Big East Conference agrees to three-year contract extension with commissioner Val Ackerman
Ackerman took over as commissioner in June 2013, and helped lead the reorganization of the league as one that emphasizes basketball.
The Big East and commissioner Val Ackerman have agreed to a three-year contract extension through June 30, 2024, the conference announced Tuesday.
Ackerman was named as the conference’s fifth commissioner in June 2013, and has overseen the reorganization of the Big East as a league that emphasizes basketball. She also welcomed Connecticut, an original member of the conference, back to the league starting with the 2020-21 season.
She has negotiated contracts that have allowed the league to continue to host its Big East men’s basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden through 2028. As co-chair of the NCAA’s federal and state legislation working group, she helped recommend changes last April to the NCAA Board of Governors relating to name, image and likeness for student-athletes.
During her years at the helm, Villanova won national championships in men’s basketball in 2016 and 2018, and Georgetown captured the men’s soccer national title in 2019.
“It’s been a tremendous honor to lead the Big East over the past seven-plus years,” Ackerman said in a statement, “and I’m very proud of the work done by our institutions during that time to sustain the conference’s leadership position on the national college sports landscape.”