The Big East Conference was a collegiate athletics conference that consisted of as many as 16 universities in the eastern half of the United States from 1979 to 2013. The conference's members participated in 24 NCAA sports. The conference had a history of success at the national level in basketball throughout its history, while its shorter football program, created by inviting one college and four other "associate members" into the conference, resulted in two national championships.
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system whose main campus is in Storrs, Connecticut. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two brothers who donated the land for the school. In 1893, the school became a public land grant college, becoming the University of Connecticut in 1939. Over the following decade, social work, nursing and graduate programs were established, while the schools of law and pharmacy were also absorbed into the university. During the 1960s, UConn Health was established for new medical and dental schools. UConn is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2002. The game currently features a matchup between a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and a team from either the Southeastern Conference (SEC) or the Big Ten Conference. It was originally commissioned as the Queen City Bowl, but it has undergone several name changes since.
Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater Boston region to the northeast and New York metropolitan area to the south and west. Sitting at the southern end of the Metacomet Ridge, its geology is characterized by land of a level grade along the shores of Connecticut River Valley, with loamy, finer-grained soil than other regions in the state. Greater Hartford, had a total population of 1,213,531 at the 2020 United States census.
Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field is a stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut. It is primarily used for football and soccer, and is the home field of the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies. In 2010, it was home to the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League. The stadium, which opened in 2003, was the first stadium used primarily by an NCAA Division I-A team to open in the 21st century. The permanent stadium capacity is 40,000, consisting of 38,066 permanent seats with a standing-room area in the scoreboard plaza that can accommodate up to 1,934 people. It also has a game day capability to add approximately 3,000 temporary seats as it did for UConn football vs. Michigan in 2013. Connecticut played on campus at Memorial Stadium in Storrs, before 2003.
Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz Jr. is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL), during his tenure leading the team to two USFL Championships.
Dan Orlovsky is an American football analyst for ESPN and former American football quarterback who was active for twelve seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Connecticut. As a junior his 33 passing touchdowns ranked 7th in NCAA Division 1-A. Orlovsky also played for the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Los Angeles Rams.
Three popular American sports were invented in New England. Basketball was invented by James Naismith, a Canadian, in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1895. Paintball was invented in 1981 in Henniker, New Hampshire.
The UConn Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's football team plays at Rentschler Field, and the men's and women's basketball teams play on-campus at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and off-campus at the XL Center.
The UConn Huskies football team is a college football team that represents the University of Connecticut in the sport of American football. The team competes in NCAA Division I FBS as an independent. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896, and participated in Division I-AA until 1999. The Huskies began their two-year Division I-A transition period in 2000, and became a full-fledged Division I-A team in 2002. From 2000 to 2003, the team played as an independent. The school's football team then joined the conference of its other sport teams, the Big East, taking effect in 2004, through 2019. In 2019, the UConn football team left the American to again play as an independent, as the school's current primary conference, the current Big East, does not sponsor the sport. The Huskies are coached by Jim Mora.
Randy Douglas Edsall is a retired American football coach, formerly the head football coach at the University of Connecticut from 1999 to 2010 and again from 2017 until his abrupt retirement in 2021. He also served as the head coach at the University of Maryland from 2011 to 2015 and as director of football research-special projects for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) in 2016. During his first stint at UConn, he oversaw the program's promotion from the NCAA Division I-AA level to Division I-A. He is the program's all-time leader in wins and games coached.
The Big East women's basketball tournament is a conference championship tournament in women's basketball. It was first held in 1983, at the end of the 1982–83 college basketball season that was the first in which the Big East Conference sponsored women's basketball. Following the 2013 split of the original Big East along football lines, the women's basketball history of the original conference has been maintained by the non-football league that assumed the Big East name. The tournament determines the conference's champion, which receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Donald Eugene Brown II is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, primarily with the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at Connecticut, where he became the school's all-time leading rusher, and was selected by the Colts in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Brown was a member of the Colts for five seasons and spent his last two seasons with the San Diego Chargers.
Darius Jermaine Butler is a former American football free safety. He played college football at Connecticut. Butler was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts. Butler began his career as a cornerback and switched to safety in 2016.
The 2005–06 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2005–06 collegiate men's basketball season. The Huskies completed the season with a 30–4 overall record. The Huskies were members of the Big East Conference where they finished with a 14–2 record and were the regular season champions. They made it to the Elite Eight in the 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Huskies played their home games at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut and the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and they were led by twentieth-year head coach Jim Calhoun.
The 2010 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big East Conference. The team was coached by Randy Edsall and played its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. The Huskies finished 8–5, 5–2 in Big East play to share the conference title with Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Due to victories over both schools, the Huskies earned the Big East's automatic bid to a BCS game, and were invited to the Fiesta Bowl where they were defeated by Big 12 champion Oklahoma 48–20. It was the first major-bowl appearance in the program's 115-year history.
The 2006 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big East Conference. The team was coached by Randy Edsall and played its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
The 2004 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Big East Conference. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Randy Edsall and played its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
The 2011 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big East Conference. The team was coached by Paul Pasqualoni and played its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. It was Pasqualoni's first year with the team.
The 2012 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big East Conference. The team was led by second year head coach Paul Pasqualoni and played its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. They finished the season 5–7, 2–5 in Big East play to finish in a tie for sixth place.
