The New Big East
May 17, 2005 09:24 PM | General
May 18, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Big East Conference was in a year of transition in 2005 with Boston College and Temple fulfilling their final seasons of temporary membership.
With Miami and Virginia Tech having already moved on to the ACC, the Big East made the decision in the fall of 2004 to add Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida to transform the league into a 16-member super conference with an eclectic mixture of schools.
Commissioner Mike Tranghese made the statement last month to the effect that the year in flux really didn’t give fans and critics the full picture of the makeup of the conference, particularly regarding the league’s continuing relationship with college football’s Bowl Championship Series membership.
As we wind down another academic year, let’s examine what the new schools will bring to the table when competition begins in the fall of 2005. Only Big East sports West Virginia competes in are evaluated.
Fall
 |
|
|
Men’s Sports Women’s Sports |
Football (8 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pitt, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse and West Virginia
Based on last year’s performance, Louisville becomes the marquee member of the conference having beaten Boise State in the Liberty Bowl to finish the season 11-1, ranked No. 7 in the nation. The Cardinals were the only team currently in the Big East to finish ranked in the Top 25, with co-league champions West Virginia and Pitt receiving top 25 votes along with Connecticut, which won its bowl game against Toledo.
Pitt lost miserably in the league’s BCS game against Utah in the Fiesta Bowl, West Virginia was competitive against Florida State in the Gator Bowl and Syracuse was not competitive in losing 51-14 to Georgia Tech in the Champs Sports Bowl.
Cincinnati finished the year with a 7-5 record and defeated Marshall in the Fort Worth Bowl. South Florida struggled to a 4-7 overall record including a 3-5 mark in its final campaign in Conference USA.
There is obviously a lot of work that the new Big East needs to do to close the gap between the newly formed league and the five remaining BCS conferences.
 |
|
|
Men’s Sports Women’s Sports |
Men’s Soccer (16 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pitt, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
The three cornerstone teams in the Big East still remain St. John’s, Notre Dame and Connecticut, with the five newcomers needing to make up a lot of ground to be competitive. Cincinnati and South Florida both tied for third in Conference USA with 5-3-1 records, but C-USA only sent one team to the NCAA tournament in league champion Memphis.
Louisville and Marquette both finished with 2-6-1 records in the conference and had losing overall records, as did C-USA bottom feeder DePaul. By comparison the Big East sent four teams to NCAAs and had seven teams with 12 wins or more, including Mike Seabolt's West Virginia team.
Women’s Soccer (16 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pitt, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
Like the men, Conference USA sent just one women’s team to NCAAs in post-season champion Alabama-Birmingham, which finished second to St. Louis during the regular season. Marquette owned a 7-2-1 record in C-USA play and had a 12-8-1 overall record. Louisville also boasted a winning 12-5-3 overall record and placed fifth in the regular season standings. DePaul, South Florida and Cincinnati each had losing records in league play, with the Bearcats bringing up the bottom of the C-USA standings with a 1-9 record and 4-14 overall mark.
Those five schools join a conference that includes defending national champion Notre Dame, and perennial top 25 programs Connecticut, West Virginia and Villanova. In all, five Big East teams qualified for NCAAs in 2004.
Volleyball (15 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pitt, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
The addition of Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati will significantly strengthen Big East volleyball. The Cardinals are one of the marquee programs in the country, posting a 30-3 record last year and advancing to the NCAA tournament “Sweet 16.” Six-foot-four-inch sophomore middle blocker Ana Yartseva is one of the country’s top returning players, earning All-America honors. Marquette and Cincinnati finished in a three-way tie with TCU for second place in C-USA with 10-3 conference marks and each recorded 20-win seasons. DePaul and South Florida both had losing campaigns.
Notre Dame was the class of the Big East last year, winning nine of 10 conference matches and finishing with a 21-9 overall record. The Irish received five top 25 votes.
Women’s Cross Country (16 schools): (16 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pitt, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
Marquette was the top team in Conference USA last year and advanced to NCAA nationals where it finished 28th. But this year Marquette will probably fit someplace in the middle of the Big East pack behind Providence and Notre Dame, which placed second and sixth nationally last fall. As a matter of fact, West Virginia (15), Villanova (18) and Georgetown (29) each finished ahead of Marquette (17 votes) in the final FinishLynx Top 30 poll.
DePaul, Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida will have to improve significantly to crack the upper tier of a conference that sent four teams to nationals.
Winter
 |
|
|
Men’s Sports Women’s Sports |
Men’s Basketball (16 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pitt, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
A very strong basketball conference turned into the premier conference in the country with the addition of Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and DePaul. The Cardinals beat up-and-coming Big East member West Virginia for the right to go to the Final Four last year. Coach Rick Pittino’s Louisville club finished 2005 with a 33-5 record.
Cincinnati posted a surprising 25-8 record in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for veteran coach Bobby Huggins. The Bearcats lost to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Marquette and DePaul both advanced to the NIT although Marquette was sidetracked when leading scorer Travis Diener broke his leg and was lost for the season.
DePaul, which won 20 games, will have a solid nucleus of returners for new coach Jerry Wainwright, who has NCAA tournament experience coaching at Richmond and UNC Wilmington.
The fifth C-USA team, South Florida, struggled to a 14-16 record last year and will have to adjust to playing in the most competitive basketball league in the country.
West Virginia (12th), Villanova (13th), Connecticut (17th) and Syracuse (21st) join Louisville (3rd) and Cincinnati (25th) in giving the Big East six returning top 25 programs. Pitt also received top 25 votes.
 |
|
|
Men’s Sports Women’s Sports |
Women’s Basketball (16 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pitt, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
A strong argument could be made that the Big East women’s basketball conference strengthened itself just as much as the men did with the addition of DePaul, Louisville and Marquette. At the very least, No. 20-ranked DePaul checkmates the loss of perennial NCAA visitor Boston College.
The Blue Demons posted a 26-5 overall record and beat Virginia Tech in the first round of the NCAA tournament before being upset by Liberty in the second round. Louisville registered a 22-9 overall record and joined DePaul in the NCAA tournament. Marquette recorded an 18-12 overall record and lost to Nebraska in the first round of the WNIT, while South Florida beat Florida in a WNIT first-round game before falling to Wake Forest in the second round.
Cincinnati is coming off a tough season in which it went 4-10 in C-USA play and finished with a 9-19 overall record.
Rutgers (7th), Connecticut (10th) and Notre Dame (15th) each had strong seasons and played in the NCAA tournament, while West Virginia advanced all the way to the WNIT finals.
Men’s Swimming & Diving (10 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pitt, Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, West Virginia
Conference USA doesn’t sponsor men’s swimming as an official sport and only Louisville and Cincinnati compete. Louisville is the stronger of the two with freshman Adam Madarassy placing ninth at nationals in the 200 fly to give the Cardinals a 27th overall finish.
By comparison, Pitt’s Dennis Nemtsanov was the top individual performer at NCAAs registering a 20th-place finish in the platform dive. No Big East teams placed and only a total of four individuals qualified for the sport’s top event.
Notre Dame won this year’s Big East swimming and diving championships easily, outdistancing second-place Pitt by more than 250 points. The Irish finished ranked 21st in the final College Swim Coaches Association poll.
Women’s Swimming & Diving (10 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
Cincinnati and Louisville were two of seven teams that competed in swimming and diving in Conference USA. The Bearcats, on the strength of junior Ann Degenstein’s 11th-place finish in the 100 butterfly and 14th-place finish in the 200 butterfly, placed 33rd in the team standings at this year’s NCAA championships.
Notre Dame and Rutgers each posted top 30 finishes at nationals with the Irish placing 24th and the Scarlet Knights finishing 29th. Notre Dame qualified three swimmers to the event and finished the season earning seven top 25 votes. The Irish easily outdistanced Pitt for top honors in the Big East this year.
Spring
 |
|
|
Men’s Sports Women’s Sports |
Baseball (12 schools): Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Villanova, West Virginia
Although Louisville is in the middle of the C-USA pack this year, the Cardinals will help a Big East baseball conference that loses Boston College to the ACC. C-USA leader Tulane is currently the No. 1-ranked team in the country and the league features a trio of traditionally strong programs in TCU, Southern Mississippi and East Carolina.
Louisville has already qualified for one of eight spots in the Conference USA tournament and the other berth could very well end up going to South Florida, which is 12-14 in league play and 29-28 overall. Cincinnati has a beat on USF with a 24-27 overall record and a 10-16 mark in C-USA action.
St. John’s is at the top of the Big East standings with a 16-4 conference mark and has clinched a spot in the four-team tournament, along with Boston College. Notre Dame is down this year with a 29-21 record and will need to win the league playoffs to earn another bid to the NCAA tournament. The fourth team making up the Big East tournament this year will come from Pitt, Rutgers or Connecticut with West Virginia on the outside looking in.
Women’s Track (16 teams): Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pitt, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
South Florida is the strongest of the five new teams joining the Big East in 2006, placing fourth at this year’s C-USA outdoor championships behind Houston, Southern Mississippi and Charlotte. Cincinnati placed seventh, Marquette 10th, Louisville 12th and DePaul 13th.
The Bearcats have one of the nation’s top high jumpers in sophomore Renee Hein, who is currently 13th on this week’s NCAA performance list. Cincinnati also has a ranked performer in junior Ashley Wilheim in the heptathlon.
Six Big East schools placed at indoor nationals led by Villanova, which tied for 27th place with eight team points. Pitt won the Big East outdoor title, followed by Notre Dame, West Virginia and Rutgers. More than 50 Big East individuals and four relays are listed on this week’s NCAA performance list while the five new members have a combined 10 ranked performers.
Rowing (9 teams): Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
Cincinnati and Louisville will join the Big East to give the conference nine teams for 2006. Louisville took 12th overall at the Aramark Springs/NCAA Regionals while Cincinnati placed 16th. The Cardinals are currently ranked 20th in the latest Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association’s Varsity Eights Top 20 rankings.
Notre Dame took first place in the Varsity 4 and Varsity 8 races to claim its second straight league title. Syracuse claimed the league’s first three titles in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and the Orange are rated 16th in this week’s Varsity Eights rankings.
Women’s Tennis (16 teams): Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pitt, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
South Florida (No. 51 in latest ITA rankings), Louisville and DePaul will represent a significant upgrade in Big East women’s tennis. South Florida is coached by former professional Gigi Fernandez and has a doubles team qualified for NCAA nationals. DePaul won eight C-USA matches and finished with an 18-8 overall record, while Louisville went 21-10 overall and 3-3 in league play. Marquette and Cincinnati each posted five-win seasons.
The Big East sponsors a six-team tournament field picked by a selection committee. No. 23-ranked Notre Dame won this year’s tournament in Tampa by defeating Syracuse, 4-0. Other teams qualifying were St. John’s, Boston College, Seton Hall and West Virginia.
|
Ranking the Sports |
|
Taking into account where the teams were nationally ranked for the 2004-05 academic year, here is a for-fun look at how the sports stack up against each other in the Big East. Only sports West Virginia competes in were considered. Top 5 Ranking = 5 points 1. Men’s Basketball
(19 points) 2. Women’s Cross
Country (17 points) 3. Women’s Basketball
(15 points) 4. Women’s Soccer (11
points) 5. Men’s Soccer (10
points) T6. Football (7 points) T6. Women’s Rowing (7
points) * T8. Volleyball (4
points) T8. Women’s Tennis (4
points) * 10. Men’s Swimming (2
points) T11. Women’s Swimming (1 point) T11. Baseball (1 point)* 13. Outdoor Women’s
Track (0 points) * * Baseball, Rowing and Track polls not final
|
