [[Lou Carnesecca]], who won the National Coach of the Year honor in 1983 and 1985. He led the Redmen (now the Red Storm) to the [[1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1985]] Final Four, and made a post-season appearance in each of his 24 years at the helm. Syracuse has been led by alumnus [[Jim Boeheim]] since the 1977 season. He was named conference Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1991. During this period, the Orangemen won five regular season conference championships, three Big East tournaments, and were invited to the NCAA tournament every year but two (1981 and 1982), losing the [[1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1987]] National Final to Indiana. Syracuse eventually won [[2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team|its first national title]] in [[2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2003]], led by coach Boeheim and freshman [[Carmelo Anthony]].

Beginning with their first Big East championship in 1990, Connecticut has become the preeminent power in the Big East. Over the past two decades, UConn has made many deep runs in NCAA tournament, playing in the Elite 8 nine times and making four appearances in the Final Four.  Hall of Fame coach [[Jim Calhoun]]'s program, led by such stars as [[Ray Allen]], [[Richard Hamilton (basketball)|Richard "Rip" Hamilton]], [[Caron Butler]], [[Emeka Okafor]] and [[Kemba Walker]], averaged nearly 26 wins per year during that time span, won numerous Big East regular season and tournament championships, and claimed the National Championship in [[1999 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1999]], [[2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2004]] and [[2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2011]].

The conference got a then-record eight teams into the [[2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Men's tournament]] in [[2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2006]] and again matched their own record in both [[2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2008]] and [[2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2010]]. At the start of the 2008–2009 season, many sports analysts predicted that the conference would surpass the record by sending 10 teams to the [[2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament]]. When the brackets were revealed, seven made it, but three of them (Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut) gained No. 1 seeds, and Louisville earned the top seed overall. Connecticut and Villanova (a No. 3 seed) both reached the Final Four. At the finish of the [[2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season|2010–11 season]], the Big East eclipsed its record, sending 11 teams to the [[2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology|title=Bracketology with Joe Lunardi|publisher=ESPN|access-date=March 6, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110303155719/http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology| archive-date= March 3, 2011 | url-status= dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/bracketology|title=Predicting the 2011 NCAA tournament field|publisher=CBSSports|access-date=March 6, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110208222913/http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/bracketology| archive-date= February 8, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_glockner/03/06/sunday.bubble.watch/index.html|title=Bubble Watch: Power leagues have fingers crossed for tourney week|publisher=CNNSI|access-date=March 6, 2011|date=March 6, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110308043138/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_glockner/03/06/sunday.bubble.watch/index.html|archive-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref>

The conference has a number of former players currently playing in the [[NBA|National Basketball Association]] with some of the most recent being [[Ray Allen]], [[Caron Butler]], [[Carmelo Anthony]], [[Ryan Gomes]], [[Austin Croshere]], [[Richard Hamilton (basketball)|Richard "Rip" Hamilton]], [[Ben Gordon (basketball)|Ben Gordon]], [[Emeka Okafor]], [[Troy Murphy]], [[Hakim Warrick]], [[Quincy Douby]], [[Dante Cunningham]], [[Randy Foye]], [[Kyle Lowry]], [[Rudy Gay]], [[Matt Carroll (basketball)|Matt Carroll]], [[Jake Voskuhl]], [[Etan Thomas]], [[Samuel Dalembert]], [[Charlie Villanueva]], [[Donté Greene]], [[Ron Artest]], [[Chris Quinn]], [[Jason Hart (basketball)|Jason Hart]], [[Tim Thomas (basketball)|Tim Thomas]], [[Aaron Gray]], Daniel Ochefu, [[Sam Young (basketball)|Sam Young]], [[DeJuan Blair]], [[Wilson Chandler]], [[Jeff Green (basketball)|Jeff Green]], [[Joe Alexander (basketball)|Joe Alexander]], [[Marcus Williams (University of Connecticut)|Marcus Williams]], [[Jonny Flynn]], [[Terrence Williams]], [[Earl Clark]], [[Roy Hibbert]], [[Wesley Johnson (basketball)|Wesley Johnson]], [[Wesley Matthews]], [[Lazar Hayward]], [[Jimmy Butler]], [[Steve Novak]], [[Jae Crowder]], [[Maalik Wayns]], and [[Darius Johnson-Odom]].