New Big East Commissioner Reportedly On the Way

· Yahoo Sports

The basketball-driven Big East reportedly is handing the reins of the conference to a former Major League Baseball executive.

Pete Thamel and Jeff Passan of ESPN reported Saturday that Tim Brosnan, who was MLB’s chief operating officer when he resigned in 2015, is expected to be named the sixth commissioner of the Big East.

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He would replace Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member Val Ackerman, whose planned retirement takes effect at the end of this month. She has served for 13 years.

The Big East has 11 schools: UConn, Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier.

Commissioner Val Ackerman hands the championship trophy to St. John's head coach Rick Pitino after St. John's defeated UConn in the men's Big East tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2026. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesAn outside-the-box hire?

Twenty years ago, Brosnan would not have been a conventional hire. He doesn’t have a decades-long career surrounded by college hoopla, town-and-gown relations. He does not need to understand a coach’s Xs and Os.

Instead, a commissioner today must have the experience to navigate the new realities of college sports, which hinge on expertise in areas such as business acumen, negotiations of television contracts and development of revenue streams.

He will not be the first former MLB executive to lead a conference; the powerful Big Ten went the same route in 2023 with the hiring of another former MLB leader, Tony Pettiti.

Eleven times, Brosnan was named to the list of the “100 Most Powerful People in Sports” by Sports Business Journal. He was one of the three finalists to serve as MLB commissioner when Rob Manfred was elected to the position in 2014 to succeed Bud Selig early the following year.

MLB executive vice president of business Tim Brosnan addresses the crowd during the unveiling of the 2012 All Star Game logo at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 2, 2011. Denny Medley-USA TODAY SportsHow does Brosnan’s background help the Big East?

The Big East is a basketball conference in a football-driven world. But the Big East drives college basketball.

UConn's football team operates as an independent.

In the past dozen seasons since 2014, the conference has won five men's NCAA basketball tournaments, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference with three, the Big 12 with two, and the powerful Big Ten and Southeastern conferences just one each.

Among Big East teams, UConn won three titles and Villanova earned two.

In the same time span, the UConn women won four national championships for the Big East. The SEC also has four.

Despite such success, without revenues generated by mega-million football television and streaming contracts generated by the power conferences, the Big East needs a jolt to its financial stream. 

Brosnan has experience in that realm. While employed by MLB, Brosnan was part of the group that developed the MLB Network and World Baseball Classic.

According to ESPN, MLB revenues grew from $1.5 billion in 1991 to $8.5 billion in 2015, the time in which Brosnan rose to the highest posts of his baseball career.

Each Big East school – UConn included – can use an infusion of cash in today’s revenue sharing and NIL landscape.

Brosnan’s Big East background

Brosnan is a 1980 graduate of Georgetown, where he played baseball for four seasons and was team captain as a senior. He majored in government, then earned his J.D. at Fordham Law School. He spent time in private practice and also served on the New York state Commission of Government Integrity, appointed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

As the father of three Georgetown grads, he didn't stray far from his Big East home. He served six years on the university's Board of Regents (chair of athletics) and counseled former university president John DeGioia on matters concerning athletics.

In 2021, DeGioia charged Brosnan with analyzing how the implementation of NIL rules would impact Georgetown. His task led to the creation of Hoyas Rising, a private company that Brosnan developed and led as chairman and CEO through June 2025.

Once officially announced as commissioner, Brosnan will join Dave Gavitt, Mike Tranghese, John Marinatto, Mike Aresco and Ackerman as those to have served in the role.

NCAA executive Dan Gavitt, the son of Dave Gavitt, reportedly turned down the opportunity to serve as commissioner. His father was one of the conference’s founders.

 

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