Fans saw the last in conference regular season game at the Carrier Dome against the Hoyas.
/ Alex Resila
CARRIER DOME -- The Big East got started in 1979. For over 30 years, Syracuse and Georgetown have been battling it out as fierce conference rivals. This conference rivalry tipped off for the last time at the Carrier Dome this afternoon.
With Syracuse going to the ACC next season, that means no more Big East games for these two teams. That is just one of the reasons why a record crowd of more than 35,000 came out today to see this historic moment.
Tim Best has been following the Orange for over a decade. Growing up an Orange fan means he knows more than those ten years from this rivalry. "The history behind it, dating back to 1980 when Georgetown came in here and knocked off Syracuse when Coach Thompson, "Big John" said Manley field house is officially closed," says Best.
Tim's younger brother Matthew feels that it's the guys dunking and hitting clutch free throws who make this rivalry memorable. "The history the players, Ewing, Mourning, Carmelo. If you look at all the those it's definitely something to look at and acknowledge," says Best.
This isn't necessarily the last time that these two teams will face off at the Dome. The next time just won't be a regular season Big East match up. This doesn't seem to bother Tim at all. He knows with all of his studying about the NCAA how teams can still be rivals even when when they're outside of the Big East.
"Some of the best rivalries are out of conference, it won't be any different in the future when we play them in an out of conference game," says Best.
The Orange and Hoyas will play one more regular season game at Georgetown on March 9th.
