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    Big East Conference

    11 schools · basketball first · tournament at MSG since 1983

    Eleven schools, no football and a tournament that has filled Madison Square Garden every March since 1983: the Big East is built around basketball.

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    City

    Boston

    Where Boston's teams play, which rooms book concerts and comedy, when each season peaks, and how to reach every venue on the T or event trains.

    Boston, MA
    Venue

    Capital One Arena

    How Capital One Arena's 100, 200 and 400 levels compare for Capitals, Wizards and concerts, plus Metro access, parking and the bag rule.

    Washington, DC
    City

    Chicago

    Where Chicago's teams play, which rooms host concerts and comedy, and which L line reaches each venue.

    Chicago, IL
    Venue

    Madison Square Garden

    Where to sit at Madison Square Garden for Knicks, Rangers and concerts, how to get there through Penn Station, and the rules at the door.

    New York, NY
    Abstract trophy illustration representing NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
    Major Event

    NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

    The 2027 NCAA men's tournament sites, how all-session and single-session tickets work, and where to sit from the opening round to the Final Four.

    Multiple host cities; 2027 Final Four in Detroit, MI
    City

    New York City

    Where New York's teams play, which rooms book the big concerts and comedy shows, and how to reach every venue by subway or rail.

    New York, NY
    City

    Philadelphia

    Where Philly's teams play, which halls book concerts and comedy, when each season peaks, and how to reach every venue on the B subway line.

    Philadelphia, PA
    Venue

    Prudential Center

    How Prudential Center's lower bowl, 100 level and 200 level compare for Devils hockey and concerts, plus parking decks, transit and the bag rule.

    Newark, NJ
    City

    Washington, D.C.

    Capitals, Wizards, Nationals and Commanders games, The Anthem and 9:30 Club, DC Improv and the theaters: how to plan events in Washington.

    Washington, DC
    By the Good Seats editorial teamUpdated How we research

    A conference built around basketball

    The Big East Conference is an 11-school league that does not sponsor football, so for ticket buyers it is a basketball conference: a men's season from November into March that ends with the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden, plus one of the strongest women's programs in the country at UConn. For the sport as a whole, see College Basketball. Most members are private schools in or near large cities, which means arena games, not campus field houses, for many of the biggest dates.

    The original Big East formed in 1979, when Providence, St. John's, Georgetown and Syracuse invited Seton Hall, UConn, Holy Cross, Rutgers and Boston College. The current conference launched on July 1, 2013, after the basketball-focused Catholic schools split from the football-playing members. Butler, Creighton and Xavier joined that day, and UConn returned on July 1, 2020.

    The 11 schools and where they play

    • Butler: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, about 9,100
    • Creighton: CHI Health Center Omaha, about 18,320
    • DePaul: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, about 10,387
    • Georgetown: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C., about 20,035
    • Marquette: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, about 18,850
    • Providence: Amica Mutual Pavilion, about 12,400
    • Seton Hall: Prudential Center, Newark, about 18,711
    • St. John's: Madison Square Garden for most home games, with early non-conference games at Carnesecca Arena in Queens
    • UConn: Gampel Pavilion in Storrs and PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford
    • Villanova: Finneran Pavilion on campus and Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia
    • Xavier: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, about 10,250

    Capacities above are the figures Wikipedia lists for men's basketball. Several of these buildings are also NBA or NHL arenas with their own GoodSeats guides, including Madison Square Garden, Capital One Arena and Prudential Center. For the cities, see New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago.

    Two-arena schools are worth checking before you buy. A UConn or Villanova home game may be in the small on-campus gym or the big downtown arena, and the experience is very different: the campus building is louder and closer, the pro arena has more seats and more parking.

    The Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden

    The men's Big East tournament has been held at Madison Square Garden every year since 1983, the longest-running conference tournament at a single site in college basketball, and the Garden's contract with the conference runs through 2028. All 11 teams play in a single-elimination bracket in March, in the days before the NCAA field is announced.

    The event has a long list of famous nights. In 2009 Syracuse and UConn played six overtimes, a game that started on the evening of March 12 and ended nearly four hours later, the second-longest in NCAA history. In 2011 UConn, led by Kemba Walker, became the only team to win five games in five days to take the title. Georgetown and UConn share the record with eight tournament titles each, and St. John's won in both 2025 and 2026, beating Creighton and then UConn in the final.

    The women's tournament is played separately, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, its home since 2021. UConn has won it 24 times, including every year from 2021 through 2026.

    Where to sit for Big East basketball

    For a tournament session at Madison Square Garden, the strongest value is usually the lower rows of the 200 level along the sideline. The Garden's upper bowl is steep and sits closer to the court than most modern arenas, so a sideline 200-level seat sees the whole floor and both benches. Lower-bowl seats in the corners are a good compromise. Seats directly behind the baskets in the upper rows are the ones to skip; you lose depth on every shot and spend the game watching the video board. The Madison Square Garden Seating Chart page covers section numbers in detail.

    Fan sections matter in tournament play. Each school's supporters cluster near its bench and band, so buying on the side of the arena where your team sits puts you among your own crowd. For a quarterfinal session with two games, you may be next to one fan base for the first game and another for the second.

    On campus, the smaller buildings reward closeness. At Hinkle Fieldhouse, Cintas Center or Gampel Pavilion, nearly every seat is close to the floor, and the student sections set the tone. In the pro arenas used by Georgetown, Seton Hall, Marquette and Creighton, sideline seats in the lower bowl are the clear choice, and upper-level seats for a regular-season game can be the easiest tickets in the conference.

    Tournament ticket structure and demand

    Big East tournament tickets are typically sold by session (one ticket for a block of games, often two) or as an all-session package. The first sessions are the easiest to get. Demand builds through the quarterfinals and peaks for the semifinals and the final, especially when St. John's, which plays most of its home games in the Garden, or a school with a short trip such as Seton Hall, UConn or Villanova is still alive.

    The best approach depends on your team. A top seed's fans can justify a package. Everyone else usually does better waiting for the bracket and buying only the session their team plays in, then adding the next session on resale if they win. Prices on the resale market tend to move overnight after each round, as fans of eliminated teams list their remaining tickets. Every order on GoodSeats is backed by a 100% guarantee.

    The postseason payoff for the conference is the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, which the NCAA says drew more than 700,000 fans for the third straight year in 2025, according to its 2025 championship release.

    Championship pedigree and first-timer tips

    Big East schools have won six national championships since 1984: Georgetown in 1984, Villanova in 1985, 2016 and 2018, and UConn in 2023 and 2024. That record, plus the big-city arenas, is why a mid-February conference game can draw like a playoff game.

    • Use transit for the Garden. Madison Square Garden sits above Penn Station, and driving to Midtown on a March weeknight is slow and expensive.
    • Check which arena a home game is in. UConn and Villanova split home games between two buildings.
    • Plan for long days. A two-game tournament session can run four hours or more.
    • Check the bag rule. Pro arenas used by Big East schools set their own bag policies; check the venue's current rule before you go.

    Schedules and tournament information are on the conference site at bigeast.com.

    Frequently asked questions

    Does the Big East play football?

    No. The conference does not sponsor football. UConn is the only member with a top-level FBS football team, and it plays outside the Big East.

    Where is the Big East tournament played?

    The men's tournament has been at Madison Square Garden in New York every March since 1983, with a contract through 2028. The women's tournament is at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

    Which schools are in the Big East?

    Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, UConn, Villanova and Xavier.

    How are Big East tournament tickets sold?

    Usually by session, where one ticket covers a block of games, or as a package for every session. Semifinal and final sessions draw the most demand.

    Which Big East teams have won national titles?

    Georgetown (1984), Villanova (1985, 2016 and 2018) and UConn (2023 and 2024).

    Sources

    Card and header photos come from Wikimedia Commons contributors under Creative Commons or public-domain terms. Artist and license for each one are listed on the photo credits page.