The
BIG EAST E
Conference
ntering its 21st season as a football-playing entity in 2011, the BIG EAST Conference has been at the forefront of major college football since its formal entrance into the sport. By any objective metric, BIG EAST football has been an unmitigated success as the conference regularly puts its teams in position to compete for the Bowl Championship Series National Championship while amassing an impressive head-to-head record against its counterparts. Under its current membership configuration, which has been in place for six years, the BIG EAST is a combined 186-79 in nonconference games. The .702 winning percentage marks the best sixyear run in the history of the conference. In the past five seasons, the BIG EAST’s .725 nonconference winning percentage ranks second among all Bowl Subdivision conferences. In addition, the BIG EAST was a combined 4-2 in bowl games last season, marking the fifth straight season in which the league had a winning record in the postseason. In the Bowl Championship Series era (1998 to present), the BIG EAST’s .615 postseason winning percentage ranks second among all conferences and is the best of any BCS automatic-qualifying conference. The nonconference and postseason records both speak to the depth of the BIG EAST, which is the only conference that has seen each of its members play in at least one bowl game in the last two seasons. The BIG EAST is also the only league in which each team has won at least one bowl game in the last four years.
UConn players and coaches celebrate the Huskies’ 2010 BIG EAST Championship – their second in the past five years.
Six of the BIG EAST’s eight current members have won at least a share of the league title in the last seven years. Under the leadership of longtime commissioner Michael Tranghese, the BIG EAST Conference’s entrance into football was announced Feb. 5, 1991. The league gained instant credibility with its level of excellence on the field and with its television and bowl relationships. The BIG EAST has been a charter member of each of the major bowl agreements with the major conferences, beginning with the Bowl Coalition in 1992, followed by the Bowl Alliance in 1995 and the Bowl Championship Series in 1998. Since its birth, the BIG EAST has been a national power both on and off the field. The BIG EAST has been a frequent contender for the national championship. Eight times in the league’s 20 seasons, a BIG EAST squad has played for a claim to the national crown in a postseason game. The conference began a new era in 2009 when John Marinatto became the BIG EAST Commissioner. Marinatto was at the forefront of the league’s reorganization efforts which have made the conference as strong as it has ever been. The 2011 season will mark the fourth year of a six-year arrangement with ESPN that gives the BIG EAST unrivaled exposure on ABC television and the ESPN family of networks. ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC carry a minimum of 19 BIG EAST home games each season, marking the highest guaranteed total on ESPN and ABC in league history. Championship Week in December includes three BIG EAST games on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. At least four BIG EAST games are featured on ESPN’s Thursday-night package each year.