Big East commissioner Val Ackerman will retire from her position this summer, the league announced Monday.
Ackerman, 66, has been in charge of the league for the past 13 years, watching as men's and women's basketball won a combined eight national championships during his tenure. He also oversaw the Big East transition during realignment.
“It has been an extraordinary honor for me to serve as commissioner of one of the most prestigious and historic organizations in college sports,” Ackerman said. “I want to thank our presidents for entrusting me with this one-of-a-kind leadership opportunity and for supporting the investments necessary to maintain the stature of the Big East and meet the high academic and competitive standards of our schools.
“With our long-term business agreements firmly in place and knowing that we have strong, focused leadership on our campuses, I am confident that the future of the conference, and Big East basketball in particular, is very bright, and I believe the time is right to hand over the baton.”
Ackerman, who previously served as founding president of the WNBA, president of USA Basketball and U.S. representative for men's and women's basketball on FIBA's central board, took over as commissioner of the Big East in the summer of 2013. At the time, the league was in the midst of losing several of its top programs to other conferences at the height of realignment. Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame and Louisville left for the ACC; Rutgers went to the Big Ten; West Virginia left for the Big 12; and UConn, Cincinnati and South Florida opted for the AAC.
The remaining seven members (DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova) formed the new Big East, with Butler, Creighton and Xavier joining to make it a 10-team league in March 2013. Ackerman then led negotiations to bring UConn back in the summer of 2020. The Huskies have won three national championships combined between men's and women's basketball since returning to the Big East.
“Speaking on behalf of all Big East presidents, we announce the retirement of Commissioner Val Ackerman with a sense of sadness and deep gratitude,” said St. John's President the Rev. Brian J. Shanley, chairman of the Big East board of directors. “When we refounded the Big East in 2013 as a basketball-focused conference, our first task was to find a commissioner who could provide the strategic vision needed to position us as a basketball peer in the country's powerhouse football conferences and compete with the best in the country. We found that visionary leader in Val Ackerman. Val has leveraged our partnerships with FOX Sports and Madison Square Garden to create a platform that has produced five national basketball champions (four men's and one women's) in the past decade, and has built a solid foundation for future success. Leaves big shoes to fill.”
Ackerman received the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021.
The national search for Ackerman's successor will begin immediately, the league said.
