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96-729: The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the 11 full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and Midwest metropolitan areas. The conference was officially recognized as a Division I multi-sport conference on August 1, 2013, and since then conference members have won NCAA national championships in men's basketball, women's cross country, field hockey, men's lacrosse, and men's soccer. Val Ackerman

192-500: A committee because they made a "unique combination" not worn elsewhere at the time. The team mascot is the HokieBird , a turkey -like creature. The teams were originally known as the " Fighting Gobblers " and the turkey motif was retained despite the name change. The stylized VT (the abbreviation for Virginia Tech ) is used primarily by the athletic department as a symbol for Virginia Tech athletic teams. The "athletic VT" symbol

288-416: A full member, and Rutgers, Temple , Virginia Tech , and West Virginia as football-only members. Rutgers and West Virginia upgraded to full Big East membership in 1995, while Virginia Tech did the same in 2000. Notre Dame also joined as a non-football member effective in 1995. Temple football was kicked out after the 2004 season due to what was deemed by the other football-playing members a failure to make

384-542: A more stringent set of NCAA requirements than other conferences. Among these additional NCAA regulations, institutions in the Football Bowl Subdivision must be "multisport conferences" and participate in conference play in at least six men's and eight women's sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, and at least two other women's team sports. Each school may count one men's and one women's sport not sponsored by its primary conference toward

480-400: A national championship for Virginia Tech. Before his 7–1 victory over two-time defending national champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State in the 165-pound finals, Lewis dispatched the number one seed Alex Marinelli of Iowa in the quarterfinals and the number four seed Evan Wick of Wisconsin in the semi-finals. For his remarkable three-day performance, Lewis was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of

576-508: A postseason tournament was held; the first recorded season of full league play was 1993, with Boston College, UConn, Georgetown, Providence, Syracuse , and Villanova participating. Georgetown left Big East field hockey after the 1994 season, and was replaced by incoming Big East member Rutgers. The next change in field hockey membership came in 2005, when BC left for the ACC and was replaced by Louisville. Georgetown returned its field hockey program to

672-481: A result, both leagues agreed that only the "new" Big East would sponsor the sport, and that all American members with field hockey programs would become associates. Accordingly, the Big East field hockey conference would now be made up of Big East full members Georgetown, Providence, and Villanova; American members UConn, Louisville, Rutgers, and Temple; and Old Dominion, otherwise a member of Conference USA . Following

768-476: A retired Virginia Tech English professor, "[Hokie was] a word that people used to express feeling, approval, excitement, surprise. Hokie, then, is a word like 'hooray' or 'yeah', or 'rah'." Whatever its original meaning, the word in the popular cheer did, as Stull wanted, grab attention and has been a part of Virginia Tech tradition ever since. The official university school colors—Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange—also were introduced in 1896. The colors were chosen by

864-498: A second such sport in 2025. Unlike the other two divisions, Division III institutions cannot offer athletic scholarships. Among the other NCAA Division III requirements, schools have sports sponsorship requirements set by the NCAA. All institutions, regardless of enrollment, must sponsor at least three team sports for each sex/gender, and each playing season represented by each sex/gender. A sports sponsorship rule unique to Division III

960-399: A strong effort to field a competitive team, but rejoined in 2012 after seriously upgrading its football program and intended to become a full Big East member in 2013. The unusual structure of the Big East, with the "football" and "non-football" schools, led to instability in the conference. The Big East was one of the most severely impacted conferences during conference realignment of 2005 and

1056-633: A total of 17 Big East Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships. Out of the current members, Xavier has won a total of six Big East Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships, Georgetown has won three, while Seton Hall and Villanova have each won two. Villanova men's cross country team won three straight NCAA National Championships in 1966, 1967 and 1968, as well as a fourth in 1970. They also finished 2nd in 1962 and 1969. Providence men's cross country team have also finished in second in 1981 and 1982. The Big East began sponsoring field hockey in 1989, but conference records only indicate that

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1152-490: A varsity football team in the top-level Division I FBS . Butler , Georgetown , and Villanova do operate football programs in the second-level Division I FCS . The conference also has four associate members in field hockey, and one in men's and women's lacrosse. The original Big East Conference was founded in 1979, when Providence College basketball coach Dave Gavitt spearheaded an effort to assemble an east coast basketball-centric collegiate athletic conference. The core of

1248-738: Is trademarked by the university and appears frequently on licensed merchandise. During the early years of the university, a rivalry developed between the Virginia Military Institute and Virginia Tech, then called VPI. This rivalry developed into the original "Military Classic of the South," which was an annual football game between VMI and VPI on Thanksgiving Day in Roanoke, Virginia . This rivalry continued until 1970 when Tech's football program became too large and too competitive for VMI. Today, Tech's major athletic rivalries include

1344-477: Is credited with the initial branding and naming work for the conference. The "high point" of the original conference is widely considered to be the 1985 NCAA tournament, in which Georgetown, St. Johns, and Villanova all made the Final Four, and Villanova defeated Georgetown to win the national championship. The conference remained largely unchanged until 1991, when it began to sponsor football, adding Miami as

1440-446: Is familiar to all Tech fans. Many of Tech's more modern traditions were adopted after the construction of Lane Stadium in 1964. Virginia Tech's football traditions and the school's fans are the subject of a 2007 full-length documentary called Hokie Nation which features a mix of interviews with coaches, players and fans as well as a look at Hokie football history and the direction of the program. Source: Tech teams participate in

1536-440: Is made up of charter members Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, and Villanova, as well as Denver . NCAA regulations state that there must be six teams for a league to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, and since Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Seton Hall, and Xavier only field club teams, the Big East had to look elsewhere. Both Denver and Johns Hopkins were rumored as targets for potential invitation and Denver

1632-505: Is one of only three "Power Five" conference members who has never won an NCAA national championship, along with Kansas State and UCF . Virginia Tech's sports teams are called the "Hokies". The word "Hokie" originated in the " Old Hokie " spirit yell created in 1896 by O. M. Stull for a contest to select a new spirit yell when the college's name was changed from Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC) to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (VPI) and

1728-592: Is that the total number of sports that must be sponsored differs by a school's full-time undergraduate enrollment. Schools with an enrollment of 1,000 or fewer must sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women; those with larger enrollments must sponsor six men's and six women's sports. As in the other divisions, teams that include both men and women are treated as men's sports for the purpose of these regulations. Conferences that sponsor football highlighted in yellow. These all-sports conferences sponsor sports which do not have D-III championships. In addition to

1824-459: Is the commissioner. The conference was formed after the "Catholic Seven" members of the original Big East Conference elected to split from the football-playing schools in order to start a new conference focused on basketball. These schools ( DePaul , Georgetown , Marquette , Providence , Seton Hall , St. John's , and Villanova ) had announced their decision in December 2012. In March 2013,

1920-532: The 2007 Open Championship . Former Hokies that have won at the professional level include: Johnson Wagner (three PGA Tour wins), Adam Hunter (one European Tour win), and Brendon de Jonge (one Nationwide Tour win). The Virginia Tech Wrestling program was founded in 1920. The team holds its matches at Cassell Coliseum and practices in the training room on the third floor of the football locker room facility, renovated in 2010. In 2006, Kevin Dresser

2016-475: The 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships , which is also ties the 2017-2018 NC State Wolfpack for the highest finish for an ACC team ever. Kevin Dresser was named the 2016 NWCA Coach of the Year at the tournament. In 2017, Tony Robie became the wrestling program's head coach, following Kevin Dresser's departure to Iowa State. In 2019, redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis became the first Hokie wrestler to win

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2112-509: The 2016–17 season , seven of the ten schools (70%) received bids to that year's NCAA Tournament , a record for the highest percentage of members ever sent to one tournament from a single conference. Since realignment, Big East schools have combined for a total of 50 NCAA Tournament bids, five Final Four appearances, and four national championships. As of 2023–24 season All full Big East member schools field men's soccer teams. Akron became an associate member in 2023. Big East men's lacrosse

2208-736: The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which the school joined in 2003 after a tumultuous trek through five different conferences in the previous decade, most recently leaving the Big East in the controversial ACC expansion. In 1921, Virginia Tech joined the Southern Intercollegiate Conference (now Southern Conference ), which contained 19 schools by 1922, all current members of the ACC or Southeastern Conference (SEC) . In 1932, thirteen schools left

2304-418: The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten Conference . The other named schools stayed in Big East women's lacrosse until The American began a women's lacrosse league in 2018–19. Full members (non-football) Assoc. member (Other sports) Other Conference Despite the reconfiguration of the conference, the Big East has still been widely considered as one of the "Power 6" basketball conferences. Beginning with

2400-482: The International Goodwill Games ; and University of Pittsburgh 's Trees Pool , which hosted a total of 17 Big East Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Championships. Out of the current members, Villanova has won a total of 16 Big East Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Championships. All full members of the Big East sponsor women's volleyball. However, during the first season of

2496-550: The Moss Performing Arts Center on the Virginia Tech campus . The Hokie Wrestling team won the 2015–16 regular season ACC dual meet title, after beating previously undefeated North Carolina State University in the last conference dual meet of the season. The team took second place at the 2016 ACC Tournament. The 2015–16 team also set program bests with six All-Americans and a fourth-place finish at

2592-676: The NCAA 's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football , basketball , baseball , cross country , golf , soccer , swimming and diving , tennis , indoor and outdoor track and field , and wrestling . Virginia Tech's women's sports are basketball , cross country, lacrosse , soccer, softball , swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, golf, and volleyball . Virginia Tech's individual athletes have won 21 individual national titles in various track and field events, wrestling , and swimming . Though not affiliated with

2688-819: The Virginia Cavaliers (see Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry ), the West Virginia Mountaineers , and the Miami Hurricanes . Virginia Tech's fight song , Tech Triumph , was written in 1919 and remains in use today. Tech Triumph is played at sporting events by both the Virginia Tech band, The Marching Virginians , and the Corps of Cadets' band, the Highty Tighties . The Old Hokie spirit yell, in use since 1896,

2784-415: The "Catholic 7" due to their common religious background, and were motivated in part by a desire to return to Gavitt's original vision of a strong, Northeast -based and basketball-focused conference, and by prospects of a better television deal than they would have received by remaining with the football schools. The move occurred during a limited window in which these non-FBS schools held a voting majority in

2880-567: The 2001 season with Boston College, UConn, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech. The original lineup stayed in place until Virginia Tech and BC left for the ACC, respectively in 2004 and 2005. The conference replaced BC with Loyola (Maryland) for the 2006 season, and the Greyhounds remained an associate member until the school joined the Patriot League , which already sponsored women's lacrosse, in 2013. Originally,

2976-410: The 2010 season. As in the case of field hockey, the 2013 conference split left the Big East and The American with too few lacrosse teams for an automatic NCAA bid. Also in a parallel with field hockey, the two conferences agreed that only the reconfigured Big East would sponsor the sport, with all women's lacrosse teams from The American becoming associate members. The first season of women's lacrosse in

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3072-479: The 2014 departure of Louisville and Rutgers for all-sports membership in conferences that sponsored field hockey (respectively the ACC and Big Ten), Big East field hockey operated with six members until Liberty and Quinnipiac joined as associate members in 2016. The only honors listed here are those earned by Big East field hockey members while playing the sport in the conference. In addition to these: Nine Big East members sponsor softball, with Marquette and Xavier as

3168-559: The 2017 season, Butler added varsity women's lacrosse and Denver brought its women's lacrosse team into the league, giving the Big East 10 members in the sport. However, after the 2018 season, the Big East lost all of its women's lacrosse associate members except Denver to the new women's lacrosse conference of The American. The Big East retained its automatic NCAA tournament bid for the 2019 season and beyond by adding Old Dominion, already an associate member in field hockey. On April 16, 2020, Old Dominion announced its women's lacrosse would join

3264-485: The AAC for the Big East, pending a decision on the future of the school's football program . Many news stories described UConn as "rejoining" the Big East, because UConn was a founding member of the original Big East, but remained with the football-playing members when the conference reorganized as the AAC in 2013. By 2018 however, UConn had seen a dramatic decline in athletic department revenues. Mutual interest between UConn and

3360-452: The ACC regular season and tournament titles in 2007. Under head coach Scot Thomas and behind the strength of one of the nation's best college pitchers, senior All-American Angela Tincher , the Hokies made their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance in 2008. On May 25, 2008, they defeated the fourth-seeded Michigan Wolverines to advance to their first College World Series , though

3456-614: The ACC, the Virginia Tech Softball team has won two Conference Titles in 2007 and 2008. On May 31, 2018, Pete D'Amour was announced as the new head coach of the Virginia Tech softball program. The men's golf team has won 12 conference championships: In 2007, Virginia Tech golfer Drew Weaver became the first American to win the British Amateur golf tournament since 1979. Weaver edged out 2006 Australian Amateur champion Tim Stewart and earned an invitation to

3552-522: The American Athletic Conference in the 2021 season (2020–21 school year), essentially swapping places with incoming full member UConn. Both conferences thus maintained the six members required for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Xavier added women's lacrosse in the 2023 season, playing as an independent for its first season before starting full Big East play in 2024. This list includes NCAA championships won by members of

3648-439: The Big East as associate members in that sport. The next changes to Big East associate membership came during the 2015–16 school year. First, on December 8, 2015, the conference announced that Liberty and Quinnipiac would become associate members in field hockey effective with the 2016 season. Then, on May 3, 2016, the Big East announced that Denver, already an affiliate in men's lacrosse, would move its women's lacrosse team into

3744-478: The Big East football conference included Boston College , Miami , Pittsburgh , Rutgers , Syracuse , Temple , Virginia Tech, and West Virginia . In 1994, Virginia Tech was turned down for full membership in the Big East. In January 1995, Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University were ousted from the Metro Conference and subsequently filed a lawsuit against the conference. The lawsuit

3840-461: The Big East for the AAC, essentially swapping places with UConn, so both conferences maintained the six members required for an automatic bid. The office of the commissioner of athletics was created in 1979 The following table shows National University rank by U.S. News & World Report as of 2023. Also indicated is membership in the Association of American Universities . Nine of

3936-438: The Big East formed when Providence , St. John's , Georgetown , and Syracuse invited Seton Hall , Connecticut (UConn) , Holy Cross , Rutgers , and Boston College (BC) . Holy Cross turned down the invitation, as did Rutgers initially, while BC, Seton Hall, and UConn accepted. Gavitt became the Big East's first commissioner, and Villanova and Pittsburgh joined the conference shortly thereafter. PR firm Duffy & Shanley

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4032-420: The Big East the next year, after which the conference's field hockey membership remained unchanged until the 2013 conference split. Shortly before the split, Old Dominion was set to join the original Big East as a field hockey associate. The conference split left both successor leagues—the reconfigured Big East and The American—with too few field hockey members to qualify for an automatic NCAA tournament berth. As

4128-529: The Big East tournament. A year later, in their first season in the ACC, the Hokies scored their first postseason berth in nine years when they made the NIT in 2004–05. In the 2006–07 season , Greenberg's Hokies finished with a 10–6 record in the ACC and a 22–12 record overall, earning their first NCAA tournament berth in 11 years, reaching the NCAA second round before losing to Southern Illinois . In March 2014, Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock announced

4224-418: The Big East, dropped a bombshell — that the ACC was secretly trying to lure away Big East members. Over the next several months, the ACC held meetings and discussions. Ultimately, Virginia Tech was invited to join the conference, along with Miami. Boston College was added the following year. Virginia Tech finally had achieved what Frank Moseley had sought so long ago — membership in the ACC. When Virginia Tech

4320-446: The Big East. Excluded from this list are all national championships earned outside the scope of NCAA competition , including ICSA sailing championships (14 by Georgetown), women's AIAW championships (2 by Old Dominion), equestrian titles (0), and retroactive Helms Athletic Foundation titles (1 by St. John's). Associate members, indicated in italics , are listed with NCAA championships won in their Big East sports while competing in

4416-529: The Hokies have finished with a top-10 ranking five times, won seven conference championships (three Big East and four ACC ), and played once for the national championship, losing to Florida State 46–29 in the 2000 Sugar Bowl . Annually, Virginia Tech plays its traditional rival, the University of Virginia , for the Commonwealth Cup , a series which Virginia Tech leads 59–38–5. Frank Beamer

4512-560: The Hokies were held scoreless during that appearance and were quickly eliminated in two games. Virginia Tech Softball upset the USA national team in a 1–0 no hitter in 2008 and advanced to the Women's College World Series for the first time ever. Scot Thomas helped start the program in 1996 and celebrated his 600th win during the 2012 season. He was fired following the conclusion of the 2018 season after two consecutive losing seasons. Since joining

4608-685: The NBA. In the Buzz Williams era, Virginia Tech made NCAA Men's Tournament appearances in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons, making it the first time in school history that Virginia Tech has made the NCAA Men's Tournament three years in a row. In the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Virginia Tech advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1967. In April 2019, Whit Babcock announced the hiring of Mike Young after Buzz Williams left to become

4704-640: The NCAA sponsors separate championships for men and women are officially treated by the NCAA as two separate sports. Among the NCAA regulations, Division II institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women (or four for men and six for women), with two team sports for each sex, and each playing season represented by each sex. Teams that consist of both men and women are counted as men's teams for sports sponsorship purposes. Conferences that sponsor football are highlighted in yellow. These all-sports conferences sponsor sports which do not have D-II championships. One of these conferences will add

4800-465: The NCAA, Virginia Tech won the 2007 national championship of bass fishing . The Hokie men's basketball team won the 1973 and 1995 NIT tournaments and went to the Sweet Sixteen of NCAA tournament in 1967 and 2019. The Hokies football team lost to Florida State in the 2000 Sugar Bowl (BCS National Championship Game) and finished the 1999 season with a #2 ranking in the BCS Poll . Virginia Tech

4896-655: The Southern Conference to become independent. Tech applied for membership in the ACC again in 1977, but was turned down for membership despite support from UVA, Duke, and Clemson. In 1978, Virginia Tech joined the Metro Conference , winning the conference men's basketball championship tournament and automatic NCAA berth in its first year. In 1991, Virginia Tech was invited to join the Big East Conference for football only. Members of

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4992-511: The Virginia Tech baseball coach in 2006, finished his career as the fourth winningest coach in Division I baseball history with a 1,444–816–8 record, including a 961–591–18 mark in his 28 seasons at Tech, the best record of any baseball coach in history at Tech. The team is currently coached by John Szefc . Since starting its varsity program in 1996, the Virginia Tech softball team has played in six conference championship games, winning both

5088-548: The above limits, as long as that sport competes in another Division I conference. The men's and women's sports so counted need not be the same sport. In addition to competing in football, multisport conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision must still meet the general NCAA Division I requirements regarding the minimum number of men's and women's sports ( see above ). Multisport conferences that do not compete in football must still meet

5184-524: The above, two single-sport conferences that currently participate in NCAA National Collegiate sports (those whose championship events are open to members of more than one NCAA division) and previously operated both men's and women's divisions now operate as women-only leagues. Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics . The Hokies participate in

5280-533: The arrival of Oliver Weiss, who has coached the team since 2000. Under Weiss, Tech has made four NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the College Cup in 2007. The Hokies' trip to the College Cup is the equivalent of men's basketball Final Four and was the soccer team's most successful season. The Hokies finished the 2007 regular season ranked third nationally. Chuck Hartman , who retired as

5376-500: The bulk of the Big East. There is still uncertainty to whether or not Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Seton Hall, UConn, or Xavier will elevate their programs from the club level, or if any other programs will receive lacrosse-only invitations. Big East full member schools Butler, Creighton, Georgetown, Seton Hall, St. John's, UConn, Villanova and Xavier all field men's baseball teams. DePaul and Marquette have never fielded Big East baseball teams, while Providence fielded one until 1999 when it

5472-427: The conference championship was decided solely by league play; a postseason tournament was added starting in the 2007 season with the top four teams qualifying, a format that exists to this day. The next changes in women's lacrosse membership came in the 2009 season, when Cincinnati and Louisville (both of which had only added varsity lacrosse for the 2008 season) brought their teams into the Big East. Villanova followed in

5568-477: The conference. Notes: List of NCAA conferences Under NCAA regulations, all Division I conferences defined as "multisport conferences" must meet the following criteria: Schools in all divisions that sponsor athletic programs for only one sex/gender need only meet the sports sponsorship requirements for that sex/gender. Conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision must meet

5664-578: The conference—after the defection of certain FBS schools to the ACC but before the effective inclusion of candidate FBS schools to replace them. Negotiations with the other member schools continued in early 2013, and in March, it was reported that the "Catholic 7" schools would leave the conference on June 30, 2013, but that they would retain the Big East Conference name, logos, $ 10 million from

5760-439: The departure of all then-current Big East women's lacrosse associates except Denver. On that same date, the Big East announced that field hockey member Old Dominion would also become a Big East women's lacrosse member in the 2019 season, maintaining Big East women's lacrosse membership at 6 teams and preserving its automatic berth to the NCAA women's tournament. In June 2019, various news outlets reported that UConn would soon leave

5856-402: The early 2010s . In all, 14 member schools announced their departure for other conferences, and 15 other schools announced plans to join the conference (eight as all-sports members, and four for football only). Three of the latter group later backed out of their plans to join (one for all sports, and the other two for football only). These waves of defection and replacement revealed tension between

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5952-479: The eleven members of the Big East are private , Catholic institutions. The exceptions are Butler, which is nonsectarian (although it was founded by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) ) and UConn, which is the only public institution. Because the American Athletic Conference did not sponsor lacrosse or field hockey immediately after the Big East split, several schools from The American joined

6048-653: The exceptions. The original Big East first sponsored the sport in the 1990 season. Big East women's swimming & diving is made up of charter members Butler, Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, UConn, Villanova and Xavier (UConn was a charter member of the original Big East, but not of its 2013 version). St. John's cut women's swimming & diving in 2003 due to Title IX , when they also cut men's swimming & diving, football , men's cross country, men's indoor track & field, and men's outdoor track & field and added men's lacrosse. The Big East Conference originally started sponsoring women's swimming & diving in 1981–82,

6144-616: The first seven seed to win the tournament in its long history. Virginia Tech's women's basketball competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Like the men's team, they play their home games in Cassell Coliseum . The program's most recent head coach was Kenny Brooks . Brooks helped guide the program to its first in many categories, including Women's Final Four (2023), ACC Tournament championship (2023), ACC regular-season title (2024), and 30-win season (2023). Under former coaches Beth Dunkenberger and Bonnie Henrickson ,

6240-413: The football-sponsoring and non-football schools that eventually led to the split of the conference in 2013. On December 15, 2012, the Big East's seven non-FBS schools – DePaul , Georgetown , Marquette , Providence , St. John's , Seton Hall , and Villanova – announced that they had voted unanimously to separate from the Big East football-playing schools. The schools splitting away were referred to as

6336-473: The funeral arrangements would be held. Virginia Tech's football team plays home games in Lane Stadium . With a capacity of 66,233, Lane is relatively small in comparison to many other top FBS stadiums, yet it is still considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country. In 2005, it was recognized by rivals.com as having the best home-field advantage in college football. Since the 1995 season,

6432-429: The general NCAA Division I requirements regarding the minimum number of men's and women's sports ( see above ). Division I ice hockey has a different conference structure than the above multisport conferences. These schools have memberships in other conferences for other sports. This list includes conferences in sports that the NCAA does not fully split into divisions, such as men's volleyball and rifle. Sports in which

6528-535: The head coach at Texas A&M . On March 12, 2022, Young led the Hokies to the ACC Tournament title for the first time in school history. The tournament final was played against Mike Krzyzewski 's Duke Blue Devils in Coach K's final ACC tournament game. Tech, the seven seed, won 82-67 and only reached the final after beating Clemson , Notre Dame , and North Carolina in consecutive nights. The Hokies were

6624-478: The hiring of Buzz Williams as the Hokies' new head men's basketball coach. Williams spent the previous six seasons as the head coach at Marquette University, where he compiled a 139–69 record and led the Golden Eagles to five NCAA appearances and a Big East Conference regular season title. During Williams's tenure, Marquette tallied a 69–39 record in the Big East Conference, and six Marquette players made it to

6720-467: The inaugural 2013–14 season , the conference signed a 12-year deal with Fox Sports to televise Big East Conference games, with CBS Sports also sublicensing select games from Fox. In 2014–15 , the Big East had four schools ranked in the top-20 and six schools in the top-30 recruiting classes nationally according to ESPN, Scout, and Rivals rankings. Villanova won the conference's first national championship since realignment in 2016 . One year later, in

6816-410: The league in the 2016–17 school year (2017 season). In addition to the new associate members, full member Butler announced on October 21, 2015, that it would elevate its club team in women's lacrosse to full varsity status in the 2017 season and immediately begin Big East competition. The American Athletic Conference began sponsoring women's lacrosse in the 2019 season (2018–19 school year), which led to

6912-556: The most prestigious pools in the United States. These pools include: Indiana University Natatorium , which has hosted multiple NCAA Division I Men's Swimming & Diving Championships and multiple United States Olympic Swimming Trials and United States Olympic Diving Trials ; Nassau County Aquatic Center , which has hosted NCAA Division I Men's Swimming & Diving Championships and the International Goodwill Games ; and University of Pittsburgh 's Trees Pool , which hosted

7008-599: The new Big East for women's lacrosse and field hockey, while Cincinnati joined the women's lacrosse league, Denver joined the men's lacrosse league, and Old Dominion joined the field hockey league. The launch of a women's lacrosse league in the Big Ten for the 2015 season caused the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) to dissolve after the 2014 season; two Southeastern Conference teams that had been ALC members, Florida and Vanderbilt , joined

7104-421: The new Big East had been reported by several sources starting in 2016. On June 24, 2019, the Big East formally approved an invitation for UConn to join the conference. The UConn Board of Trustees accepted the invitation two days later, thus reuniting UConn with several of the schools against whom it competed for 34 years in the old Big East. UConn and the AAC reached a buyout agreement the following month, clearing

7200-482: The new conference purchased the Big East Conference name, logos, basketball records, and the rights to the men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden from the football-playing members of the old Big East, who formed the American Athletic Conference (AAC), which is the old conference's legal successor. Both conferences share 1979 as their founding date, when the original conference

7296-417: The new league at its launch. Additional announcements confirmed their headquarters in New York City, and a 12-year, $ 500 million television contract with Fox Sports and its networks , and a 6-year television contract with CBS and its CBS Sports Network . On June 26, 2013, the new conference hired Val Ackerman , former WNBA president, as the conference's first commissioner. The remaining members of

7392-479: The old conference later announced they would continue as the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Several AAC and former Big East schools however continued playing lacrosse and field hockey with the new Big East Conference in 2013, including Rutgers and Louisville , before moving their programs to the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conferences respectively in 2014–15. AAC members UConn and Temple also both joined

7488-569: The old conference's treasury, and the right to hold their men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden . At a March 20 news conference in New York City, Georgetown President John J. DeGioia , representing this new conference, announced that Butler University and Xavier University , both then members of the Atlantic 10 Conference , as well as Creighton University in the Missouri Valley Conference would also join

7584-521: The original spirit yell, which referred to the old name, was no longer usable. Stull won, and received a $ 5 award. Hoki, Hoki, Hoki, Hy. Techs, Techs, VPI! Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah. Polytechs—Vir-gin-ia. Rae, Ri, V.P.I Later, the phrase "Team! Team! Team!" was added at the end, and an "e" was added to "Hoki". Stull later said that he made up the word as an attention-grabber. Though he may not have known it, "Hokie" (in its various forms) has been around at least since 1842. According to Johann Norstedt, now

7680-576: The postseason, making the NCAA Tournament 11 times. Virginia Tech's men's basketball team saw a resurgence of fan support since the arrival of coach Seth Greenberg in 2003–04 and the university's entry into the ACC in 2004–05. Prior to Coach Greenberg's arrival in Blacksburg, the men's basketball team had not had a winning season since the 1995–96 season, when they received a bid to the NCAA tournament . In 2003–04, Greenberg's squad made

7776-437: The program was a fixture in postseason play. The Hokies have received nine berths to the NCAA tournament since the program's first in 1994. Virginia Tech's women have also earned five NIT appearances during that stretch including back-to-back appearances in 2016 and 2017. Women's soccer at Virginia Tech began in 1980 with two club teams under the guidance of Everett Germain and his two daughters, Betsy and Julie. Kelly Cagle

7872-439: The reconfigured Big East as associate members in those sports. UConn, Louisville, Rutgers, and Temple joined in both women's lacrosse and field hockey, with Rutgers also joining in men's lacrosse, while Cincinnati joined only in women's lacrosse. Among these schools, Louisville and Rutgers were associates only for one season, as both became full members of conferences that sponsored their remaining Big East sports in 2014—respectively

7968-967: The reconfigured Big East in 2013, Providence was an affiliate member of the America East Conference . The Friars joined Big East volleyball in 2014 after completing their contractual obligation to the America East. The Providence women's cross country team have been crowned NCAA National Champions in 1995 and 2013, as well as finishing 2nd in 1990 and 2012. The Villanova women's cross country team won two straight NCAA National Championships in 2009 and 2010 and six straight NCAA National Championships in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994. Villanova runners also won an individual NCAA National Championship in 1998, as well as placing 3rd in 1995, 2nd in 1996 and 3rd in 2011. The Georgetown women's cross country team were NCAA National Champions in 2011. The Big East began sponsoring women's lacrosse in

8064-409: The reconfigured league in 2014 would thus include Cincinnati, UConn, Georgetown, Louisville, new varsity team Marquette, Rutgers, Temple, and Villanova. The Big East would lose Louisville and Rutgers after that season, respectively to the ACC and Big Ten, replacing them with Florida and Vanderbilt (the only two SEC schools sponsoring the sport) after the demise of the American Lacrosse Conference . For

8160-564: The same season in which the NCAA began sponsoring women's sports. The Big East Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Championships have been held at some of the most prestigious pools in the United States. These pools include: Indiana University Natatorium , which has hosted multiple NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championships and multiple United States Olympic Swimming Trials and United States Olympic Diving Trials ; Nassau County Aquatic Center , which has hosted NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championships and

8256-515: The then-gigantic Southern Conference to form the SEC and in 1953, seven more teams left to form the ACC. UVA, which had left the Southern Conference in the mid-1930s, was added to the original seven before the 1953-54 basketball season. Tech was passed over for membership in December of that year, despite a proposal by North Carolina to add the Gobblers and West Virginia Mountaineers. In 1965, Tech left

8352-491: The way for UConn to become a member of the Big East on July 1, 2020. At the time the buyout agreement was reported, UConn announced that its football team would become an FBS independent upon its arrival in the Big East, leaving Temple as the only AAC member in the northeast. UConn's men's & women's hockey teams remain a member of the Hockey East Association . In 2020, Old Dominion's women's lacrosse left

8448-1095: Was dropped and later replaced with lacrosse. Big East men's swimming & diving is made up entirely of charter conference members, with UConn being a charter member of the 1979 incarnation, Xavier a charter member of the 2013 incarnation, and Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, and Villanova being charter members of both versions. However, UConn announced shortly before rejoining the Big East that it would cut men's swimming & diving along with men's cross country, men's tennis, and women's rowing effective in July 2021. Butler cut men's swimming & diving in 2007, when they also cut lacrosse. St. John's cut men's swimming & diving in 2003 due to Title IX , when they also cut women's swimming & diving, football , men's cross country, men's indoor track & field, and men's outdoor track & field and added men's lacrosse. The Big East Conference originally started sponsoring men's swimming & diving in 1979. The Big East Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships have been held at some of

8544-399: Was founded by Dave Gavitt , and the same history through 2013. Three more schools, Butler , Creighton , and Xavier , joined the conference on its July 1, 2013, launch date. In June 2019, the Big East invited the University of Connecticut (UConn) to "re-join" the conference from the AAC, which they did on July 1, 2020. Football is not a sponsored sport, and UConn is the only member with

8640-643: Was head coach from 2002 to 2010, leaving with a record of 76–70–15 and three consecutive NCAA trips. She was succeeded by Charles "Chugger" Adair. Under Adair the Hokie Women's Soccer quad has spent numerous weeks ranked in the top 25 during their 2012 campaign. During the 2013 season Virginia Tech ranked in the top 5 making it to the Final Four for the first time in school history. The women's team has now been to 6 straight NCAA tournaments 2008–2013 having two Sweet Sixteen finishes and one Final Four finish. Virginia Tech's men's soccer team has improved greatly since

8736-485: Was invited to join the ACC, former Roanoke Times sports editor Bill Brill expressed his displeasure, saying "Virginia Tech will not win an ACC championship in my lifetime." When Virginia Tech's football team proceeded to do precisely that in their very first season in the league, Brill's house in Chapel Hill, North Carolina received hundreds of mocking phone calls from angry Virginia Tech fans, curious to learn when

8832-527: Was named the head coach of the wrestling program. The team won the 2014 ACC Tournament, led by captain Devin Carter, who was named Tournament MVP . The Hokies finished 8th overall in team standings at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Devin Carter was the runner-up at 141 lbs and Virginia Tech's first ever NCAA Tournament finalist. During the 2014–15 season, a few select matches were held for the first time at

8928-719: Was selected to join the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame . On November 29, 2015, Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock announced that Justin Fuente was hired from the University of Memphis to succeed the retiring Frank Beamer. In Fuente's first season, Virginia Tech won the ACC Coastal Division and he was named the ACC Coach of the Year. Virginia Tech's men's basketball team plays home games in Cassell Coliseum . They have enjoyed moderate success in

9024-499: Was settled when Metro agreed to pay the Hokies $ 1,135,000 and Virginia Tech joined the Atlantic 10 Conference , along with fellow newcomers Dayton and LaSalle in June 1995. In 1999, the Big East agreed to accept Virginia Tech as a full member in all sports. Virginia Tech ultimately paid $ 8.3 million to join the conference, $ 1.1 million of which was actually paid after the school left. In April 2003, Mike Tranghese , commissioner of

9120-622: Was the Hokies' head coach from 1987 to 2015, and was the winningest active head coach in FBS football with 280 wins following the 2015 season. Coach Beamer ended his tenure as head coach with a win in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA, where the Bowl streak began in 1993. Beamer's teams were known for solid special teams play (called "Beamer Ball") and for tough defenses headed by defensive coordinator Bud Foster . In 2018, Beamer

9216-636: Was ultimately invited to join the Big East as a lacrosse-only member. Denver joined the Big East as one of the hottest teams in the country; at the time of the relaunch of the Big East in July 2013, the Pioneers had made six NCAA Tournament appearances in the previous eight seasons and had appeared in two Final Fours in the previous three seasons. The University of Denver houses most of its other sports in The Summit League ; most of that league's other teams are closer to that school's Denver campus than

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