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From its new NYC home, Big East working on positioning conference

Val Ackerman’s to-do list looks a lot different now than it did a year ago, when the Big East Conference didn’t have its own office space or checking account.

As the Big East prepares to embark on its second basketball season, Ackerman, the conference’s commissioner, has outside agencies conducting a brand review and a website redesign, the kind of initiatives typically reserved for more mature entities.

Big East Conference Commissioner Val Ackerman shows off the conference’s new home base.
Photo by: BIG EAST CONFERENCE
“We literally started from square one to get this league up and running last year,” Ackerman said last week, just days after the Big East and its 20 employees moved into a 14,000-square-foot office space on East 41st Street and Third Avenue in New York City. “But as we look ahead to our second year, we want to make sure we’re positioning the league in the best way possible.”

Ackerman hired New York-based Sterling Brands to execute a brand review that will shape the conference’s promotions and communications for the next year and beyond. She expects to have a report from Sterling by mid-October, possibly earlier.

“We had a lot of easily identifiable talking points last year with the relaunch of the league and our new relationship with Fox,” Ackerman said.

“Sterling has been doing research and soon we’ll have a better sense of our brand positioning,” she said.

CBS Interactive, which manages the Big East’s website, is working to give the site a more video-centric look and capability. Ackerman said the site should relaunch by the end of the year.

All the while, Ackerman had been looking for a

more permanent home base. The 10-school Big East, with universities that go from Nebraska to Rhode Island, worked out of Proskauer’s offices in Times Square through its first year.

The new office, which officially opened Sept. 17, features a Fox Sports 1 Lounge, a gathering spot for employees that also provides a tip of the cap to the league’s broadcast partner. Fox Sports won the Big

Reminders are everywhere of the conference’s 10 members, which stretch from Nebraska to Rhode Island.
Photos by: BIG EAST CONFERENCE (3)
East’s rights with a 12-year, $500 million deal, and the value could grow to $600 million if the conference expands.

Photos depicting the Big East’s 35-year history, and its founder Dave Gavitt, are also evident throughout the hallways.

“We’re happy to be settled,” said Ackerman, who brought in architecture firm Gensler to help finish and design the new space. “We got in just in time to have some say in how it looked. It really does cap off what’s been a whirlwind year.”

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SBJ Podcast:
College writer Michael Smith and Assistant Managing Editor Tom Stinson discuss how the SEC and Pac-12 are attacking the fan experience from different sides, as well as Val Ackerman and the new Big East's first year.

The latest item for Ackerman to check off her list is the creation of the Big East’s first digital network, which will be available through the Fox Sports Go mobile app. The digital network will carry 80 to 100 live basketball and Olympic sporting events this season.

The Big East’s senior associate commissioner for broadcasting, Rick Gentile, is working with Fox to develop the digital network’s graphics, music and talent. Gentile, a 17-year veteran at CBS Sports, joined the Big East late last year.



Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman on …

Val Ackerman in her office at the Big East’s new headquarters at East 41st Street and Third Avenue in New York City.
Photo by: BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Starting a new Big East 15 months ago (when the seven Catholic universities broke away from the schools that now form the American Athletic Conference): “I was employee No. 1. We had to completely rebuild the infrastructure and hire a staff. We didn’t have a website, we didn’t have email addresses, we didn’t have anything. Georgetown was running our checking account. We had to set up our own separate checking account. We had to set up payroll so people could get paid, as well as employee benefits. So I’m happier today than I was a year ago when we had all of that ahead of us.”

Her idea to have the men’s and women’s Final Four in the same city on the same weekend: “You could have a megawatt event. Whether that’s workable or not is unclear. I just think it’d be a great idea to try at least once — just see what it looks like. Playing the women’s biggest event the same weekend in a different city has its disadvantages. It splits the media, it splits the sponsors. The NCAA staff is divided, as is the NCAA brass. Frankly, the women wind up on the short end of that stick.”

A deeper relationship with the Big Ten (they have a scheduling agreement for the Gavitt Tipoff Games beginning next year): “This begins what I think can be a multi-pronged relationship with the Big Ten — we have a very good geographic identity, given the overlap of our markets. It’s likely that we’ll have some Big East teams in the (Gavitt Tipoff) on the Big Ten Network because the home team controls TV. There could be some other sports-related components to this as well. More to come on that.”

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