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Big East

Danny Dabiri |Dec 03,2007

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The Big East established a football conference in 1991 when the Miami Hurricanes joined the conference. At that time, the conference consisted of Miami, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Syracuse, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Temple and Rutgers . In their first year as a member of the Big East, Miami won the national championship. That immediately brought legitimacy to the new football conference. Miami won nine of the first thirteen conference titles. The only other teams to win a conference title during that period were Virginia Tech, Syracuse and West Virginia.

The Big East underwent a serious shakeup when it was announced that Miami and Virginia Tech were leaving the conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004. The defection of Miami and Virginia Tech stripped the Big East of its two strongest programs. Temple left the Big East to due to the football program’s lack of success. Temple is the only school to leave a BCS conference for a non-BCS conference. Temple is now a member of the Mid-American Conference. A year later, Boston College joined the ACC. The Big East added Louisville, South Florida and Cincinnati from Conference USA and previously independent Connecticut . The Big East encountered much scrutiny from the rest of the country for being unworthy of inclusion in the Bowl Championship Series.

To make matters worse, 2004 conference champion Pittsburgh was obliterated 35-7 by Utah in the Fiesta Bowl. The emergence of West Virginia in 2005 was critical in restoring the conference’s credibility. West Virginia won the Big East and went on to defeat SEC champion Georgia 38-35 in the Sugar Bowl. Making the victory all the more impressive was the fact that the game was played in the Georgia Dome due to the damage caused to the Superdome by Hurricane Katrina.

The 2006 season was a breakout year for the Big East. Along with West Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers enjoyed success. All three teams entered the month of November undefeated and highly ranked. Louisville went on to win the conference title and represent the Big East in the Orange Bowl. Louisville defeated Wake Forest 24-13 to give the conference their second straight victory in a BCS bowl.

The Big East sent four other teams to bowl games. West Virginia defeated Georgia Tech 38-35 in the Gator Bowl. Rutgers trounced Kansas State 37-10 in the Texas Bowl. South Florida defeated East Carolina 24-7 in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. Cincinnati beat Western Michigan 27-24 to win the inaugural International Bowl. All in all, the Big East was a very impressive 5-0 in bowl games last year. The season ended with Louisville, West Virginia and Rutgers all ranked in the top 12.

The 2007 season could be the most successful for the Big East since Miami and Virginia Tech bounced. West Virginia is currently ranked number two in the country and in position to play in the BCS National Championship Game. If the Mountaineers capture the national title, it should erase any reservations about the Big East Conference as a power conference.