Seven charter schools founded the Big East in 1979 with the intent of creating a powerhouse basketball conference. If the past 32 years are any indication, the Big East has been a runaway success. When the Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown Hoyas made the it to the NCAA championship game in 1982 and later won the conference’s first title in ’84, the Big East had truly arrived. The following year’s Final Four was comprised of three Big East teams (Georgetown, St. John’s, and Villanova), and the successes of Syracuse, Providence and Seton Hall in the late ‘80s cemented the conference’s reputation.