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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.
Luigi "Geno" Auriemma is an Italian-born American college basketball coach and, since 1985, the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. As of 2021, he has led UConn to 17 undefeated conference seasons, of which six were undefeated overall seasons, with 11 NCAA Division I national championships, the most in women's college basketball history, and has won eight national Naismith College Coach of the Year awards. Auriemma was the head coach of the United States women's national basketball team from 2009 through 2016, during which time his teams won the 2010 and 2014 World Championships, and gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, going undefeated in all four tournaments. Auriemma was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Jerold Taylor "Jay" Wright Jr. is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach of Villanova University from 2001 until 2022. Wright led the Villanova Wildcats to six Big East Conference championships and 16 NCAA tournament appearances in 21 seasons as head coach. Under Wright, Villanova reached four Final Fours and won two national championships in 2016 and 2018.
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.
Kerry Kittles is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He was raised in New Orleans and attended St. Augustine High School. He was an assistant coach at Princeton from 2016 to 2018.
The Villanova Wildcats men's basketball program represent Villanova University in men's college basketball and competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. Their first season was the 1920–21 season. Named the Wildcats, Villanova is a member of the Philadelphia Big Five, five Philadelphia college basketball teams who share a passionate rivalry.
The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association. On December 15, 2012, Villanova and the other six, non-FBS schools announced that they were departing the Big East for a new conference. This conference assumed the Big East name on July 1, 2013.
The 1996 Big East men's basketball tournament took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Its winner received the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the three highest seeds received byes in the first round. Connecticut, the Big East regular season winner, received the number one seed in the tournament.
The UConn Huskies men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball team of the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut. They currently play in the Big East Conference and are coached by Dan Hurley.
The UConn Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They completed a seven-season tenure in the American Athletic Conference in 2019–20, and came back to the Big East Conference for the 2020–21 season.
The 2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 95th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Big East Conference and were coached by Rick Pitino, who was in his eighth season. The team played its home games at Freedom Hall.
The 2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 30th in conference history, and involved its 16 full-time member schools. Leading up to, during, and following the season, it has been widely regarded as one of the most successful seasons in Big East Conference history, fielding multiple teams that received national recognition and achieved high levels of success.
The 1982 Big East men's basketball tournament took place at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. It is a single-elimination tournament with three rounds. Villanova had the best regular season conference record and received the #1 seed. It was also the last conference post-season tournament before moving to its permanent home, Madison Square Garden, the following season.
The 1990 Big East men's basketball tournament took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, from March 8 to March 11, 1990. Its winner received the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 1990 NCAA tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament with four rounds. Syracuse and Connecticut tied for the best regular-season conference record. Based on tie-breakers, Syracuse was awarded the #1 seed.
The 1999 Big East men's basketball tournament took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Its winner received the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 1999 NCAA tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the three highest seeds received byes in the first round. All 13 Big East teams were invited to participate. Connecticut finished with the best record in the regular season and was awarded the top seed.
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the 11 full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and Midwest metropolitan areas. The conference was officially recognized as a Division I multi-sport conference on August 1, 2013, and since then conference members have won NCAA national championships in men's basketball, women's cross country, field hockey, men's lacrosse, and men's soccer. Val Ackerman is the commissioner.
The 1995–96 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1995–96 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 24th season as head coach. They played their home games at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East 7 Division of the Big East Conference, were the regular-season champions of the Big East 7 Division, and finished the season with a record of 29–8, 13–5 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1996 Big East men's basketball tournament, and they advanced to the tournament final before losing to Connecticut. They were awarded a No. 2 seed in the East Regional of the 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – Georgetown's 17th NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years – and advanced to the East Regional Final before losing to No. 1 seed Massachusetts. They were ranked No. 4 in the season's final Associated Press Poll and No. 7 in the postseason Coaches' Poll.
The 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament whose finals were held at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Kentucky Wildcats earned their sixth national championship by defeating the Syracuse Orangemen 76–67 on April 1, 1996. They were coached by Rick Pitino and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Kentucky's Tony Delk.
The 1994–95 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament whose finals were held at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. The UCLA Bruins earned their eleventh national championship by defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks 89–78 on April 3, 1995. They were coached by Jim Harrick and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was UCLA's Ed O'Bannon.
The 1995–96 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 1995–96 season. Led by consensus First team All-American Senior Kerry Kittles, who became and remains Villanova's all-time leading scorer, the highly ranked Wildcats made their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the departure of Rollie Massimino. With an overall record 24-5 and conference record of 14–4, the Wildcats placed second in the Big East Conference, and after reaching the semifinals of the Big East tournament, the team was invited to the NCAA tournament as a 3 seed. In the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats would gain their first tournament win under Fourth Year head coach Steve Lappas, over 14 seed Portland. In the round of 32, the Wildcats would prove to be competitive, but fall to 6 seed Louisville by four points.
References
General: "2008-09 Big East Media Guide" (PDF). pp. 136–138. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2009.