The legal heir to a basketball dynasty born from conference chaos
In short: In 2013, the legendary Big East split in two. While one group kept the famous name, the other—now known as the American—inherited the original structure. This is the story of how a massive realignment period transformed a basketball powerhouse into a complex, multi-sport landscape.
The American Conference, often called 'The American,' emerged from the intense instability of the 2010–2014 conference realignment period. The original Big East, a basketball powerhouse founded in 1979 with members like Providence, St. John's, and Georgetown, faced a fundamental crisis: the tension between its football-playing members and its non-football schools. This friction eventually led to a 2013 split.
The separation was driven by economics. In December 2012, the 'Catholic 7'—a group of non-FBS institutions including Villanova and Seton Hall—voted unanimously to leave the conference. Their goal was to secure more lucrative television deals independent of the football programs. While this group retained the Big East name and the right to host their tournament at Madison Square Garden, the American inherited the legal lineage of the original conference.
Since that split, the American has navigated a turbulent era of 'raids' and departures. It served as a 'Group of Five' conference during the initial College Football Playoff era (2014–2023) and has seen major members like Louisville, Rutgers, and UConn depart for more established leagues. Most recently, the conference faced a significant blow when Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF announced their move to the Big 12, a transition finalized via a buyout agreement in June 2022.
Today, the conference is headquartered in Irving, Texas, and manages a complex web of 13 full members and 6 affiliates. Its history is defined by constant adaptation, from adding basketball-focused upgrades like Wichita State in 2017 to absorbing various programs from Conference USA to maintain its footprint in sports like men's soccer and women's swimming.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: American Conference (NCAA)
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