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 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in the BCS National Championship Game. The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff.
The Louisville Cardinals are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Conference from 2005 through 2013, the Cardinals captured 17 regular season Big East titles and 33 Big East Tournament titles totaling 50 Big East Championships across all sports. On November 28, 2012, Louisville received and accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and became a participating member in all sports in 2014. In 2016, Lamar Jackson won the school its first Heisman Trophy.
Mid-major is a term used in American college sports at the NCAA Division I level, particularly men's basketball, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the ACC,Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC, which are alternatively referred to as "high majors". For example: Gonzaga or Memphis. The term "mid-major" was coined in 1977 by Jack Kvancz, the head coach of men's basketball team at Catholic University. NCAA neither acknowledges nor uses the terms "major" or "mid-major" to differentiate between Division I athletic conferences. Some schools and fans consider it offensive and derogatory, while others embrace the term.
The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent and highest-earning athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, the highest level of collegiate football in the nation, and are considered the most "elite" conferences within that tier. The Power Five conferences have provided nearly all of the participants in the College Football Playoff since its inception, are guaranteed at least one bid to a New Year's Six bowl game, and have been granted autonomy from certain NCAA rules. The Power Five conferences are the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and Southeastern Conference (SEC).
The 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State named national champions, defeating Virginia Tech in the BCS Sugar Bowl.
The 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 28, 2004 and ended on December 4, 2004. The postseason concluded on January 4, 2005 with the Orange Bowl, which served as the season's BCS National Championship Game.
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system used between 1998 and 2013 that was designed, through polls and computer statistics, to determine a No. 1 and No. 2 ranked team in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). After the final polls, the two top teams were chosen to play in the BCS National Championship Game which determined the BCS national champion team, but not the champion team for independent voting systems. This format was intended to be "bowl-centered" rather than a traditional playoff system, since numerous FBS Conferences had expressed their unwillingness to participate in a play-off system. However, due to the unique and often esoteric nature of the BCS format, there had been controversy as to which two teams should play for the national championship and which teams should play in the four other BCS bowl games. In this selection process, the BCS was often criticized for conference favoritism, its inequality of access for teams in non-Automatic Qualifying (non-AQ) Conferences, and perceived monopolistic, "profit-centered" motives. In terms of this last concern, Congress explored the possibility on more than one occasion of holding hearings to determine the legality of the BCS under the terms of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and the United States Justice Department also periodically announced interest in investigating the BCS for similar reasons.
The 2006 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, on January 2, 2006. The game was the final contest of the 2005 football season for each team and resulted in a 35–24 Virginia Tech victory. Louisville represented the Big East Conference, and Virginia Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the competition.
The 2010 West Virginia Mountaineer football team represented West Virginia University in the college football season of 2010. The Mountaineers were led by head coach Bill Stewart and played their home games on Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. They were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–2 in Big East play to share the conference title with Connecticut and Pittsburgh. They were invited to the Champ Sports Bowl where they were defeated by North Carolina State 7–23.
The 2010 Big East football season was the NCAA football season of the Big East Conference. Conference members began regular-season play on September 2, but did not begin conference play until October 8; the regular season continued through December 4. Following the regular season, six conference teams played in bowl games; although the bowl season concluded with the BCS National Championship Game on January 10, 2011, the last date on which a Big East team played was January 8, when Pittsburgh defeated Kentucky in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama.
The 2011 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season as members of the Big East Conference. The Mountaineers were led by Dana Holgorsen, who was in his first season as head coach. West Virginia played their home games on Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season 10–3, 5–2 in Big East play to earn a share of the Big East Conference championship with Cincinnati and Louisville. The Mountaineers, in their final season in the Big East before moving to the Big 12 the following season, earned the league's automatic berth in the BCS due to being the highest ranked of the Big East champions in the final BCS rankings. They were invited to the Orange Bowl for the first time ever where they defeated Clemson 70–33. This was the third victory for West Virginia in three BCS games played in the BCS era, while the 70 points in the Orange Bowl set a record for most points scored in a bowl game.
The 2011 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati as a member of the Big East Conference during the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bearcats were led by second-year head coach Butch Jones and played their home games at Nippert Stadium and two conference games at Paul Brown Stadium. They finished the season 10–3 overall and 5–2 in Big East play to share the conference championship with Louisville and West Virginia. Despite the conference title, which was their third in the last four years, they did not receive the conference's automatic bid into a BCS game. They were invited to the Liberty Bowl where they defeated Vanderbilt 31–24.
The 2011 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were led by second-year head coach Charlie Strong and played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. They were a member of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–2 in Big East play to share the conference championship with Cincinnati and West Virginia. Due to tie-break rules, the Cardinals did not receive the Big East's automatic bid into a BCS bowl; West Virginia received the bid. The Cardinals were instead invited to the Belk Bowl, where they were defeated by North Carolina State, 31–24.
The 2011–12 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 98th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Big East Conference and were coached by Rick Pitino, who was in his 11th season. The team played their home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals finished the season with a record of 30–10, 10–8 to finish in sixth place in Big East play. They defeated Seton Hall, Marquette, and Notre Dame to advance to the Big East tournament championship. In the championship game, they defeated Cincinnati to win the tournament for the second time. As a result of the win, the Cardinals received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the West region. Louisville defeated Davidson and New Mexico to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they defeated No. 1-seeded Michigan State and Florida to advance to the Final Four for the ninth time in school history. In the Final Four, they lost to the eventual National Champion Kentucky.
The 2012 Big East football season was the 22nd NCAA Division I FBS football season of the conference that was known as the Big East Conference from its formation in 1979 until July 2013, and ultimately proved to be the last for the conference under the "Big East" name, as well as the last with a full round-robin schedule for conference play. The conference consisted of eight football members: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse and Temple. In February 2012, the Big East settled a lawsuit with West Virginia University that allowed them to move to the Big 12 Conference effective July 1, 2012.
The 2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Northern Illinois compiled an overall record of 12–2 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the MAC West Division title. The Huskies advanced to the MAC Championship Game, where they beat Kent State to win the program's third MAC championship. Northern Illinois was invited to the Orange Bowl, where they lost to Florida State. Second-year head coach Dave Doeren led the team during the regular season and the MAC title game before resigning to become the head football coach at North Carolina State University. Rod Carey was appointed interim head coach for the bowl game. The team's 12 wins was the most in any of the program's 113-year history.
The 2012–13 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They concluded the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and included 35 team-competitive games and four all-star games. The games began on Saturday December 15, 2012 and, aside from the all-star games, concluded with the 2013 BCS National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida that was played on January 7, 2013.
The 2013 American Athletic Conference football season was the 23rd NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season was the first after the breakup of the former Big East Conference, which lasted in its original form from its creation in 1979 until July 2013. The charter of the former Big East was retained by The American, henceforth the legal status as the 23rd season overall.
The 2013 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were led by fourth-year head coach Charlie Strong. The Cardinals played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. They were in their last year as a member of the American Athletic Conference until they moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference starting on July 1, 2014. They finished the season 12–1, 7–1 in American Athletic play to finish in second place. They were invited to the Russell Athletic Bowl where they defeated Miami (FL).
