When the seven Catholic schools that split from the former Big East, now the American Athletic Conference, and added Creighton, Butler, and Xavier to form the new Big East, all attention flooded to the conference’s new basketball matchups.
After the push toward football caused the exit of several members of the former Big East, college basketball fans rejoiced at the creation of a new league that would have a significant focus on men’s basketball. Although the new composition of the Big East brings in new competition for Georgetown’s men’s basketball team, it is not the only major athletic program here on the Hilltop that will be greatly affected.
The program that will arguably be the most affected by the changing landscape of the Big East is the College Cup Runner-Up men’s soccer team. Both Creighton and Xavier were contenders in the National Championship tournament, with Xavier losing to the champion Indiana in the second round and Creighton losing to them as well in the semifinal.
The changes to the Big East have set up a soccer conference that contains five teams that competed in the tournament, meaning half of the teams in the new Big East qualified, more than any other conference. The addition of Creighton is the most notable for men’s soccer, as this program has returned to the semi-final in three of the last five seasons.
“You’re adding teams that thrive in men’s soccer. The teams that remain—St. John’s, Marquette, ourselves, Villanova—have very strong men’s soccer programs. The Big East as a whole last year was the best conference in the country,” said men’s soccer Head Coach Brian Wiese. “The emphasis on our sport in the new conference is very exciting for us. The league and the schools that sponsor men’s soccer, which every single school does, and the emphasis on success.”
Women’s soccer will not receive the same high quality replacements as the men’s program, and will lose noteworthy competitors such as Notre Dame. Not one of the new schools joining the Big East next season qualified for the National Champion tournament. Both Creighton and Xavier’s programs finished with conference winning percentages lower than .125. With a weaker conference schedule next season, women’s soccer will have to focus on building a more competitive out of conference lineup in order to prepare for postseason play.
“The overall strength of the conference is not as strong as the old Big East was … What we have to do now is, we have to do a much better job with our non-conference scheduling,”said women’s soccer Head Coach Dave Nolan. “We have to load up with tougher games at the start of the season to give us a greater strength of schedule and a greater RPI. Times have changed and we’ve had to make the best of the circumstances.”
The three new schools joining on July 1 will contribute to more than just soccer, though, with women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, and baseball all receiving fresh challenges for the coming season.
Creighton’s women’s basketball team not only made the tournament this past season, but also was second in the nation in three pointers. Xavier’s men’s and women’s tennis teams are both undefeated in the Atlantic-10 so far this spring. Standing at third currently in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 22-9 record, Creighton’s baseball team will provide the middling Hoyas with another solid weekend series.
The positives of the new additions to the Big East will come with losses, though, as schools with thoroughly developed athletic programs are dropped from the Hoyas’ schedules. Without major rival Syracuse and other schools that perennially compete for Big East titles in several sports, such as Louisville and UConn, the Big East is losing some of its luster both in and out of men’s basketball.
Non-conference matchups will become a much larger issue in wake of splitting off from many of Georgetown’s former competitors. A more concerted effort to schedule top-rated teams will have to be made in order to keep Hoya programs ready for a challenging postseason.
When the first contests get underway in the late summer, the new Big East will usher in a fresh start for an undeniably talented group of schools. Although it will take time for new rivalries and traditions in each sport to take form, the Big East is sure provide Hoyas with substantial competition and passion in the coming years.
Said Wiese,“We’ve got new rivalries we have to get in place. We got to start kicking each other a little bit to get used to each other and that takes time. Who’s going to be the new Syracuse? Somebody’s got to be that so we’ll see.”
