How do the jobs in the Big East stack up? If every job in the conference were to open up today, how would they rank in order of the most attractive position to the top candidates? Let's take a look.
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2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position
2022 Rankings: Top 75
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1. Villanova
I’m not sure how anyone could even argue this right now. Villanova has the history, the fan support, the resources, the top-notch facilities and a great recruiting base to make it one of the best jobs in the country. It’s a program that has won national championships with multiple coaches, and it’s not hard to see why.
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2. UConn
Now that the Huskies are back in the Big East, I think you’ll see UConn trend back toward being a regular member of the Top 25 going forward. The move to the Atlantic Athletic Conference really hurt the Huskies' ability to go out and recruit nationally the way they could as a Big East team. The fan support and the hunger from the administration is there to win.
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3. Marquette
Marquette has a lot of the same qualities as Villanova, but just not quite the same level of success over the past few decades to elevate them beyond third on this list. The Golden Eagles have one of the biggest budgets in the country, an unbelievable new arena to play in and tons of talent within 200 miles of their campus.
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4. Georgetown
Georgetown is another program with a ton of tradition, great resources and you could argue it’s in the biggest recruiting hotbed in the country. Success has been hit or miss over the past couple decades, but this is still a really good job.
5. Creighton
The fact that Creighton was able to move up from the Missouri Valley to the Big East and not really miss a beat tells you all you need to know about what a great job this is. The fan support is off the charts and the Bluejays have money to spend on facilities, coaches and flying their coaches all over the country to recruit.
6. Xavier
Xavier shares a lot in common with Creighton to the point where we could have made this a tie for the fifth spot. The Musketeers enjoy a passionate fan base, great resources and a tradition of winning even after making the transition from the Atlantic 10 up to the Big East. Xavier also has a really strong recruiting base, but it can be a bit of a challenge trying to beat out the Big Ten schools in the area.
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7. Butler
The challenge Butler has as it has moved up from the Horizon League in the past decade since the dominant years under Brad Stevens is it doesn’t have the budget of the schools above. However, the Bulldogs are in the middle of a strong recruiting base, great fan support and a history of winning big.
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8. Providence
Ed Cooley, whom I believe is a really good coach, has proven that you can win at Providence. I believe he’s also proven there is a little bit of a ceiling on what you can accomplish there. Only once in the past 23 years have the Friars made it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament. There isn’t a really strong recruiting base there and it’s tough to go nationally and land top 100 recruits. However, there is a passionate fan base and a great home-court advantage.
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9. St. John's
St. John’s just isn’t same job it was back in the early days of the Big East. There isn’t as much talent coming from within New York City and the prospects that do stay home and don’t leave for a prep school are tough to keep home. The resources also aren’t at the same level as some of the other schools in the league. Playing some home games in Madison Square Garden is a big draw for some, but there isn’t the same level of support from the fan base as others in the Big East.
10. Seton Hall
Some of the same drawbacks that were mentioned with St. John’s can also be said about Seton Hall. The school is in a strong recruiting area regionally, but Seton Hall’s campus isn’t located in an ideal area. The Pirates play in an arena that is off campus, and that can make it tougher to draw student support. Sustained success has been elusive, but Kevin Willard has certainly done a really good in recent years of elevating the Pirates.
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11. DePaul
It’s been a long time since DePaul has had real success. Being in Chicago seems like it should be a big advantage with all the talent in the area, but it’s never been easy for the Blue Demons to beat out Big Ten schools and others around the country for those kids. There have been several coaches in the past few decades that couldn’t figure out how to get DePaul back to consistently competing in the top half of the league.
