Georgetown and Syracuse, whose fierce rivalry defined the glory days of the original Big East Conference, will resume their storied men’s basketball series with a four-year home-and-home series scheduled to tip off at Verizon Center during the 2015-16 season.
The games will alternate between the two home arenas, with the 2016-17 clash to be contested at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., the 2017-18 game returning to Verizon and the series ending in 2018-19 at Syracuse.
The agreement, which has been in the works almost from the moment the Syracuse stunned its original Big East brethren by announcing its move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, was brokered by the schools’ athletic directors, Georgetown’s Lee Reed and Syracuse’s Daryl Gross, and announced by Georgetown officials Tuesday.
While the series dates from 1930, it assumed far greater significance in 1979 once the Big East Conference was born, with Georgetown and Syracuse charter members of a league that became known for bruising basketball rooted in tough-nosed urban markets.
The enmity between the rivals ramped up considerably following the final game at Syracuse’s Manley Field House on Feb. 12, 1980, which Georgetown won to end a 57-game winning streak. In the news conference that followed, Coach John Thompson Jr. declared that Manley Field House was “officially closed,” which riled Syracuse partisans for decades to come.
Syracuse’s decision to leave the Big East for the ACC beginning last season escalated the demise of a hybrid league already in turmoil, as member schools that played big-time football kept defecting for like-minded leagues with more lucrative broadcast agreements.
Georgetown and six other basketball-centric schools ended up breaking away to form a basketball-driven league that retained the Big East name, while adding Butler, Creighton and Xavier.
Attendance at Verizon Center has suffered for it, with no Georgetown home game last season breaking the 13,000 barrier. Bringing in Syracuse, the foe Hoya fans most love to hate, is a certain box-office boon. A record crowd of 20,972 packed Verizon Center for the schools’ final regular-season clash, in which the Hoyas routed their long-time nemesis, 61-39, and complete a season sweep.
Syracuse leads the series 49-41.
Said Georgetown’s Reed in a statement: “The reestablishment of this series is good for college basketball fans across the country. I know that our program and fans will be excited to have a game against Syracuse on our schedule.This is something that both schools have worked very hard to have happen and we’re very happy to have this series continue.”
