Re: History of NCAA Conference Realignment and the Big East
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 12:36 pm
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
==> Related: Butler Bulldogs Football – Butler Bulldogs official websiteThe 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.
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
==> Related: Georgetown Hoyas Football – Georgetown Hoyas official websiteThe 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.
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
==> Related HLOH thread: Some Long-Ago Seton Hall History...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.
St. John's Red Storm Football - Wikipedia
==> Related HLOH thread: Some Long-Ago St. John’s History...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.
Villanova Wildcats Football - Wikipedia
==> Related: Villanova Wildcats Football – Villanova Wildcats official websiteThe 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.
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.