Retiring Commissioners Hansen, Tranghese Reflect On Tenures

Hansen Wrapping Up Tenure At Pac-10

Outgoing Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said one of his proudest accomplishments in the role was "setting up the television packages," according to a Q&A with Dave Curtis of SPORTING NEWS TODAY. Hansen, who is retiring from the post effective tomorrow after 26 years, said, "I arrived just as the courts were invalidating the NCAA football television program, and I was the administrator of that for the NCAA. ... We put together a good distribution of resources and got our games on." Hansen added he is also proud of the "women's programs we've initiated." Hansen: "We win national championships more than any other conference." Hansen also said the conference needs to "continue to look at" a potential Pac-10 network, but he said it is "too early to make a prediction" as to whether such a net will be created. Hansen: "Our contracts, the football ones are with ABC/ESPN and Fox Sports Net, run through the 2011-12 academic year. So we have three more years under contract, and we've deliberately synched them up so we have the ability for whatever structure we want to create. We're actively looking at the marketplace, and we certainly have an eye on a network like the Big Ten formed that's very successful. We also look at the model the SEC was able to put together, where by considering a network, they were able to drive a very attractive regular-season program without creating the network." When asked why he is leaving the Pac-10 now, Hansen said, "I'm going to be 72, and I don't have the same energy. This is a demanding job travel-wise and energy-wise, and I don't have that energy" (SPORTING NEWS TODAY, 6/30).

Tranghese Proud Of Athletic Gains Made During His Tenure As Big East Commish

BIG IMPACT: Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese, who also is retiring effective tomorrow after 19 years in the role, in a special to SPORTING NEWS TODAY writes, "Bringing football to the conference -- and everything that has meant for our exposure and growth -- has been a significant part of what we've done." Tranghese: "We're playing at a high level, and we've had some great recent success in a sport we've only sponsored for two decades." Tranghese added he is proud of the conference's "performance in women's basketball." He also writes one would "have to look at keeping the conference together when the ACC made its moves as a turning point as well." Tranghese: "We are a much different league than we were five years ago, and though we couldn't have predicted it then, we are a stronger league than we've ever been" (SPORTING NEWS TODAY, 6/30).