One of college athletics’ most influential female executives announced Monday that she will step down from her leadership role with the Big East Conference.
Val Ackerman, 66, revealed her plans to retire as commissioner effective August 31st, concluding a 13-year tenure overseeing one of the nation’s premier basketball conferences. Conference officials said they will begin an immediate nationwide search to find her replacement.
“It’s been an extraordinary honor for me to serve as the Commissioner of one of the most prestigious and storied organizations in college sports,” Ackerman said.
“… With our long-term business deals securely in place and knowing 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 for me to hand off the baton.”
Ackerman took over as the conference’s fifth commissioner on June 26, 2013, during a pivotal restructuring period. She oversaw the integration of Butler, Creighton and Xavier with seven continuing schools – DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova – for the 2013-14 academic year. Her leadership also facilitated Connecticut’s return to the conference in 2020.
Under her stewardship, Big East schools claimed four men’s basketball national titles – surpassing all other conferences during that span. Villanova captured championships in 2016 and 2018, while UConn earned titles in 2023 and 2024.
“When we re-founded the Big East in 2013 as a basketball-centric conference, our first task was to find a commissioner who could provide the strategic vision needed to position us as a basketball peer with the power football conferences and compete with the country’s best,” said St. John’s president Rev. Brian J. Shanley, chair of the Big East board of directors.
“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 basketball national champions (four men’s and one’s women’s) in the past decade, and she has built a strong foundation for future success. She leaves big shoes to fill.”
Throughout her career, Ackerman has earned recognition with inductions into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
