Big East Women's Basketball Tournament


The Big East Women's Basketball Tournament is a conference championship tournament in women's basketball. It was first held in 1983, at the end of the 1982–83 college basketball season that was the first in which the Big East Conference sponsored women's basketball. Following the 2013 split of the original Big East along football lines, the women's basketball history of the original conference has been maintained by the non-football league that assumed the Big East name. The tournament determines the conference's champion, which receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
From 2004 through 2013, the tournament was held in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the XL Center. The first three tournaments after the relaunch of the Big East in 2013 were hosted by DePaul University. In 2014, opening-round games were played at McGrath–Phillips Arena on the school's Chicago campus and all other games played at Allstate Arena in suburban Rosemont. All games in the 2015 tournament were held at Allstate Arena, and all 2016 tournament games were held at McGrath–Phillips Arena. The 2017 tournament was the first since the relaunch to be held outside the Chicago area, with all games being played at Al McGuire Center on the Marquette University campus in Milwaukee. From 2018–2020, the tournament was held at Wintrust Arena at the McCormick Place convention center on Chicago’s Near South Side.
Starting in 2009, the tournament expanded to include all 16 of the conference's teams at that time. The teams finishing 9 through 16 in the regular season standings played first round games, while teams 5 through 8 receive a bye to the second round. The top 4 teams during the regular season receive a double-bye to the quarterfinals. The 2013 tournament, the final one under the original Big East structure, saw 15 teams participate, following West Virginia's 2012 move to the Big 12 Conference. The tournament now features all 11 members of the reconfigured conference.
In June 2020, it was reported that the tournament will return to Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun Arena moving forward with the return of UConn.

History of the Tournament Finals

YearSeedWinnerScoreSeedOpponentVenue
1983#2St. John's74-63#1ProvidenceAlumni Hall
1984#3St. John's66-46#4Seton HallAlumni Hall
1985#5Syracuse57-56#2VillanovaManley Field House
1986#2Villanova71-60#1ProvidenceRoberts Center
1987#1Villanova60-45#6Boston CollegeThe Pavilion
1988#3St. John's74-72 OT#1SyracuseFitzgerald Field House
1989#1Connecticut84-65#3ProvidenceWalsh Gymnasium
1990#2Providence82-61#1ConnecticutGampel Pavilion
1991#1Connecticut79-74#2ProvidenceMcDonough Gymnasium
1992#1Miami 56-47#2ConnecticutGampel Pavilion
1993#1Miami 77-56#7ProvidenceAlumni Hall
1994#1Connecticut77-51#2Seton HallGampel Pavilion
1995#1Connecticut85-49#3Seton HallWalsh Gymnasium
1996#1Connecticut71-54#3Notre DameGampel Pavilion
1997#1Connecticut86-77#3Notre DameGampel Pavilion
1998#1Connecticut67-58#2RutgersLouis Brown Athletic Center
1999#1Connecticut96-75#3Notre DameLouis Brown Athletic Center
2000#1Connecticut79-59#3RutgersGampel Pavilion
2001#2Connecticut78–76#1Notre DameGampel Pavilion
2002#1Connecticut96-54#3Boston CollegeLouis Brown Athletic Center
2003#3Villanova52-48#1ConnecticutLouis Brown Athletic Center
2004#5Boston College75-57#7RutgersHartford Civic Center
2005#3Connecticut67-51#1RutgersHartford Civic Center
2006#2Connecticut50-44#12West VirginiaHartford Civic Center
2007#2Rutgers55-47#1ConnecticutHartford Civic Center
2008#1Connecticut65-59#7LouisvilleXL Center
2009#1Connecticut75-36#2LouisvilleXL Center
2010#1Connecticut60–32#2West VirginiaXL Center
2011#1Connecticut73-64#3Notre DameXL Center
2012#3Connecticut63–54#1Notre DameXL Center
2013#2Notre Dame61-59#3ConnecticutXL Center
2014#1DePaul65-57#2St. John'sAllstate Arena
2015#2DePaul78–68#1Seton HallAllstate Arena
2016#4St. John's50-37#7CreightonMcGrath–Phillips Arena
2017#3Marquette86–78#1DePaulAl McGuire Center
2018#2DePaul98-63#1MarquetteWintrust Arena
2019#2DePaul74-73#1MarquetteWintrust Arena
2020#1DePaul88–74#2MarquetteWintrust Arena

;Notes

Performance by school

Most Outstanding Player

YearMost Outstanding PlayerSchool
1983St. John's
1984St. John's
1985Syracuse
1986Villanova
1987 Villanova
1988St. John's
1989Connecticut
1990Providence
1991Connecticut
1992Miami
1993Miami
1994Connecticut
1995Connecticut
1996 Connecticut
1997Connecticut
1998Connecticut
1999Connecticut
2000Connecticut
2001Connecticut
2002Connecticut
2003Villanova
2004Boston College
2005Connecticut
2006Connecticut
2007Rutgers
2008Connecticut
2009Connecticut
2010Connecticut
2011 Connecticut
2012Connecticut
2013Notre Dame
2014DePaul
2015DePaul
2016St. John's
2017Marquette
2018DePaul
2019DePaul
2020DePaul