When the Big East was formed in 1979 it was done so as a basketball conference because the corridor from Boston to Washington DC, which was once called the Megalopolis, felt it required a representative conference.  They were right in the minds of just about every basketball fan therein.

The original members were:  Syracuse, UCONN, Boston College, Holy Cross, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Georgetown.  Villanova and PITT were added the next year, and life was good for all concerned for the next 10 years.

Then in 1991, the diminution of the Big East
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