December 17, 2012
Dear Members of the St. John’s Community:
As you may have heard, St. John's University and the other six, non-football institutions within the BIG EAST voted unanimously on Saturday to exit the conference as it is currently constituted. St. John's and its fellow institutions will now pursue a foundation of basketball-focused schools, based on the rich tradition upon which the BIG EAST was originally established.
This is an exciting time for the University as we look ahead to a promising new foundation — one that will combine elite competition with a continued emphasis on student-athlete development.
Here is the full statement from the presidents of the seven basketball member schools of the BIG EAST Conference:
Earlier today we voted unanimously to pursue an orderly evolution to a foundation of basketball schools that honors the history and tradition on which the BIG EAST was established. Under the current context of conference realignment, we believe pursuing a new basketball framework that builds on this tradition of excellence and competition is the best way forward.
We are grateful to our Commissioner, Michael Aresco, for his exceptional leadership of the BIG EAST Conference. We have been honored to be associated with the outstanding group of institutions that have made up the BIG EAST. While we pursue this opportunity for our institutions, we believe the efforts of the past two years have established the foundation for an enduring national football conference.
We look forward to building this new foundation with an emphasis on elite competition and a commitment to the development of our students engaged in intercollegiate athletics. That is where we will now spend our energy as we move forward.
Rev. Donald. J. Harrington, C.M.
President