A little over 20 years ago there used to be an NCAA conference called the "Big East." It was made up of 9 schools from the northeast, and featured some of the best college hoops in the nation. Here are the men's basketball standings from the league's final season of play in 1990-91:
After that year the conference chose to become affiliated with football, and the University of Miami was added solely for that purpose. Here are the standings of the new league that shall not be named for the following 1991-92 season:
 |
| Scott Burrell, UConn, 1991 |
The Hurricanes didn't quit fit in. Not to mention the fact that they were nearly 1,000 miles away from their
closest opponent (Georgetown). The decision to make football the priority set in motion 21 years of
money grabbing shenanigans that led to the complete and utter destruction of the conference.
As of today UConn is the only team left, and that probably won't last long.
Greetings, Lucid Mark -- and Happy Holidays.
ReplyDeleteOften overlooked now about 25 years later, but St. John's (Mullin) was in the Final Four the year 'Nova upset Georgetown.
Sad that all three are now in search of a game.
Also, one of the TV pundits (might have been Van Pelt) pinpointed BC's departure as another early indicator of how things were going to be -- ironically another Catholic school and Big East original.
For me, the horse left the corral when they wouldn't eliminate an at-large tournament team and opted instead for a clunky 65-team set-up. Praise the Lord and send me the $$$.
Abacus
Yup, 3 of the Final Four in '85. Agree on team 65. Admittedly most of my fond Big East memories come in the ten team 90's version of the league post Miami. The Elite Eight BC team of Bill Curley, Howard Eisley, etc. in particular. But I still see football as the beginning of the end. Thanks for another great comment Abacus!
ReplyDelete