The Providence Friars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference (NCAA Division I) for every sport except for ice hockey, where they compete in Hockey East. The Big East Conference was founded in 1979 by former athletic director and men's basketball coach Dave Gavitt. On December 15, 2012, Providence and the other seven Catholic, non-FBS schools announced that they were departing the Big East for a new conference; on March 7, 2013, it was officially confirmed that Providence's new conference would operate under the Big East name. The women's volleyball team, which had been an associate member of the America East Conference before the Big East split, remained in that conference for one more season before joining the Big East for the 2014 season. The school's men's and women's sports teams are called the Friars, after the Dominican Order that runs the school. They are the only collegiate team to use the name. Overall, the program consists of 17 varsity sports, seven for men and ten for women: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball. The lacrosse team competed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference through the 2009 season before joining the newly created Big East lacrosse league for 2010. Former sports include football, which was offered from 1921 until World War II in 1941, and baseball, which was dropped due to Title IX in 1999. Other dropped sports include men's tennis and men's golf. The school's biggest rivals are Boston University and Boston College in hockey and UConn and URI (Ocean State Rivalry) in the school's other sports, especially in soccer, swimming and diving, and basketball. Teams Discontinued sports Football Providence College had a varsity football program from 1921 to 1941. Baseball The Friars fielded a varsity baseball team from 1923 to 1999 when the sport was eliminated due to Title IX regulations. NCAA team championships Providence has won 3 NCAA team national championships. Women's (2) Cross Country (2):1995, 2013 Men's (1) Ice Hockey (1): 2015 see also: Big East Conference NCAA team championships List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships Colors, mascot and fight songs The Dominicans'