The old Big East built its reputation on rugged, tough programs. Its original members came from the Northeast and played in the seasonal climates from New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Its teams trained in intense summer humidity before playing through a change in season until November's icy cold settled into the region's bones.
It developed and fostered hardened rivalries that predated the founding of the football conference. The ones that survived realignment intensified and mark, in the present day, the standing beacons of what it means to play in this part of the country. On Saturday, Boston College and Syracuse will renew that history in the last regular season game of the year on Senior Day in Chestnut Hill.