SWC75
Bored Historian
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Now that the Big East as we knew it is finally over, I decided to look at the record of the conference, and the other conferences in the NCAA tournament over the years. While doing it, I decided to also keep track of the country’s top teams to see where Syracuse stands. I noted how often a conference/team has won the NCAA title, finished 2nd, made the Final Four, the Elite 8 and the Sweet 16. I cut it off at the Sweet 16 because you have to win to get there, (even before the tournament went to 64 teams), at least during the Big East Era. I’m not just counting invitations to the tournament. The results are “separate”, meaning that I’m, not counting the teams that reached the Elite 8 among the Sweet 16 teams, the Final Four teams among the Elite 8 and so on. I’m recording where their run stopped. If a team lost in the Elite 8, they are recorded as Elite 8 team not elsewhere. I’m looking at the seasons from 1980-2013. The conference credit goes to the conference a team was in at the time so, for example Louisville’s contributions to the Big East total begin in 2005.
The Big East has had:
7 National Champions
5 Runners-up
9 Final Fours
25 Elite Eights
35 Sweet 16s
You can use any point system you want but I’ll keep it simple: 1 for a Sweet 16, 2 for an Elite 8, 3 for a Final Four, 4 for a Runner-Up and 10, (rather than 5) for winning it all. That would give the Big East 202 points: 35 + (25x2) + (9X3) + (5X4) + (7X10) = 202
The ACC has had:
10 National Champions
6 Runners-up
13 Final Fours
19 Elite Eights
35 Sweet 16s
Points: 236
The Big 10 has had:
4 National Champions
7 Runners-up
11 Final Fours
13 Elite 8s
37 Sweet 16s
Points: 164
The SEC has had:
6 National Champion ships
3 Runners-up
9 Final Fours
15 Elite 8s
31 Sweet 16s
Points: 160
The Big 8/12 has had:
2 National Champions
4 Runners-up
7 Final Fours
19 Elite 8s
24 Sweet 16s
Points: 119
Pac 10/12 has had:
2 National Champions
3 Runners-up
5 Final Fours
10 Elite 8s
22 Sweet 16s
Points: 89
Other conferences
First some notes :
The Eastern College Basketball League, known as the Eastern 8, became the Atlantic 10 in 1982.
The ECAC South became the Colonial Conference in 1985
The Pacific Coast Athletic Conference became the Big West Conference in 1988
The Association of Mid-Continent Universities became the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989 and the Summit Conference in 2007
The American South Conference merged with the Sun Belt Conference, (and continued to use the latter’s name), in 1991
The Great Midwest Conference merged with the Metro Conference to from Conference USA in 1995.
The Midwestern City Conference became the Horizon League in 2001
The TransAmerica Conference became the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2002
In each of the above cases I have added together the points the conferences earned under the current name of the conference. In addition:
The East Coast Conference went out of business in 1994.
The Southwest Conference went out of business in 1996.
The Mountain West Conference was created in 1996.
The Metro / Great Midwest / Conference USA earned 63 points.
The Eastern 8/ Atlantic 10 earned 35 points.
The PCAA / Big West teams earned 29 points.
The Western Athletic conference earned 22 points.
The Midwestern City/ Horizon Conference earned 20 points
The Southwest Conference earned 19 points.
The Missouri Valley Conference earned 13 points.
The West Coast Conference earned 9 points.
Independent teams earned 6 points.
The Mid-America Conference earned 6 points.
The Sun Belt Conference earned 5 points.
The Mountain West earned 4 points.
The Association of Mid-Continent Universities / Mid Continent Conference/ Summit League earned 2 points, (for 3 names).
The East Coast Conference earned 2 points.
The Southland Conference earned 2 points.
The Big Sky Conference earned 1 point.
The Trans-America / Atlantic Sun Conference earned 2 points, (one from each name)
So, overall, the Big East has ranked second to the ACC in this period with the Big Ten and SEC trailing and the others well behind them. I didn’t break out the conference’s records in recent years but I suspect the Big East would be ahead overall, depending on the period you choose. The ACC had been kind of top heavy with 8 of their 10 national titles coming from Duke and North Carolina. They will have some serious competition now from Syracuse, Pittsburgh and, after another year, Louisville, (and I hope, eventually Connecticut with the Big East eventually being reincarnated as a northern division). The ACC will clearly be the dominant conference for the foreseeable future and we will be in the thick of it.
The Big East has had:
7 National Champions
5 Runners-up
9 Final Fours
25 Elite Eights
35 Sweet 16s
You can use any point system you want but I’ll keep it simple: 1 for a Sweet 16, 2 for an Elite 8, 3 for a Final Four, 4 for a Runner-Up and 10, (rather than 5) for winning it all. That would give the Big East 202 points: 35 + (25x2) + (9X3) + (5X4) + (7X10) = 202
The ACC has had:
10 National Champions
6 Runners-up
13 Final Fours
19 Elite Eights
35 Sweet 16s
Points: 236
The Big 10 has had:
4 National Champions
7 Runners-up
11 Final Fours
13 Elite 8s
37 Sweet 16s
Points: 164
The SEC has had:
6 National Champion ships
3 Runners-up
9 Final Fours
15 Elite 8s
31 Sweet 16s
Points: 160
The Big 8/12 has had:
2 National Champions
4 Runners-up
7 Final Fours
19 Elite 8s
24 Sweet 16s
Points: 119
Pac 10/12 has had:
2 National Champions
3 Runners-up
5 Final Fours
10 Elite 8s
22 Sweet 16s
Points: 89
Other conferences
First some notes :
The Eastern College Basketball League, known as the Eastern 8, became the Atlantic 10 in 1982.
The ECAC South became the Colonial Conference in 1985
The Pacific Coast Athletic Conference became the Big West Conference in 1988
The Association of Mid-Continent Universities became the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989 and the Summit Conference in 2007
The American South Conference merged with the Sun Belt Conference, (and continued to use the latter’s name), in 1991
The Great Midwest Conference merged with the Metro Conference to from Conference USA in 1995.
The Midwestern City Conference became the Horizon League in 2001
The TransAmerica Conference became the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2002
In each of the above cases I have added together the points the conferences earned under the current name of the conference. In addition:
The East Coast Conference went out of business in 1994.
The Southwest Conference went out of business in 1996.
The Mountain West Conference was created in 1996.
The Metro / Great Midwest / Conference USA earned 63 points.
The Eastern 8/ Atlantic 10 earned 35 points.
The PCAA / Big West teams earned 29 points.
The Western Athletic conference earned 22 points.
The Midwestern City/ Horizon Conference earned 20 points
The Southwest Conference earned 19 points.
The Missouri Valley Conference earned 13 points.
The West Coast Conference earned 9 points.
Independent teams earned 6 points.
The Mid-America Conference earned 6 points.
The Sun Belt Conference earned 5 points.
The Mountain West earned 4 points.
The Association of Mid-Continent Universities / Mid Continent Conference/ Summit League earned 2 points, (for 3 names).
The East Coast Conference earned 2 points.
The Southland Conference earned 2 points.
The Big Sky Conference earned 1 point.
The Trans-America / Atlantic Sun Conference earned 2 points, (one from each name)
So, overall, the Big East has ranked second to the ACC in this period with the Big Ten and SEC trailing and the others well behind them. I didn’t break out the conference’s records in recent years but I suspect the Big East would be ahead overall, depending on the period you choose. The ACC had been kind of top heavy with 8 of their 10 national titles coming from Duke and North Carolina. They will have some serious competition now from Syracuse, Pittsburgh and, after another year, Louisville, (and I hope, eventually Connecticut with the Big East eventually being reincarnated as a northern division). The ACC will clearly be the dominant conference for the foreseeable future and we will be in the thick of it.
Bumped SU off the top ten list, unfortunate.
