By Mike Corasaniti
The Big East Conference has certainly seen better school years than the one it just finished up this past spring.
After an extremely successful campaign by so many Big East teams in 2010-2011, the conference lost two of it's long lasting cornerstones in Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC before losing West Virginia to the Big 12. Indeed, it would appear that one of the main factors for the departures would be the lack of a strong television deal for the Big East. And while the conference was able to make up for the lost numbers with new schools, it is very debatable whether the talent from those schools–not to mention location–is optimal for a legitimate conference.
Then the Big East went and hired the executive vice president of CBS, Mike Aresco, to be the new commissioner.
While this is a bold move in hiring not someone who exactly has sports administrative experience, it could be a move that would put the conference back among the ranks of the elite. This is because not only does Aresco have mounds off experience in the world of television, but he comes into his new position having essentially been in charge of all CBS college programming. He was also reportedly the main catalyst behind negotiations between CBS and the NCAA men's basketball tournament, locking up the rights to March Madness for years to come.
Imagine what it would be like if a deal (such as the billion dollar deal with ESPN that nearly came to fruition last year) with a major television network was worked out before more teams thought about leaving or thought about joining other conferences.
Because when it comes down to it, the Big East is not in a good state right now, mainly due to the fact that it has a shoddy television deal. And it when it comes down to it, Mike Aresco knows a thing or two about television.
Obviously, there are countless factors that need to be weighed in when discussing the healing of the Big East Conference, but the hiring of Mike Aresco is a pretty good start.
The Big East Conference has certainly seen better school years than the one it just finished up this past spring.
After an extremely successful campaign by so many Big East teams in 2010-2011, the conference lost two of it's long lasting cornerstones in Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC before losing West Virginia to the Big 12. Indeed, it would appear that one of the main factors for the departures would be the lack of a strong television deal for the Big East. And while the conference was able to make up for the lost numbers with new schools, it is very debatable whether the talent from those schools–not to mention location–is optimal for a legitimate conference.
Then the Big East went and hired the executive vice president of CBS, Mike Aresco, to be the new commissioner.
While this is a bold move in hiring not someone who exactly has sports administrative experience, it could be a move that would put the conference back among the ranks of the elite. This is because not only does Aresco have mounds off experience in the world of television, but he comes into his new position having essentially been in charge of all CBS college programming. He was also reportedly the main catalyst behind negotiations between CBS and the NCAA men's basketball tournament, locking up the rights to March Madness for years to come.
Imagine what it would be like if a deal (such as the billion dollar deal with ESPN that nearly came to fruition last year) with a major television network was worked out before more teams thought about leaving or thought about joining other conferences.
Because when it comes down to it, the Big East is not in a good state right now, mainly due to the fact that it has a shoddy television deal. And it when it comes down to it, Mike Aresco knows a thing or two about television.
Obviously, there are countless factors that need to be weighed in when discussing the healing of the Big East Conference, but the hiring of Mike Aresco is a pretty good start.
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