Providence, R.I. – Nine BIG EAST women’s basketball teams were chosen to compete in the 64-team NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, announced during the ESPN selection show on Monday evening. The nine teams selected broke the record of eight teams, set by the BIG EAST three times, with the most recent coming in 2009.

Connecticut (32-1) was chosen as the No. 1 seed in the Philadelphia region. The Huskies won the regular season title in the BIG EAST, as well as the 2011 BIG EAST Championship. Eight teams earned an at-large selection.

DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John’s and West Virginia were also selected to the championship. All games will be televised on ESPN2. 

“The BIG EAST Conference has long been recognized as a leader in women’s basketball,” said BIG EAST Commissioner John Marinatto. “Today, our schools again underscore that position and also set an NCAA record for most berths in the tournament by a single conference with nine. When combined with the 11 berths our men’s basketball teams earned last night, a total of 20 teams will go to the NCAA post-season—a statement to the depth and strength of our programs overall.”

The Philadelphia Regional has three BIG EAST teams among the 16 bids. Connecticut, as a No. 1 seed, will face No. 16 Hartford (17-15) in Storrs, Conn on March 20 at 12:05 p.m. DePaul (27-6), which took the third seed, will play No. 14 Navy (20-11) in University Park, Pa. on March 19. Fifth-seeded Georgetown (22-10) will play No. 12 Princeton (24-4) on March 20 in College Park, Md. 

In the Dayton Regional, Notre Dame (26-7) earned the second seed and will face No. 15 Utah (18-16) in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 19. No. 8 Marquette (23-8) will play No. 9 Texas (19-13) in Knoxville, Tenn. on March 19.

In the Spokane Regional, No. 9 St. John’s (21-10) will play No. 8 Texas Tech (22-10) on March 19 at 4:20 p.m. in Stanford, Calif. No. 7 Louisville (20-12) will play No. 10 Vanderbilt (20-11) on March 20 at 12:10 p.m. in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

In the Dallas Region, No. 9 West Virginia (23-9) will play No. 8 Houston (26-5) in Waco, Texas on March 20 at 5:10 p.m. Rutgers earned the seventh seed and will play No. 10 Louisiana Tech (24-7) in Shreveport, La. on March 20.