The American Athletic Conference is the legal successor of the original Big East Conference , founded in 1979 , and retains the charter of the original Big East . The original conference split along football lines in 2013 , with the seven non-FBS schools purchasing the " Big East " name and joining with three other schools to form a new Big East . This new conference did not have enough rowing schools to sponsor that sport ; one of those schools , Villanova , became a rowing-only affiliate of The American . Villanova rowing would eventually join the CAA , already home to the school 's football team , starting with the 2015 – 16 season
original Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
College rowing (United States)