Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year


The Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year award is given to the men's basketball player in the Big East Conference voted as the top performer by the conference coaches. It was first awarded at the end of the league's inaugural season of 1979–80.
The head coaches of the league's teams submit their votes following the end of the regular season and before the conference's tournament in early March. The coaches cannot vote for their own players.
The award was introduced following the conference's first season in 1980, in which it was presented to John Duren of Georgetown. Patrick Ewing, Richard Hamilton, Troy Bell, Troy Murphy and Kris Dunn each won the award twice, and Chris Mullin won three consecutive times from 1983 through 1985. Four award winners have been inducted as players to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Ewing, who shared the award in 1984 and 1985 with Mullin, was inducted in 2008 after playing 17 years in the National Basketball Association between 1985 and 2002. Mullin followed in 2011 after a 16-year NBA career. Georgetown's 1992 Player of the Year Alonzo Mourning entered the Hall in 2014 following a 16-year NBA career. The most recent award winner to enter the Hall is Ray Allen from Connecticut, who won the Big East award in 1996 and went on to a 19-season NBA career, entering the Hall in 2018. There have been seven ties; the most recent instance was that between Dunn and Ryan Arcidiacono of Villanova in 2015.
Seven players have been awarded a major national player of the year award in the same year that they received a Big East Player of the Year award. In 1985, Ewing and Mullin shared the conference award, while Ewing was named Naismith College Player of the Year and Mullin was given the John R. Wooden Award. The following year, Walter Berry of St. John's received the Wooden Award and the Big East Player of the Year award. In 1996, Allen received the conference award and was also the final recipient of the UPI Player of the Year Award. In 2004, Connecticut's Emeka Okafor won the conference award while sharing NABC Player of the Year honors with Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's. Creighton's Doug McDermott received all major national awards along with the conference award in 2014. Finally, Villanova's Jalen Brunson was the national player of the year as well in 2018. Georgetown has had the most winners, with eight. The only current Big East members without a winner are Butler and Xavier, both of which joined the conference at its relaunch following its 2013 split into two leagues, and DePaul, members since 2005.

Key

Winners

SeasonPlayerSchoolPositionClassReference
1979–80GeorgetownG
1980–81Boston CollegePG
1981–82Seton HallSG
1982–83St. John'sSF
1983–84†GeorgetownC
1983–84† St. John'sSF
1984–85†* GeorgetownC
1984–85†* St. John'sSF
1985–86*St. John'sPF
1986–87GeorgetownSF
1987–88PittsburghPF
1988–89GeorgetownG
1989–90SyracusePF
1990–91SyracuseSF/SG
1991–92GeorgetownC
1992–93Seton HallSG
1993–94ConnecticutF
1994–95VillanovaSG
1995–96*ConnecticutSG
1996–97Notre DamePF
1997–98ConnecticutSG/SF
1998–99† ConnecticutSG/SF
1998–99†Miami SF
1999–00Notre DamePF
2000–01† Notre DamePF
2000–01†Boston CollegeG
2001–02†ConnecticutSF
2001–02†PittsburghPG
2002–03 Boston CollegeG
2003–04*ConnecticutC
2004–05SyracusePF
2005–06VillanovaG
2006–07GeorgetownF
2007–08Notre DamePF
2008–09†PittsburghC
2008–09†ConnecticutC
2009–10SyracuseF
2010–11Notre DameSG
2011–12MarquettePF
2012–13GeorgetownF
2013–14*CreightonF
2014–15†VillanovaPG
2014–15†ProvidencePG
2015–16 ProvidencePG
2016–17VillanovaSG
2017–18*VillanovaPG
2018–19MarquettePG
2019–20Seton HallSG

Winners by school

Footnotes