Social Finance, Inc. (commonly known as SoFi) is a marketplace lender that provides student loan refinancing, mortgages and other types of loans, such as parent and personal loans. The company is a non-bank alternative focused on offering loans at lower rates than traditional lenders. SoFi’s primary customers are early stage professionals. Some of its products, such as parent loans and mortgages, are popular with a broader demographic. In September of 2015, the fintech company secured $1 billion in Series E funding led by SoftBank bringing total equity investment in SoFi to $1.42 billion.
The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in all sports except football, which is not sponsored. The conference has been officially recognized as a Division I multi-sport conference, effective on August 1, 2013. Its nucleus is composed of the "Catholic Seven" members of the Big East Conference (1979–2013): DePaul University, Georgetown University, Marquette University, Providence College, Seton Hall University, St. John's University, and Villanova University.