History of NCAA Conference Realignment and the Big East

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

The departures of the many so-called 'football schools' to other conferences over the past number of years is documented in Post # 1 of this thread.
While only Butler, Georgetown, and Villanova still play FCS football, all 10 members of the Big East have had football programs during the course of their athletic histories (with some having richer traditions than others), and they have played in numerous different athletic conferences.


Butler Bulldogs Football - Wikipedia

The Butler Bulldogs compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Pioneer Football League. Butler's first football team was fielded in 1887. The team plays its home games at the 7,500 seat Butler Bowl in Indianapolis. Bulter has won 25 conference championships in four different conferences between 1952 and 2013.

==> Related: Butler Bulldogs Football – Butler Bulldogs official website


Creighton Bluejays Football - Wikipedia

The Creighton Bluejays fielded a football team every year from 1900 to 1942. Creighton adopted a Bluejay as its mascot in 1924, when the University’s athletic board selected the name from submissions for a contest run by the Omaha Bee newspaper. Creighton won three conference titles. The Bluejays won two North Central Conference championships (in 1925 and 1927) and one Missouri Valley Conference championship (in 1936).

DePaul Blue Demons Football – The DePaulia

December 13, 1948. That was the last time a blue and white “DePaul” would ever cover a set of football pads. It’s been 69 years and counting since DePaul last played a football game. However, one DePaul student hopes to change this and bring football back to Lincoln Park. Student support is an issue, a problem that affects the current men’s basketball team and was one of the reasons the original football team disbanded. According to DePaul’s Newsline Online, less than 30 percent of the student body attended a DePaul football game in the program’s final four seasons, despite the team winning 65 percent of its games.

Georgetown Hoyas Football - Wikipedia

The Georgetown Hoyas football team competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level of college football. They play their home games at the 2,500-seat Cooper Field on the Georgetown University campus in Washington, D.C. The first football team at Georgetown was formed on November 1, 1874, with the earliest recorded intercollegiate games dating to 1887. By the 1940's, Georgetown played in the Orange Bowl, where they lost 14–7 to Mississippi State. As the college game became more expensive after World War II, Georgetown's program began to lose money rapidly. The Hoyas' last successful season was 1949, when they lost in the Sun Bowl against Texas Western. The program was losing too much money and on March 22, 1951 the University's president cancelled the football program.

Varsity football resumed in 1970 at what later became known as the Division III level. In 1993, the team joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, a mostly Catholic conference on the East Coast. The team was invited to play in the 1997 Sports Network Cup, where they defeated the Dayton Flyers.
In 1999 the team joined the Patriot League, a conference that currently prohibits its members from awarding football scholarships.

==> Related: Georgetown Hoyas Football – Georgetown Hoyas official website


Marquette Golden Avalanche Football - Wikipedia

The Marquette Golden Avalanche football program was the intercollegiate American football team for Marquette University. The school's first football team was fielded in 1892. While it became generally known as the Hilltoppers, the name was changed starting in the 1954 season to the Warriors. Citing financial issues, the program was discontinued by the university in December 1960.

The 1936 Golden Avalanche had a 7–1 regular season record with a Top 20 ranking. They were invited to the first Cotton Bowl Classic in January 1937. The opponent was Texas Christian University, and Marquette lost to TCU by ten points, 16–6. It was the only bowl appearance for Marquette. The 1957 game against Penn State drew less than 4,800 as the losing streak reached 18 games.

Providence Friars Football - Wikipedia

The Providence Friars’ first football team was fielded in 1921. The program was discontinued by the college in December 1941.

Seton Hall Pirates Football - Wikipedia

The school sponsored football from 1882-1932 and 1973-1982. The sport's second stint at the school came in Division III. The sport was dropped in 1982 due to the team's past losing season, inadequate facilities, decreased attendance, and a general lack of support for the program.

==> Related HLOH thread: Some Long-Ago Seton Hall History...


St. John's Red Storm Football - Wikipedia

The St. John's Red Storm football team competed in the NCAA Division I-AA and were members of the Northeast Conference. St. John's participated in football from 1884 to 2002, compiling an all-time record of 238–192–11. In 1994, St. John’s were Co-Champions in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference under coach Bob Ricca with a 10-1 (6-1) record.

==> Related HLOH thread: Some Long-Ago St. John’s History...


Villanova Wildcats Football - Wikipedia

The Villanova Wildcats football program competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, known as Division I-AA until 2006).

The Wildcats currently compete in the Colonial Athletic Association for football only. They play on campus at Villanova Stadium with capacity of 12,000, with some games at PPL Park in Chester with capacity of 18,000. Andy Talley has been head coach of the program since it was reinstated in 1985 and led the program to its first NCAA Division I FCS National Championship in 2009.

The Wildcats football team played their first game in November 1894 coached by Mike Murphy. They continued to play as an independent team for 87 seasons, participating in several Bowl Games and sending numerous players into professional football, including Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long, a second round selection in the 1981 NFL draft.

On April 14, 1981 the program was officially disbanded due to weak attendance and monetary reasons cited by the university board of directors. Athletic Director Ted Aceto had stated they had sold only 750 season tickets for the 1980 season with 95 scholarship players. The Wildcats' 1980 record was 6–5.

Under heavy pressure from alumni and students, the program was reinstated by the Board of Trustees in April 1984 and sponsored a sold out Blue-White intrasquad game for Homecoming that November. Led by current head coach Andy Talley, they began playing a couple of regulation NCAA games in September 1985. The reborn program had instant success, beginning with an undefeated five-game schedule against Division III competition, and beating the Navy junior varsity. The program moved up to Division I-AA (now FCS) and joined the Yankee Conference in 1987, beginning official competition in 1988.

The 1997 season marked Villanova's first undefeated, untied regular season, as well as their first time reaching #1 in the Division I-AA rankings.

Conference Affiliations:

• 1894–1980: NCAA Division I-A Independent
• Football program was dropped following the 1980 season and reinstated for 1985 season
• 1985–1987: NCAA Division I-AA Independent
• 1988–1996: Yankee Conference
• 1997–2006: Atlantic 10 Conference
• 2007–present: Colonial Athletic Association

In 1997, the Yankee Conference was absorbed into the Atlantic 10, following the NCAA's rule changes regarding single-sport conferences. In 9 years with the A-10, Villanova won 2 conference championships – in 1997 and in 2001.

==> Related: Villanova Wildcats Football – Villanova Wildcats official website


Xavier Musketeers Football - Wikipedia

The Xavier Musketeers football program was discontinued in 1973, citing cost concerns.

The program began in 1901. The school then called itself St. Xavier College and the team was called the Saints. In their first season they played a mix of colleges and high schools, but gradually improved their schedule. In 1907 they began a rivalry against the University of Dayton, then named St. Mary's Institute. The team name became the Musketeers in 1929, the same year St. Xavier became Xavier University and built Corcoran Stadium (capacity 15,000). Xavier demolished the stadium in 1988.

The high point of Xavier football came under coach Edward Kluska, who posted a 35–12–2 record between 1947 and 1951. The 1949 team went 10–1 and received an invitation to the 1950 Salad Bowl, in which they defeated Arizona State University 33–21. Seven players from the 1950 and 1951 teams would later play in the National Football League. Xavier declined an invitation to the 1952 Salad Bowl.

[Doge McDermott]

While on the topic of discontinued football programs, here's a fun fact: University of Chicago is the only school to have an undefeated record against Notre Dame.

They also were a founding member of the Big 10 and have a couple National Championships.

[billyjack]

Providence's noteworthy football fact is that Hank Soar played for the Friars. Soar later became an MLB umpire in the American League for 20+ years.

In the city, in football, the Providence Steam Roller won the 1928 NFL Championship. So the Providence Steam Roller has more NFL championships that the Bengals, Bills, Oilers-Titans, Falcons, etc... woo hoo!

[trephin]

the patriot league voted to give scholarships starting in 2013. georgetown chose to continue to be without scholarships for football at that time and i don't think their policy has changed.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

the patriot league voted to give scholarships starting in 2013. georgetown chose to continue to be without scholarships for football at that time and i don't think their policy has changed.

That puts Georgetown at a serious disadvantage compared to conference members who do award football scholarships, and that difference is showing:

Georgetown Hoyas 2013-14 Season: 2-9 (1-5)

Georgetown Hoyas 2014-15 Season: 3-8 (1-5)

Georgetown Hoyas 2015-16 Season: 4-7 (2-4)

Georgetown Hoyas 2016-17 Season: 3-8 (0-6)

Georgetown would be well-advised to join Butler (and Dayton) in the Pioneer Football League. It can get cold in Washington D.C. in November, and playing away games in San Diego, Jacksonville, and Deland (halfway between Orlando and Daytona Beach) is a great recruiting bonus. Flyers alumni flock to those away games, using them as a legitimate excuse to party in the warm autumn sunshine. I suspect the same holds true for Butler alumni.

Pioneer Football League - Wikipedia

The Pioneer Football League is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. Unlike most other Division I FCS conferences, the Pioneer League consists of institutions that choose not to award athletic scholarships to football players. Most of the PFL's members are private schools. Morehead State University is currently the only public school in the conference.

[gosports1]

Temple was never invited to join the Big East as a full member, despite their strong interest in doing so.

They were offered or at least approached when the BE first formed. Syracuse didn't want to be the only non-Catholic school. So Temple and Rutgers were the original targets. Neither wanted to leave Penn State, and told Gavitt they weren't interested. So he quickly moved on to solid second choice (imo should have always been 1st choice) Villanova.

(1) There's a huge difference between 'being approached' (whatever that means) and 'being offered an invitation to join the Big East'.

(2) The Big East was first formed in 1979. Temple was not associated with Penn State in basketball nor football in 1979.

(3) Temple basketball was a member of the defunct East Coast Conference from 1958 to 1982.

(4) Temple football was Independent from 1970 to 1991.

Temple Owls Football History - Temple Owls official website

Temple Owls Football - Wikipedia

After the 1969 season, the Owls became an independent again to upgrade their schedule and compete against the top teams in the East.

Temple joined the Big East Conference in 1991, but had difficulty competing against teams with better facilities and bigger budgets. The Owls would not win a conference game until 1995. Temple would only win 16 conference games during their 14-year run in the league. Overall, they had a 14–80 record against Big East foes during their time in the conference. In part due to the Owls' noncompetitiveness, poor fan support, and lack of institutional support, the Big East voted to expel the Owls at the end of the 2004 season.

Note that the Yearly Records table in the Wikipedia article incorrectly states that the Temple Owls were a member of the Mid-Continent Conference from 1978–1990, when in fact, they were Independent.

In any event, if Temple was offered an invitation to join the Big East as a full member, they certainly would have accepted it.
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I love this thread! I had no idea the history of the MVC and the Horizon. How did the A-10 form?

Please see the bottom of my second post on Page 1 of this thread.

Dude you are wrong. when PC, Gtown Cuse and st johns decided to form the BE they asked Temple if they were interested. They asked Rutgers the same question. BOTH said no. They were the targets in Philadelphia and #2 team from new York metro.That is a fact. Tranghese, Gavitt and Crouthammel have all been quoted saying Temple was the initial target. Temple wasn't interested. Maybethey decided if they joined a new conference they wanted to join one where PSU was a member which they did in 1982 There is a book called "Basketball Warfare" by kevin McNamara that sums up the early history of the BE . Technically no one got an invite, prior to Pitt, to join the BE since the league was an idea when the schools were approached and not an actual conference.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

While on the topic of discontinued football programs, here's a fun fact: University of Chicago is the only school to have an undefeated record against Notre Dame. They also were a founding member of the Big 10 and have a couple National Championships.

It is quite probable that Robert Maynard Hutchins scored the biggest own-goal in the history of NCAA athletics.

Chicago Maroons Football - Wikipedia

The Chicago Maroons represent the University of Chicago in college football. From 1892 to 1939, the Maroons were a major college football power. The University of Chicago was a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the Maroons were coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg, one of the game's pioneers, for 41 seasons. In 1935, halfback Jay Berwanger became the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, later known as the Heisman Trophy.

Nonetheless, in the late 1930s, university president Robert Maynard Hutchins decided that big-time college football and the university's commitment to academics was not a good fit. The University of Chicago abolished its football program in 1939 and withdrew from the Big Ten in 1946. Football returned to the University of Chicago in 1963 in the form of a club team, which was upgraded to varsity status in 1969. The Maroons now compete in Division III football.

National Championships
• 1905
• 1913

Big Ten Conference Championships
• 1899
• 1905
• 1907
• 1908
• 1913
• 1922
• 1924

Chicago Maroons Men's Basketball - Wikipedia

The Maroons history in basketball dates to the 1893-94 season. The Maroons now compete in Division III basketball.

National Championships
• 1907
• 1908
• 1909

Big Ten Regular Season Championships
• 1907
• 1908
• 1909
• 1910
• 1920
• 1924

Big Ten Getting $2.64 Billion in New TV Deal - Detroit Free Press - June 20, 2016

The latest Big Ten media-rights contract will earn the conference an average of $440 million annually over the next six years, according to a report in the Sports Business Journal. The deal’s biggest players are Fox, which came to its agreement with the Big Ten in April, and ESPN.

Some rivalry broadcasts, including the annual Michigan vs. Ohio State football game, likely will move to Fox. Fox will have broadcast rights to the football championship game each year, and the networks will alternate picks for which weeks they get their first choice of football broadcasts, with Fox selecting first.

[Doge McDermott]

It is quite probable that Robert Maynard Hutchins scored the biggest own-goal in the history of NCAA athletics.

Big Ten Getting $2.64 Billion in New TV Deal - Detroit Free Press - June 20, 2016

The latest Big Ten media-rights contract will earn the conference an average of $440 million annually over the next six years, according to a report in the Sports Business Journal. The deal’s biggest players are Fox, which came to its agreement with the Big Ten in April, and ESPN.

Some rivalry broadcasts, including the annual Michigan vs. Ohio State football game, likely will move to Fox. Fox will have broadcast rights to the football championship game each year, and the networks will alternate picks for which weeks they get their first choice of football broadcasts, with Fox selecting first.

I think that was exactly his point.

Some savage quotes:

“The whole apparatus of football, fraternities, and fun is a means by which education is made palatable to those who have no business in it.”
“American universities are becoming high class flophouses where parents send their children to keep them off the labor market and out of their own hair.”
“In many colleges, it is possible for a boy to win 12 letters without learning how to write one.”
“As for me, I am for exercise as long as I do not have to take any myself.”

Pretty fitting that the unofficial motto of uChicago is "Where fun goes to die."

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Doge McDermott - thanks for posting the link to the article. It was a good read.

For those of you unfamiliar... Amos Alonzo Stagg and Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl

[trephin]

Georgetown would be well-advised to join Butler (and Dayton) in the Pioneer Football League.

I have no inside information but I am certain Georgetown fully knew what the consequences were when it decided on maintaining the no scholarship policy and that there is more to it's decision to stay in the PL than wins and losses. I bet the Patriot League's academic prestige and regional foes are very important factors.