Year two of the revamped Big East has been "considerably less rocky than the first," as Commissioner Val Ackerman "has her own offices now, and a full staff, and an email system, and a host of corporate sponsors," according to Zach Schonbrun of the N.Y. TIMES. Last year at this time, Ackerman "was working out of temporary office space" in N.Y., and "many staff members still lived in Rhode Island, where the conference had its headquarters." The "logistical snarl was staggering and was mixed with doubts about the league’s outlook, its relevance and its new television partner, Fox Sports 1 -- all without the easy assurance of money generated by football programs." But Ackerman this week said that her concerns have "been largely assuaged." She added that ratings on FS1 have risen by about 20%, "no doubt because fans have started recognizing the quality of play." Ackerman: "It's everything our presidents had hoped for, to break away from their existing leagues and buck the trend." Schonbrun notes the Big East's deal to play its men's conference basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden runs through '26, which "seems especially prescient now." Both the ACC and Big Ten have "since arranged to host their conference tournaments in New York later in the decade, hoping to take advantage of a wilting Big East product and steal most of the spotlight." But that "might not be the case, after a vintage season from a conference that started anew" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/12).
