What caused the demise of the Big East?

Not adding Penn state was the biggest mistake ever

As a cincinnati fan, it really is crazy to think about the fact we've been in 4 conferences in the last like 20 years. CUA, BigEast, American and now B12. I'll always have a deep love for the big east and the rivalries we had with pitt and wvu.

The only reason the Big East decided to add football was to keep their existing FBS football independent schools from being forced to leave and find homes for their football teams (the changing landscape made football independence no longer viable for most schools). And it worked...for a while. So by adding football, the Big East kept Boston College, Syracuse, and Pitt for 10 to 20 years longer than they otherwise would have, they made a lot of football money in the meantime, and the new Big East essentially ended up in the same spot that the old Big East would have been by the mid-90s had they not added football.

As a Syracuse fan that moved to State College I used to think it was the worst mistake ever when Penn State didn't get into the Big East or Joe Paterno's All East conference was never formed. In hindsight it's clear that Penn State would have left for the Big Ten sooner or later for the money. It's likely too that Syracuse wouldn't have seen the success it had in the Big East with a powerhouse like Penn State in the league. For Penn State, I'd bet that they would have had more national championship runs if they were in the Big East as opposed to the Big Ten. Seeing them match up against Miami each year would have been a treat.

They should’ve just made an AAC conference full of the best of the G5 and the less fortunate P5 schools (Rutgers, Louisville, West Virginia, Cincinnati)

Original targets were BC Miami and Syracuse. VT was in lawsuit with others against ACC. Then state officials in VA pressured UVA to push for VaTech as a target. So Syracuse got left out the first time teams were poached.

the Big East was fun man

Love all the rutgers highlights

That night in Rutgers... probably the worst day in Louisville football history up to this point... that loss kept us out of the national championship, the closest we've ever gotten in football 😢

Louisville in the Big XII and WVU in the ACC would have always made more sense. Louisville being a CST school and WVU in the EST always felt weird

The Big East I remember was… Louisville Cincinnati Connecticut West Virginia Syracuse South Florida Pittsburgh Rutgers

Something I thought I would never see, a New Jersey sports fan...and I have a partner who grew up right down the street from Rutgers!

As a WVU fan I can’t wait to watch the ACC disintegrate over the next couple of years… none of the BIG East teams who left for the ACC are better off for it… sad… the BIG East was fun

The failure in my opinion is 2 factors at play. First- Greed. No need for an explanation. Second- The Bowl System, the BCS system, and the need for a "college football champion." Prior to the BCS, students were content with wanting to go to the Rose Bowl and have a Pac10 team face a Big TEN team every year, OR the Sugar/ Cotton/ Orange bowls. With the BCS, it changed the focus on the regional New Years 6 bowls to national implications and just debates of "who was a better team, etc..." and teams constantly being left off the table. I think what has showed with the College Football playoff has been an emphasis on how many teams a conference can get into the fight. To me the best and easiest solution has and shall ever be EQUAL entry into the College Football play off with the return of regional conferences (yes, the Big East and Pac10 returning). Then merging and combining all conferences into 8 regional conferences. To make things equitable among all teams, the NCAA will control all the TV rights and all 8 conferences get an equal share of the revenues. The college football playoff starts at 16 teams with each conference championship being between the top 2 best programs, and the winner advancing so and so forth. This returns football back to its rivalry, it will force the balance of power back into an equal footing, and then you don't have a situation for the top 2 conferences are fighting for the most seedings in the College football playoff.

Same thing is about to happen to the ACC with FSU and Clemson. Once they leave, Miami, UNC, NC State, UVA and VA Tech will want out.

I had an idea for a northeastern all sport collegiate conference but discussed it over beers with collegiate friends - I was co-sports editor of my college paper - when I should had knocked on doors at ESPN and PSU, PITT, WV, SY, BC, RU, and TEMPLE.

USF alum here. I was so excited when the old BIG EAST took us out of Conference USA, which we were a charter member of (there's an interesting story there, too). Seeing the league fall apart broke my heart. The old conference's dynamic wasn't sustainable and the Catholic 7 got sick of it and formed a new league with the BIG EAST name so they could be free from the many football-related changes. The American, the old conference's legal successor (same structure and charter) has thrived while being below the power conference structure, but it's just not the same.

Oh, man. I forgot about the TV deal. From the MWC perspective at the time, the leagues had parity but opposite legacy positions, and the MWC’s tv deal was just awful. From that viewpoint the Big East rejection of ESPN’s offer seemed ludicrous.

Rutgers was asked to join the Big East when the league was originally formed, but declined to follow Penn State in a league. Seton Hall took Rutgers place. The rest is history as Rutgers sports went downhill from there. Rutgers belongs in the Big Ten, with other large state public research universities. When the Big Ten finally starts paying Rutgers a full share of conference revenue in 2027 (what a joke) Rutgers football can start putting up some wins

I am always surprised that Boston College got an invitation to the ACC before Syracuse and Pitt. Or maybe Syracuse and Pitt turned an offer down at that point?

The issue with FBS and Non-FBS members is what did the Big East in eventually. It worked for a while, but last decade college athletics was changing and when realignment started when Nebraska announced they would join the Big 10 in June of 2010, it started the domino effect.

As a USF alum I miss the BE and this was when all the cards fell for CFB and where we are now. Sad.

You forgot Cincinnati rising up to #3

I understand you were probably too young to remember but the Big East football had its golden years in the late '90s and early 2000s with McNabbs Syracuse, Vicks Hokies and then you had the Miami Hurricanes teams of the early 2000s. At one point you could argue it was a top 3 conference in college football at that time. Once VT, MIA and BC(who had some good teams under Tom O’Brien) left the conference became very mediocre. They did have some good teams in the 2006 and 2007 season but once Rich Rod left WVU is when the conference really dropped off.

Good video

Northeast teams that played each other from the '50s included Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers, West Virginia, Syracuse, Pitt, Boston College, UBuffalo. Add Cincinnati, Louisville, UConn. That hits decent TV markets except Philly. Is that the conference Paterno wanted?

On the thumbnail, whose logo is the one between Pittburgh's and Syracuse? CREEPY.

The Big East was the second best Power 6 conference until money ruined everything

Don't forget Butler too

You pronounced “chasm” wrong.

Why do regions quit having an interest in college football? Irrelevance. If you make a region irrelevant to all college football questions you lose the fans in that region. Northeast is gone. The west coast is following fast.

Did Boston College even get mentioned as a member of the Big East? They left with Miami(FL) and VT

No mention of Miami’s national championships?? That 2001 Miami team was stacked

I remember it well an it ticked me off especially when Texas big 12 Oliver luck an holgerson took WV to big 12 where we never ever belonged. This was the 1st mega conference that was set up so ACC could have 2 divisions an a champ game for football an more tv money for all sports. Big East still ok in basketball though was raped of most football teams. Hearing all this talk ACC is in trouble. They aren't. They are stuck. I don't see any changes to ACC anytime soon. Door mats like Boston college Syracuse an somewhat now Louisville I'm sure wished like WV they were still in big east.

I hate what has become of college football except for the transfer portal and letting the players get paid however they have managed to fu*k that up too

As a Creighton basketball fan, I find it weird that we are in the Big East still because the schools you talked about still seem much more Big and East than us lol

The big East from 1991-2003 was the best

I got 2 bills on Rutgers

I miss big East wvu playing Miami university, Penn state big mistake not letting them in the league! Was rumored Florida State think about big east! East Carolina had very good win against of league they beat Miami university one time like vtech Syracuse wvu and the rest of league! I really don’t go to game no more mountaineer stadium I do not like the big12!

My buddies are super shocked about all these realignments going on today. I tell them every time when the Big East went under is where it all started going downhill.

This sounds a lot like the PAC 12 situation that caused its downfall….

This has so many parallels to the PAC 12.

ACC is the new BIG EAST

Great East Football League Pennsylvania State Rutgers Pittsburgh Syracuse Boston College West Virginia Virginia Tech Connecticut South Carolina Florida State Miami-FL

I can still remember calling in to radio sports talk show and said that the big 10 and the big east should combine to be a new conference called the big joke 😅 good times

Notre Dame is coming to the Big 10. Big East would’ve been acceptable though.

HARD DISAGREE.... The Big East really stopped being relevant when Miami and VT left. There were a few good seasons, but in most years what the Big East really did was rob NY6 bowls from clearly superior G5 Teams.

it isn't pronounced "chasms"