June 8, 2000

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team will play a new-look 16-game BIG EAST Conference regular season schedule in 2000-2001, including four crossover games.

The addition of Virginia Tech as the 14th basketball-playing BIG EAST Conference member for the upcoming 2000-2001 season will see men’s basketball regular season play in the league split into two seven-team divisions.

Conference play for the coming year will include 16 league games for each school, 12 against divisional opponents and four crossover games against BIG EAST teams from the other division. Each league member will play its six divisional opponents twice (home and away) while also playing single games against four teams from the other division. Each school in the BIG EAST “will not” play three league teams during the 2000-2001 regular season.

Notre Dame’s divisional opponents are Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse and West Virginia. The other division consists of Boston College, Connecticut, Miami, Providence, St. John’s, Villanova and Virginia Tech.

The Irish crossover games in 2000-01 will be home contests against St. John’s and Boston College and away games at Connecticut and Virginia Tech.

One of the unique aspects of the new league scheduling will have Notre Dame not playing any regular season contests in 2000-2001 against three teams – Providence, Villanova and Miami.

The 2000-01 cross-divisional opponents for each team are as follows: