March 21, 2013
Conference grows to 10 members with
additions of Butler, Creighton and Xavier; Madison Square Garden
remains home venue of conference championship.
NEW YORK (March 20, 2013) – The new BIG EAST
pressed forward into its future today, as Presidents of the member
schools gathered in New York to announce a series of seminal
developments that will help shape the basketball-focused
conference, including an unprecedented partnership with FOX Sports
that will grant the network exclusive media rights.
FOX Sports and its new national cable network, FOX Sports 1,
will acquire television rights to all BIG EAST game action, as part
of a 12-year contract that was detailed during a press conference
at the midtown Manhattan studios of FOX News, attended by FOX
Sports President and C.O.O. Randy Freer, FOX Sports Executive Vice
President Larry Jones, and Presidents of the new BIG EAST schools,
James M. Danko of Butler University; John J. DeGioia, Ph.D., of
Georgetown University; Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., Ph.D., of
Villanova University; A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., of Seton Hall
University; Michael J. Graham, S.J., of Xavier University;
Donald J. Harrington, C.M., of St. John’s University; Dennis
Holtschneider, C.M., of DePaul University; Timothy R. Lannon, S.J.,
of Creighton University; Scott Pilarz, S.J., of Marquette
University; and Brian J. Shanley, O.P., of Providence
College.
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Under the broadcast partnership, FOX Sports will have television
rights to a wide range of marquee BIG EAST basketball games,
including the annual BIG EAST Conference Championship.
“The new BIG EAST is fortunate to have found a partner such as
FOX Sports, which shares our intense passion for college
basketball, and is committed to celebrating the student-athletes
and the natural rivalries that make college athletics so unique and
appealing for fans across the nation,” said Father Holtschneider of
DePaul University.
“We applaud all the BIG EAST schools for taking responsibility
for their own destiny and forming what is clearly one of the top
college basketball leagues in the country,” said Mr. Freer. “The
quality of the competition is obvious. Five teams who will play in
the renewed BIG EAST next season are playing in this year’s NCAA
tournament, and seven qualified for postseason play overall. We’re
extremely proud and fortunate to offer college basketball of this
caliber on FS1 next season and for many seasons to come.”
To coincide with the broadcast announcement, the conference
formally welcomed three new members – Butler, Creighton and Xavier.
The three schools now officially join DePaul, Georgetown,
Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Villanova as
members of the new BIG EAST conference, set to commence play in a
wide range of sports starting with the 2013-2014 academic year.
“This is a great day for college sports – a day that marks an
inspiring return to the BIG EAST’s roots as a showcase for the
nation’s greatest collegiate basketball programs and the
extraordinary achievements of the student-athlete,” said Dr.
Esteban of Seton Hall University.
Added Father Donohue of Villanova University, “With the addition
of Butler, Creighton and Xavier to the group of previously
committed seven schools, the BIG EAST will once again revolve
around, and gain its strength from, a firm foundation of historic
basketball powerhouses located in the nation’s most vibrant
metropolitan regions.”
The BIG EAST Conference will officially commence operations on
July 1, 2013. Each of the inaugural members will be full
conference participants starting in the 2013-2014 academic year.
Each school will compete in all of the sports it offers today. The
new BIG EAST will continue to invite and designate associate
members, especially those from the current BIG EAST schools, in a
select group of sports, including lacrosse and field hockey.
“The BIG EAST is alive and well,” said Father Pilarz of
Marquette University. “The foundation we have created for this
dynamic 10-team Big East conference will help preserve and build
upon the BIG EAST’s storied tradition of elite level competition in
a wide range of collegiate sports.”
The BIG EAST Championship will continue to call Madison Square
Garden its home, and the new conference will assume the existing
long-term lease agreement that extends well into the
future.
“We are thrilled that MSG will continue to serve as the official
home of the BIG EAST Championship tournament. In addition to being
the center of the basketball universe, The Garden has served as a
thrilling backdrop for so many of the BIG EAST’s most enduring
memories and greatest individual achievements,” said Father
Harrington of St. John’s University.
“Madison Square Garden has been the home of the BIG EAST
Championship tournament for 31 years and looks forward to
continuing to host this premier college basketball event,” said
Joel Fisher, Executive Vice President, Sports and Arena
Transformation, Madison Square Garden.
Dr. DeGioia commented, “This is an extraordinary time for the
BIG EAST, and we couldn’t have wished for a better start to our new
future. We have ten incredible schools, have retained our storied
name, and have solid partnerships with FOX Sports and Madison
Square Garden. We look forward to our continued work together, to
strengthening our relationships, and to the truly exceptional
future that this will set for our athletics programs.”
Father Shanley concluded, “In building upon our firm traditions
of spirited competition, intense rivalries and high achievement in
intercollegiate sports, the BIG EAST will continue to be a source
of tremendous excitement for our students and alumni, as well as
millions of fans across the nation.”
New York-based senior executive search firm Russell Reynolds
Associates is conducting the search for the new BIG EAST’s first
commissioner, seeking an aggressive and innovative commissioner to
shepherd the conference to continued success and enhance its
history of excellence in a wide variety of collegiate team
sports.
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