Mike Aresco Officially Named New Big East Commissioner

Mike Aresco Introduced As Big East Commissioner

Mike Aresco was officially introduced as the new commissioner of the Big East when he participated in a conference call on Wednesday morning. Aresco was unanimously nominated as the replacement for interim commissioner Joseph Bailey when the league's collective Presidents underwent a vote on Tuesday.

When John Marinatto resigned in May, speculation arose that the basketball schools in the Big East could break away from the football schools in order to form their own league.

Aresco made his opinion on the matter clear, stating that the two needed to stay together.

Aresco: "It's very important that the #BigEast basketball and the football schools stay together."

— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) August 15, 2012

When asked about the potential of teams moving out of the conference, Aresco stated that he didn't anticipate any teams leaving and stated that the conference would not be expanding, either.

He did address the possible addition of football divisions, but was unable to provide a time frame for their development.

While discussing the strength of the conference, Aresco believes that the Big East is one of the top six conferences and made it known that the No. 1 priority coming into the job was future television negotiations and establishing the value of the conference's brand.

The general consensus of the call was that Aresco wants to move the conference in a progressive direction and used the phrase "state-of-the-art" on several occasions.

To listen to the complete conference call, click here.

For more information on Mike Aresco and his appointment as commissioner of The Big East, stick with this story stream. For more on the Big East, check out the SB Nation blog Big East Coast Bias.

Mike Aresco Officially Named New Big East Commissioner

The Big East Conference has named former CBS VP Mike Aresco as its new commissioner. The official word came from the league Tuesday, after an unanimous vote from its presidents. The news was initially reported Tuesday morning.

"The Presidents have acted very responsibly," said Interim Commissioner Joe Bailey in the conference's press release. "They have appointed a leader with integrity, intelligence and energy. Bravo!"

Aresco will replace Bailey, who took over after John Marinatto resigned in May because of pressure from the league's presidents.

So far, the hiring of Aresco, Executive VP of CBS Programming, has been received positively among college sports experts. The biggest applause has come from CBS Sports' columnist Dennis Dodd:

Until Tuesday. The slap-hitter known as the Big East hit the shot heard around college athletics. At least as far as commissioners go.

It's expected that Aresco will be used as a big negotiating chip for the Big East, which is looking to earn a new television contract that will help rebuild its diminishing profile.

In 2013, the conference is losing Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the Atlantic Coast Conference, but will be replacing those programs with a nationwide coalition of: Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Temple, Boise State, San Diego State and Navy in the upcoming years.

For more on the Big East, check out the SB Nation blog Big East Coast Bias.

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