Big East & Madison Square Garden Extend Partnership Through 2032

The BIG EAST Conference and Madison Square Garden Entertainment announce the BIG EAST Tournament will continue to be held at The Garden through 2032.  The announcement ensures that The World’s Most Famous Arena will host 50 consecutive BIG EAST Tournaments.

MSG Entertainment and the BIG EAST have been partners since the Tournament was first played at the iconic venue in 1983 – the 50^th consecutive event will take place in 2032. The BIG EAST Tournament continues to be college basketball’s longest-running post-season championship held at the same location.

“Our extension with MSG means the BIG EAST will have the privilege of playing our men’s basketball tournament at ‘The Mecca’ for five consecutive decades,” says BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman. “This event, a New York City staple, has long been synonymous with tradition, rivalries and heart-stopping moments, and we are very grateful to Jim Dolan and Joel Fisher for their partnership in one of the most enduring alliances in the sports world.”

“Madison Square Garden and the BIG EAST Tournament have been synonymous with each other for decades, and we are thrilled to extend our partnership with the country’s premier college basketball conference,” says Joel Fisher, Executive Vice President, Marquee Events and Operations, MSG Entertainment. ”The rich tradition of the BIG EAST Tournament has produced many of The Garden’s most celebrated college basketball moments and has cemented itself as one of the most anticipated annual events. There is no better place to experience the excitement of the BIG EAST than ‘The Mecca,’ Madison Square Garden.”

The 2024 BIG EAST Tournament semifinal doubleheader will be played this evening with the championship game on Saturday, March 16. The first round of this year’s tournament took place on Wednesday, March 13 and quarterfinals on Thursday, March 14.

The 2023 BIG EAST Tournament Presented by JEEP was a complete sellout with 19,812 fans packing Madison Square Garden for all five sessions.

As one of college basketball’s most prestigious events, the BIG EAST Tournament has been a staple of the New York City sports scene for decades. The BIG EAST and The Garden initially partnered to bring the Tournament to Madison Square Garden in 1981 with the first tournament being played at the venue in 1983, which  St. John’s won. Moving to Madison Square Garden established the BIG EAST as a college basketball powerhouse on the national scene by providing the league the opportunity to showcase highly ranked teams with All-American players in the premier venue in the nation’s largest media market.

The BIG EAST continues the tradition of basketball competition at the highest level with the conference’s current 11 school alignment. Since reconfiguration in 2013-14, BIG EAST schools have received 42 NCAA Tournament invitations, an average of 5.2 per season. Three BIG EAST teams have won the national championship with Connecticut winning in 2023 and Villanova claiming the title in 2016 and 2018.