The BIG EAST became a reality on May 31, 1979, following a meeting of athletic directors from Providence College, St. John's, Georgetown and Syracuse Universities. Seton Hall, Connecticut and Boston College completed the original seven-school alliance. After one season, Villanova was added and began play in 1980-81. Two seasons later, Pittsburgh joined the group and started competition in '82-83. More than 450 BIG EAST athletes have earned All-America recognition and dozens have won individual NCAA national championships. The BIG EAST has been well-represented in U.S. or foreign national and Olympic teams, with several athletes earning gold medals in the summer Olympiads in Sydney in 2000, Atlanta in '96, Barcelona in '92, Seoul in '88 and Los Angeles in '84.