According to an ESPN report, plans are underway for a revamped Big East conference that will include the Georgetown Hoyas. The name will keep ties to a three-decades long basketball heritage, though the “East” part of the name will be further stretched with the potential future addition of Saint Louis University and Nebraska’s Creighton University.
With traditional members such as Syracuse and Pittsburgh set to depart after this season, those of conference’s remaining schools mostly known as basketball-first athletic departments have been pro-actively maneuvering to ensure the strength of their conference going forward. Next year’s Big East basketball conference will reportedly consist of current members DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova, with the addition of strong basketball programs Xavier and Butler.
The Hoyas are wrapping up another strong Big East campaign, recently besting Jim Boeheim's Orange in the Carrier Dome’s final conference matchup between Georgetown and Syracuse. Georgetown’s 57-46 win snapped Syracuse’s 37-game home winning streak (a streak started after a loss to the Hoyas in 2010 in coach John Thompson III’s first win there). Georgetown’s win echoed another memorable event in the storied G’town-Cuse rivalry, when the Hoyas defeated the 2nd-ranked Orangemen 52-50 in the final game of Manley Field House. That Hoyas victory ended Syracuse’s 57-game home win streak, prompting then-coach John Thompson Jr. to grab the PA microphone and inform the crowd that "Manley Field House is officially closed."
