NCAA Conferences | Big East, Big Sky, Big South
Another D1 conferences blog - there are 30 conferences in total, so expect several more of these….that’s also not including all the D2 and D3 schools. Combined, the total number of conferences is actually huge. This can finally help paint a picture for how many academies there really are in the U.S., and with more schools comes more opportunity. In this one, we feature the three conferences: Big East, Big Sky, Big South.
Big East
(Click here to find more information about the conference)
In the previous blog, we hinted at some Big East history with the American Athletic Conference. These schools were all in the original Big East Conference, and then the other member schools currently in the AAC decided to depart and create their own. All the schools in this conference are similar in that they’re Catholic private schools located in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions of the U.S., hence the name. These schools are primarily known for their basketball programs, and as a result, the athletics programs at each school are lifted up by the revenue created by those teams.
Conference Summary:
Georgetown has the largest sports program with 10 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams (22 total).
DePaul has the largest population at about 22.5k students while Butler has just around 5.5k students.
While most of the schools are more focused on sports (graduation rates below 80%, acceptance rates above 70%), Georgetown is an outlier, being one of the most prestigious schools to attend.
None of the teams have received rankings in the top 50 of the NCAA in 2020.
St. John’s was the most recent conference champion in 2019, however, yearly frontrunners for the title include Marquette, Butler, and DePaul.
Big Sky
(Click here to find more information about the conference)
Founded in 1963, this conference is much newer than most, and as a result, doesn’t have as much history to go over as some of the others. All the schools are located in very rural areas in the Western United States, with all of them being public schools that allow for generally lower tuition rates. As with most U.S. schools, the Big Sky conference has avid football fans, but no other sports that really generate as much following.
Conference Summary:
Idaho, Sacramento State, and Weber State are all tied with 7 men’s programs and 9 women’s programs each (16 total).
Sacramento State is the largest with nearly 32k students while the smallest is Southern Utah University with just over 10k students
Almost all schools in the conference have acceptance rates over 80% and graduation rates below 50%.
None of the teams have received rankings in the top 50 of the NCAA in 2020.
Although Montana won the conference last, Idaho has been the strongest performer over the last few years.
Big South
(Click here to find more information about the conference)
Ironically enough, the Big South Conference was formed even after the Big Sky, however, the huge emphasis on certain sports has allowed it to develop a larger following in general. It’s ingrained in the South Atlantic Region within Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The schools are evenly mixed between Public and Private, and so the average tuition for each may vary, although the schools are all relatively on the smaller side. Even more so than the Big Sky Conference, the Big South has a very big football culture, and it has even sought a partnership with the ASUN conference (mentioned in our previous blog), which allows both conferences to seek a mutually beneficial relationship in order to promote the sport more.
Conference Summary:
Campbell and Gardner-Webb are both tied with 9 men’s programs and 10 women’s programs each (19 total).
The largest is Radford University with 9.3k students, while the smallest is Presbyterian College with slightly more than 1k students.
All schools have acceptance rates above 50% (except for Hampton University at 36%), and the graduation rates range between 40-80%.
None of the teams have received rankings in the top 50 of the NCAA in 2020.
Radford was the 2019 champion, however, Gardner-Webb and Campbell are both just as capable of taking the title.