Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
Each March, basketball fans descend upon New York City and "The World's Most Famous Arena" to get a taste of the madness to come. Since 1983, the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament has been held at Madison Square Garden, which, in addition to being the home of the New York Rangers and Knicks, is the part-time home of the St. John's Red Storm. The fourth and current version of MSG opened in 1968, has been fully renovated twice, and currently seats 19,812 for basketball. The tournament typically takes place over four days in March.
Big East Men's Basketball Tournament History
The foundation of the Big East Conference in 1979 changed the landscape of college sports forever, bringing seven of the East Coast's best college basketball programs together under the umbrella of a single entity, before expanding and adding additional sports. The modern iteration of the Big East began in 2012, with the football-focused programs morphing into the American Athletic Conference, and the "Catholic Seven" that left adding Butler, Creighton and Xavier to create a "new" Big East with the shared history of the American. A total of 22 Big East teams have gone on to appear in the NCAA Men's Division I Final Four, with nine titles coming from Georgetown, Villanova, former members Syracuse and Louisville, and once and future member UConn.
The BIG EAST Conference has solidified its legacy as a powerhouse in college basketball, capturing four of the last eight national championships, including consecutive titles in 2023 and 2024 by the UConn Huskies. The upcoming 2025 BIG EAST Tournament will mark its 43rd year at Madison Square Garden--the longest-running college basketball conference tournament at a single venue. Over the decades, MSG has been the stage for unforgettable BIG EAST moments: iconic coaches, legendary players, and heart-stopping buzzer-beaters. For fans and media alike, it's a spectacle unmatched in the sport. Quite simply, there's nothing like it!
