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Yahoo! Contributor NetworkBig East Football Down to One Original Member
West Virginia is on their way to the Big 12 Conference. The Mountaineers are expected to be an official Big 12 member. Once West Virginia departs, there will only be one remaining member from the original Big East football conference in 1991. Of the eight original football members, only Rutgers is slated to remain in the conference. Here is a look at where the other original Big East football members ended up or are heading.
Boston College was a charter member of the Big East when it debuted as a basketball conference. Their football program took the field in 1991. Boston College played Big East football until the 2004 season, their last in the league. At that point, the Eagles moved to the ACC as a full member.
The Hurricanes were the big addition to the conference when leagues started expanding in the early 1990s. When the Big East started football, Miami was the cornerstone of the league. They brought the Big East a couple of national championships before moving to the ACC after the 2003 football season.
The Panthers were a basketball member well before the league started football. But they were there when football began in 1991. In 2011, Pittsburgh announced that it would be moving to the ACC. The tentative date for that move is 2014, but that could change depending on how the Big East handles its future.
The Scarlet Knights began as a football only member in 1991 but eventually became a full member. Rutgers has mostly struggled in football but they have found some good years since the middle of the 2000s. At this point, Rutgers is still in the Big East. However, they have flirted open with the ACC.
The Orange were an original basketball member and started playing football in 1991. They are making the move to the ACC along with Pittsburgh. Syracuse was originally mentioned as a candidate to join the ACC when Miami did in the early 2000s but that fell through.
The Owls were a football only member from 1991 through 2004. After years of mediocrity, the Big East essentially kicked them out of the conference. Temple struggled for a couple of years after that but they have found new life in the MAC. The Owls are being rumored as possibly rejoining the conference.
Virginia Tech was a football only member in 1991 before eventually joining the conference as a full member in 2000. That was short lived though. Virginia Tech left the league along with Miami and has become a dominant force in the ACC.
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