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 Big 5 is an informal association of college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the Philadelphia city championship.
Jerold Taylor "Jay" Wright Jr. is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the men's head coach at Villanova University, a position he has held since 2001. He previously served as head coach at Hofstra University (1994–2001), leading the program to NCAA Tournament appearances in both 2000 and 2001.
The Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year award is given to the men's basketball player in the Big East Conference voted as the top performer by the conference coaches. It was first awarded at the end of the league's inaugural season of 1979–80.
The William B. Finneran Pavilion is a 6,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States, about 10 miles outside Philadelphia. It was built in 1985, and is home to the Villanova University Wildcats basketball teams. It is recognizable from the outside for its hyperbolic paraboloid roofline, similar to Alfond Arena at the University of Maine. It replaced the still-existing Villanova Field House, later renamed the "Jake Nevin Field House," a small arena-auditorium built in 1932. The first men's game played at the Pavilion took place on Saturday, February 1, 1986 versus the University of Maryland. The basketball court only takes up half the space of the building; it is expandable as an indoor track facility and recreation center. For games where larger crowds are expected, Villanova plays at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Finneran Pavilion is known for its famed student section, which constitutes a full third of the seating. Formerly located in the south end, the student bleachers seat 2,000 students but have been known to be filled with as many as 2,500 students.
David Roy Gavitt was an American college basketball coach and athletic director at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. He was also well known as the first commissioner of the Big East Conference and as part of the committee which created the 1992 Olympic basketball "Dream Team".
The Villanova Wildcats football program represents Villanova University in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
The 1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University. The head coach was Rollie Massimino. The team played its home games at Villanova Field House in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the Big East Conference. The team is famous for one of the biggest upsets in sports history – a 66–64 win over #1 Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament final on April 1, 1985.
Henry O. "Hammerin' Hank" Nichols was an American college basketball referee and later supervisor of officials. In 2012, he was inducted as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Nichols is also a member of the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame, Villanova Athletic Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Athletic Hall of Fame, the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He officiated 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA)Final Fours, a record 6 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championships, 3 NIT Finals, 2 Olympic Games and 1 European Championships. He was also the first official to work both the NIT and NCAA Championship Basketball Finals in a single year, and the first National Coordinator of Officials. Since 2004, he has worked as an Umpire Observer for Major League Baseball.
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in all sports except football, which is not sponsored. The conference has been officially recognized as a Division I multi-sport conference, effective on August 1, 2013. The conference was originally founded by Dave Gavitt on May 31, 1979.
The 2015–16 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by the school's 8th head coach Jay Wright in his 15th year, the Wildcats were members of the Big East Conference and played most of their home games at The Pavilion, with some select home games at the Wells Fargo Center. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 35–5, 16–2 to win the Big East regular season. They lost in the championship of the Big East Tournament to Seton Hall. The Wildcats earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed. In the Tournament, they defeated UNC Asheville, Iowa, Miami, and overall #1 seed Kansas to earn a trip to the Final Four, the fifth in school history. In the Final Four, the Wildcats routed No. 2 seed Oklahoma by the largest margin in Final Four history to face No. 1 seeded North Carolina for the national championship. Led by Final Four MOP, Ryan Arcidiacono, the Wildcats won the National Championship on a three-point shot by Kris Jenkins, assisted by Arcidiacano, as time expired. The Wildcats won the school's second national title, having previously won the 1985 NCAA Tournament.
The 1985 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the final of the 1985 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and determined the national champion in the 1984–85 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The game was held on April 1, 1985 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The Georgetown Hoyas, the tournament's top seed from the East region, faced the Villanova Wildcats, the eighth seed from the Southeast region. The teams came from the same conference, the Big East, and the championship game was the third meeting between them in 1984–85, after two regular season contests. Villanova won the title game by a score of 66–64, in what is considered by analysts to be one of the biggest upsets in an NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament game. The Wildcats had the highest field goal percentage in Final Four history, over 78 percent (22-of-28) in the game, winning their first national championship in men's basketball.
The 2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 17th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Big East Conference. The Wildcats finished the season 36–4, 14–4 in Big East play to finish in second place. They defeated Marquette, Butler, and Providence to win the Big East Tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East region, their third No.1 seed in four years. They defeated Radford, Alabama, West Virginia, and Texas Tech to advance to the Final Four for the second time in three years. In the National Semifinal, they defeated Kansas before defeating Michigan in the National Championship game to win their second national championship in three years. They won every game of the tournament by a double-digit margin and the team's tournament run has been called the most dominant ever.
The 2017–18 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team represents Villanova University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by fortieth year head coach Harry Perretta, play their games at Jake Nevin Field House due to renovations at The Pavilion and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 23–9, 12–6 in Big East play to finish in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East Women's Tournament to Georgetown. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Women's Tournament where they defeated South Dakota State in the first round before losing to Notre Dame in the second round.
Joseph Robert Cremo is an American former basketball player. He competed in college for Albany and Villanova.
