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

==Football==
[[File:BE football logo.jpg|left|150px]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:2006-07BowlChallengeCup.jpg|thumb|right|175px|[[Bowl Challenge Cup]] awarded to the Big East for play during the [[2006–07 NCAA football bowl games|2006–07 bowl games]] in which they had an undefeated record of 5–0.]] -->
Big East began football during the 1991–1992 season with the addition of Miami and was a founding member of the [[Bowl Championship Series]].<ref>{{cite web| title=BCS Chronology | url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/history | work=bcsfootball.org | publisher=[[Fox Sports (USA)|Fox Sports]] | access-date=November 12, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080418091328/http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/history |archive-date = April 18, 2008}}</ref>

In the league's early years the [[University of Miami]] dominated, winning nine of the first thirteen championships and two national championships in 1991 and 2001. [[Virginia Tech Hokies football|Virginia Tech]] also did well, winning the conference in 1995, 1996, and in 1999, when they also earned a No. 2 national ranking. [[West Virginia Mountaineers|West Virginia]] and [[Syracuse Orange|Syracuse]] were the only other teams to win conference titles during the league's original alignment.

The conference experienced a major reconstruction when Miami and [[Virginia Tech Hokies|Virginia Tech]] left for the [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] in 2004, followed by [[Boston College Eagles|Boston College]] in 2005. Initially, Syracuse University was in place to make the jump instead of [[Virginia Tech]], but in 2003, the governor of [[Virginia]] Mark Warner put pressure on the ACC (via the vote of the University of Virginia) to ensure that [[Virginia Tech]] was not left out of the conference expansion. Syracuse, then, was not invited to the ACC and was left to remain in the Big East. 
[[Temple Owls football|Temple]] had joined the Big East for football only in 1991, but found it difficult to compete with the other league teams and drew very poor attendance to its games. The conference was compelled to expel the Owls voluntarily in 2004 (after playing two seasons as an independent, Temple joined the [[Mid-American Conference|MAC]] in 2007).

The universities that replaced them were [[University of Louisville|Louisville]], [[University of South Florida|South Florida]] and [[University of Cincinnati|Cincinnati]] from [[Conference USA]]. The league also invited the [[University of Connecticut]] to play football a year earlier than planned. At about this time, the BCS announced that it would adjust the automatic bids granted to its six founding conferences based on results from 2004 to 2007, and that there would be five, six, or seven such bids starting in 2008. The obvious inference was that soon the Big East might lose its bid.

The conference's fortunes improved in 2005. The three new teams from Conference USA began play that year, restoring the league to eight teams. West Virginia won the conference title and the [[Sugar Bowl]],<ref name="bcsfootball.org">{{cite web| title=All-Time Results | url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/results | work=bcsfootball.org | publisher=[[Fox Sports (USA)|Fox Sports]] | access-date=November 12, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080418005305/http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/results |archive-date = April 18, 2008}}</ref> and finished 11–1 and finished No. 5 in the AP poll. Newcomer Louisville also ranked in the Top 20.

In 2006, [[2006 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]], [[2006 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville]], and [[Rutgers Scarlet Knights football|Rutgers]] all entered November undefeated. However, they did not stay that way, as in a trio of exciting games over the next month, Louisville defeated West Virginia 44–34, Rutgers defeated Louisville 28–25, and West Virginia defeated Rutgers 41–39 in three overtimes. Louisville won the conference title in the end. In bowl action, the Big East went 5–0, including an [[Orange Bowl (game)|Orange Bowl]]<ref name="bcsfootball.org"/> victory for Louisville over [[2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team|Wake Forest]] and a win by West Virginia over [[2006 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team|Georgia Tech]] in the [[Gator Bowl]]. Louisville would finish the season ranked 6th, West Virginia 10th, and Rutgers 12th in the final AP Poll.

In 2007, [[South Florida Bulls football|USF]] rose to No. 2 in the [[Bowl Championship Series|BCS]] rankings. They lost their next three games, however, to drop out of the rankings. They eventually finished the season No. 21 in the final BCS polls. The Connecticut Huskies, getting as high as No. 13, and West Virginia remained in the top 25. Cincinnati also rose as high as No. 15 in the rankings eventually finishing the season with 10 wins and a No. 17 ranking.  Connecticut lost subsequent games and dropped substantially in the rankings, ultimately finishing 25th. On the final day of the season, Pittsburgh upset No. 2 WVU 13–9 in the 100th edition of the [[Backyard Brawl]] to give the Huskies a share of the conference championship, while WVU was stopped on the doorstep of the [[BCS National Championship Game]]. In bowl games, WVU upset the Big 12 Champion Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl,<ref name="bcsfootball.org"/> despite having lost their highly touted coach, [[Rich Rodriguez]] to Michigan less than a month before the game. West Virginia finished the season ranked No. 6 and Cincinnati finished ranked #17.

The 2009 season saw [[2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]] finish the regular season undefeated at 12–0 and climb to No. 3 in the final BCS standings. After completing a fourth quarter comeback to beat [[2009 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]] on the final day of the season, the Bearcats narrowly missed a spot in the BCS national championship game, as No. 2 [[2009 Texas Longhorns football team|Texas]] pulled out a last second win in the [[2009 Big 12 Championship Game|Big 12 Championship Game]]. The Bearcats would go on to lose the [[2010 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]] to No. 5 [[2009 Florida Gators football team|Florida]] and finish the year 12–1.

On September 18, 2011, both Pittsburgh and Syracuse were accepted as [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] members although the exact date of the move is still uncertain. ("[https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6988468/acc-accepts-pittsburgh-panthers-syracuse-orange-14-team-league ESPN]".) There are also rumors that UConn is also looking to leave the Big East and join Pittsburgh and Syracuse in the [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]. ("[https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6989031/uconn-huskies-aggressively-seeking-acc-move-source-says ESPN]".) On October 28, 2011, West Virginia announced it was leaving the Big East to join the Big 12 in 2012.  TCU, who had accepted an invitation to join the Big East in the 2012 season, withdrew its acceptance and instead accepted an invitation to join the Big 12.<ref name="TCUBig12" />
 
In 2011, as a response to major shifts in the college football conference landscape, the conference added five new members to help offset the losses of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia. On December 7, 2011, the conference officially added the [[University of Houston]], [[Southern Methodist University]], and the [[University of Central Florida]] as all-sports members. Additionally, Boise State and San Diego State of the [[Mountain West Conference]] were added as football-only members,<ref>{{cite web | date = December 7, 2011 | title = Big East Conference Goes West, Announces The Addition of Five Universities | publisher = Big East Conference | url = http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/435/Article/229956/big-east-conference-goes-west-announces-the-addition-of-five-universities.aspx | access-date = December 12, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120109071851/http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/435/Article/229956/big-east-conference-goes-west-announces-the-addition-of-five-universities.aspx | archive-date = January 9, 2012 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> but Boise State eventually decided not to join the Big East, which allowed San Diego State to withdraw without penalty.

===Champions===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Season !! Conference Champion !! Conference record !! Bowl Coalition/Alliance/BCS Bowl Representative
|-
| align=center|1993 || [[1993 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]] || 7–0 || [[1993 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]]
|-
| align=center|1994 || [[1994 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]] || 7–0 || [[1994 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]]
|-
| align=center|1995 || [[1995 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]] / [[1995 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]] || 6–1 || [[1995 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]]
|-
| align=center|1996 || [[1996 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]] / [[1996 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]] / [[1996 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]] || 6–1 || [[1996 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]]
|-
| align=center|1997 || [[1997 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]] || 6–1 || [[1997 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]]
|-
| align=center|1998 || [[1998 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]] || 6–1 || [[1998 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]]
|-
| align=center|1999 || [[1999 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]] || 7–0 || [[1999 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]]
|-
| align=center|2000 || [[2000 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]] || 7–0 || [[2000 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]]
|-
| align=center|2001 || [[2001 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]] || 7–0 || [[2001 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]]
|-
| align=center|2002 || [[2002 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]] || 7–0 || [[2002 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]]
|-
| align=center|2003 || [[2003 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami]] / [[2003 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]] || 6–1 || [[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami]]
|-
| align=center|2004 || [[2004 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]] / [[2004 Boston College Eagles football team|Boston College]] / [[2004 Syracuse Orange football team|Syracuse]] / [[2004 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]] || 4–2 || [[2004 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]]
|-
| align=center|2005 || [[2005 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]] || 7–0 || [[2005 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]]
|-
| align=center|2006 || [[2006 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville]] || 6–1 || [[2006 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville]]
|-
| align=center|2007 || [[2007 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]] / [[2007 Connecticut Huskies football team|Connecticut]] || 5–2 || [[2007 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]]
|-
| align=center|2008 || [[2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]] || 6–1  || [[2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]]
|-
| align=center|[[2009 Big East Conference football season|2009]] || [[2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]]  || 7–0  || [[2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]]
|-
| align=center|[[2010 Big East Conference football season|2010]] || [[2010 Connecticut Huskies football team|Connecticut]] / [[2010 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]] / [[2010 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]] || 5–2 || [[2010 Connecticut Huskies football team|Connecticut]]
|-
| align=center|[[2011 Big East Conference football season|2011]] || [[2011 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]] / [[2011 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]] / [[2011 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville]] || 5–2  || [[2011 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]]
|-
| align=center|[[2012 Big East Conference football season|2012]] || [[2012 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville]] / [[2012 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]] / [[2012 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team|Rutgers]] / [[2012 Syracuse Orange football team|Syracuse]] || 5–2  || [[2012 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville]]**
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>No official championship awarded in 1991 and 1992, as the conference did not start full league play until 1993.

<nowiki>**</nowiki>Louisville received the BCS bid since they were the highest ranked team in the final BCS poll.<ref name="bid">{{cite web | url=http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/435/Article/239827/Louisville-Tops-Rutgers-to-Earn-BIG-EAST-Title-and-BCS-Berth.aspx | title=Louisville Tops Rutgers to Earn BIG EAST Title and BCS Berth | access-date=December 15, 2012 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202185945/http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/435/Article/239827/louisville-tops-rutgers-to-earn-big-east-title-and-bcs-berth.aspx | archive-date=December 2, 2012 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

===BCS Bowl Games===
The Big East had an 8–7 record in [[Bowl Championship Series|BCS bowl games]], including a 1–2 record in National Championship games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/news/story?id=4809942|title=BCS, Alliance and Coalition games, year-by-year|date=January 9, 2010|website=ESPN.com|access-date=May 8, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014094904/http://www.bcsfootball.org/news/story?id=4809942|archive-date=October 14, 2010}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan=8 | [[Bowl Championship Series|Big East in BCS Bowl Games]] 
|-
!Date 
!BCS Bowl Game 
!Rank
!Winning Team
!Points
!Rank
!Losing Team
!Points
|- 
|- bgcolor=
|January 2, 1999 || [[1999 Orange Bowl|FedEx Orange Bowl]]|| No. 8|| [[1998 Florida Gators football team|Florida]]|| 31|| No. 15|| '''[[1998 Syracuse Orangemen football team|Syracuse]]'''|| 10
|-
|January 4, 2000 || [[2000 Sugar Bowl|Nokia Sugar Bowl]] (National Championship)|| No. 1|| [[1999 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State]]|| 46||No. 2 ||'''[[1999 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]]'''|| 29
|-
|January 2, 2001 || [[2001 Sugar Bowl|Nokia Sugar Bowl]]|| No. 3|| '''[[2000 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami (FL)]]''' || 37|| No. 7|| [[2000 Florida Gators football team|Florida]]|| 20
|-
|January 3, 2002 || [[2002 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]] (National Championship)|| No. 1|| '''[[2001 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami (FL)]]'''|| 37|| No. 2|| [[2001 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska]]|| 14
|-
|January 3, 2003|| [[2003 Fiesta Bowl|Tostitos Fiesta Bowl]] (National Championship)|| No. 2||[[2002 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]]|| 31|| No. 1|| '''[[2002 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami (FL)]]'''|| 24 (2 OT)
|-
|January 1, 2004||[[2004 Orange Bowl|FedEx Orange Bowl]]||No. 9|| '''[[2003 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami (FL)]]''' ||16|| No. 7|| [[2003 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State]]|| 14
|-
|January 1, 2005||[[2005 Fiesta Bowl|Tostitos Fiesta Bowl]]|| No. 6||[[2004 Utah Utes football team|Utah]]|| 35|| No. 21|| '''[[2004 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]]'''|| 7
|-
|January 2, 2006|| [[2006 Sugar Bowl|Nokia Sugar Bowl]]|| No. 11|| '''[[2005 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]]'''|| 38|| No. 7|| [[2005 Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia]]|| 35
|-
|January 2, 2007 || [[2007 Orange Bowl|FedEx Orange Bowl]]|| No. 6 ||'''[[2006 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville]]''' ||24|| No. 14|| [[2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team|Wake Forest]]|| 13
|-
|January 2, 2008||[[2008 Fiesta Bowl|Tostitos Fiesta Bowl]]|| No. 9|| '''[[2007 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]]'''|| 48|| No. 4|| [[2007 Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma]]|| 28
|-
|January 1, 2009|| [[2009 Orange Bowl|FedEx Orange Bowl]]|| No. 19||[[2008 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]]|| 20|| No. 12|| '''[[2008 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]]'''|| 7
|-
|January 1, 2010|| [[2010 Sugar Bowl|Allstate Sugar Bowl]]|| No. 5|| [[2009 Florida Gators football team|Florida]]|| 51|| No. 3|| '''[[2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]]'''|| 24
|-
|January 1, 2011|| [[2011 Fiesta Bowl|Tostitos Fiesta Bowl]]|| No. 7|| [[2010 Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma]] ||48||NR||'''[[2010 Connecticut Huskies football team|Connecticut]]'''|| 20
|-
|January 4, 2012|| [[2012 Orange Bowl|Discover Orange Bowl]]||No. 23|| '''[[2011 West Virginia Mountaineers football team|West Virginia]]'''|| 70|| No. 15|| [[2011 Clemson Tigers football team|Clemson]]|| 33
|-
|January 2, 2013|| [[2013 Sugar Bowl|Allstate Sugar Bowl]]|| No. 21 ||'''[[2012 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville]]''' ||33 || No. 3|| [[2012 Florida Gators football team|Florida]]|| 23
|}
* Big East team in '''bold'''

===Bowl games===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! style="width:90px;"| Pick
! style="width:230px;"| Name
! style="width:190px;"| Location
! style="width:190px;"| Opposing Conference
! style="width:70px;"| Opposing Pick
|-
| 1
| [[Bowl Championship Series]]<small>†</small>
| –
| [[Bowl Championship Series|BCS At-Large]]
| –
|-
| 2
| [[Russell Athletic Bowl]] 
| [[Orlando, Florida]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
| 3
|-
| 3
| [[Belk Bowl]] 
| [[Charlotte, North Carolina]]
| [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]]
| 5
|-
| 4
| [[Pinstripe Bowl]]
| [[The Bronx|Bronx, New York]]
| [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]] 
| 7
|-
| 5/6
| [[BBVA Compass Bowl]] 
| [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] 
| 8/9
|-
| 5/6
| [[Liberty Bowl]]
| [[Memphis, Tennessee]]
| [[Conference USA|C-USA]] or [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] 
| 1 or 8/9
|-
| 7
| [[Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl]]
| [[St. Petersburg, Florida]]
| [[Conference USA|C-USA]]
| 4
|}

;Notes on bowl game selection
* <small>†</small> The Big East's BCS representative was not tied directly to a specific BCS Bowl. It was selected to a bowl in the same manner as an at-large team. The BCS may select a second team to play in another BCS bowl game. Beginning in 2008, the Big East champion was rotated between the [[Orange Bowl]], [[Sugar Bowl]], and [[Fiesta Bowl]] (in that order).
* Notre Dame was eligible to be chosen in lieu of a Big East team for the Russell Athletic Bowl one time during a four-year period. In a separate rule specific only to Notre Dame that does not affect the Big East's BCS representative, Notre Dame is eligible to receive a BCS automatic berth if they finish within the top 8 of the BCS Rankings.