The original Big East Conference split effective immediately after the conclusion of the 2013 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament . The seven schools that did not sponsor FBS football purchased the " Big East " name and reorganized as a new Big East , while the FBS schools that had not left for other conferences retained the original Big East charter and are now operating as the American Athletic Conference ( The American ) . Both leagues , however , claim the 1979 founding date of the original Big East as their own founding dates . While both offshoot leagues initially claimed the history of the original conference , that has apparently changed , as the basketball history of the original Big East is now claimed by the current Big East , and The American now considers its basketball history to have begun with the conference split . Cincinnati , Louisville , Rutgers , and South Florida , the four full members of the original Big East that sponsored FBS football before the split , joined with several new members to reorganize as The American
original Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2013–14 Big East Conference men's basketball season