According to CBS Sports, Big East Commissioner John Marinatto has resigned. Marinatto, who had been the Big East Commissioner since 2009, came under heavy fire for a series of actions or perhaps more appropriately inactions that led to the departures of Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia from the Conference and the additions of Boise State, San Diego State, Memphis, Houston, UCF, SMU and Navy.
Updated: League presidents asked John Marinatto to resign Sunday sources told @CBSSports cbsprt.co/IPhx7v
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyCBS) May 7, 2012
Though the news of Marinatto's resignation is likely to be welcomed by many, as the site Big East Coast Bias notes, it comes at a tenuous time for the Conference.
This is a particularly difficult time for the Big East to be looking for a commissioner as current BCS conference presidents are meeting in June to hammer out the final details of a new postseason format. Next year, the Big East will attempt to negotiate a new television contract. Now, apparently, it will do so with a new commissioner. The next commissioner, clearly, will have his or her hands full trying to negotiate a new television deal and fend off further attempts by other conferences to poach schools (Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers, Notre Dame, and UConn have all been rumored to be targets of other conferences to one degree or another).
Big Monday.