The Big East Conference named Southport resident Mike Aresco as its new commissioner, as it wades through a realignment and major TV contract negotiation.
Aresco has been executive vice president of programming for CBS Sports.
Long a powerhouse for college basketball, the Providence, R.I.-based Big East suffered the losses of Virginia Tech and the University of Miami in 2004 and Boston College in 2005 to the rival Atlantic Coast Conference, with Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh slated to follow suit in 2014. West Virginia separately is moving to the Big 12 Conference.
The Big East has recruited several schools to fill the void, most recently to include Boise State University and San Diego State University for football, with questions remaining on whether cross-coast rivalries will elicit fan interest.
CBS holds the rights to televise NCAA men”™s basketball through 2024. The Big East reportedly will begin an exclusive negotiating period for a new TV contract with ESPN beginning Sept. 1, with Aresco having worked for the network before leaving in 1996 for CBS Sports.
A native of Middletown, Aresco holds degrees from the University of Connecticut Law School and Tufts University.
“We had many outstanding candidates,” said Greg Williams, president of the University of Cincinnati and chair of the Big East”™s search committee, in a prepared statement. “His breadth of experience and depth of knowledge in intercollegiate athletics will continue to move the Big East forward on a successful path.
